increasinglybuddypress

StudyingYouthTransitionsThroughaSocialNetwork:FirstImpressionsVéroniqueEicher,MounaBakouri,ChristianStaerklé,MarleneCarvalhosaBarbosa,andAlainClémence1TheStudyofYouthTransitionsYoungadulthoodisaperiodduringwhichmanyimportantlifetransitionsintheprofessionalandeducationaldomainoccur,forexamplechoosinganeducationaltrack,passingselectionproceduresintohighereducation,selectinganoccupation,ndingajob(e.
g.
,FleesonandCantor1995;Pimentel1996).
Ithasbeenshownthatsuccessfulorunsuccessfulregulationofthesetransitionsinuencesfuturetransitionalchoicesandactions(HeckhausenandSchulz1995;Nurmi1993).
Thetransitionalchoices,aswellasthewayyoungindividualsdealwithdevelopmentaltasksandchallenges,areinuencedbyvariousfactors,rangingfromtheavailablechoicesandperceivedopportunitiestospecicregulationstrategiesoffailurestodifferentiallevelsofvulnerability(e.
g.
,Salmela-Aro2009).
Thepresentstudyfocusesontherelationshipbetweendifferenttypesofvulnerability(internalandexternal),regulationstrategies,andlifetransitionsinyoungadultsaged15–30years.
Wespecicallyinvestigatehowyoungpeoplemanageprofessionalandeducationaltransitions,inparticulartransitionsfromschooltohighereducationandfromschoolorvocationaltrainingtorstemployment.
Weassumethesetransitionstobeinuencedbydifferentlevelsofinternalandexternalvulnerability,aswellasbydifferenttypesofregulationstrategies.
Externalvulnerabilityreferstofactualaspectslikematerial(e.
g.
,lowincome)orcategorical(e.
g.
,memberofV.
Eicher()SocialWork,ZurichUniversityofAppliedSciences,Zurich,SwitzerlandNCCRLIVES,IP9,Chavannes-près-Renens,Switzerlande-mail:eicr@zhaw.
chM.
BakouriC.
StaerkléM.
C.
BarbosaA.
ClémenceNCCRLIVES,IP9,Chavannes-près-Renens,SwitzerlandInstituteofPsychology,UniversityofLausanne,Lausanne,SwitzerlandTheAuthor(s)2016M.
Orisetal.
(eds.
),SurveyingHumanVulnerabilitiesacrosstheLifeCourse,LifeCourseResearchandSocialPolicies3,DOI10.
1007/978-3-319-24157-9_9203204V.
Eicheretal.
lowerstatusgroup)vulnerabilitythatincreasethelikelihoodofnegativeeventsanddecreasethenumberofopportunities(e.
g.
,Eccles1994;PascoeandRichman2009).
Internalvulnerability,inturn,referstotheinternalizationoffactualvulnerabilitiesaffectingpeople'ssenseofagency,efcacyandmotivationthatcanbeexpressedaspsychological(e.
g.
,perceivedlackofcontrol)orrelational(e.
g.
,perceivedlackofsocialsupport)formsofvulnerability(EcclesandWigeld2002;Salmela-Aro2009).
Differenttypesofregulationstrategiesincludetheattributionofsuccessandgoalselectionandadjustment(e.
g.
,Brandstdter2009;Heckhausen1999)(i.
e.
,cognitive-motivationalstrategies),in-groupidenticationandendorsementofcollectivenorms(e.
g.
,Turneretal.
1994)(i.
e.
,group-basedstrategies),aswellasideologicalbeliefsandpoliticalactivism(e.
g.
,Staerklé2009)(i.
e.
,political-institutionalstrategies).
Theonlinenetworktobedescribedinthischapterwasintendedtoprovidetheopportunitytoinvestigatetworesearchquestionsunderstoodasinstancesofgroup-basedregulationofdevelopmentaltasksandlifetransitions(i.
e.
,exchangewithothers,identicationwithsignicantothers).
Inordertobeasclosetoparticipants'everydaylifeandtheirpreferredcommunicationtoolsaspossible,wedesignedanonlinesocialnetwork,whichwouldallowparticipantstocommunicatewitheachotherontopicsoftheirownchoosing.
Inthefollowing,werstgivethetheoreticalbackgroundofthetworesearchquestionsbeforepresentingthemethodologywithwhichweplannedtoinvestigatethesegroup-basedregulatorystrategies.
1.
1ResearchQuestionsRelatedtotheOnlineSocialNetworkInlinewithdevelopmentalresearchdemonstratingtheimportanceofco-regulationindealingwithlifecoursetransitions(Salmela-Aro2009),weexpectedexchangeofexperienceswithindividualsfacingsimilarchallengestobeacentralregulatorystrategy.
Sharingthestrugglesandfears,butalsosuccessesoflifecoursetransitionsmayindeedbebenecialforbothsides.
'Talking'aboutone'sexperiencemayhelptobetterunderstandandcopewithit.
'Hearing'aboutotherpeople'sexpe-riencescanprocureasenseofsharedness,knowingthatotherpeoplefacesimilardifculties.
Priorresearchhasanalysedwhetheronlinesocialnetworksareassociatedwithsocialcapitalandexchangewithfriendsingeneral.
Forinstance,ithasbeenshownthatpeoplewhouseFacebookoftenhavemorebridgingcapital(i.
e.
,weaktieswithdissimilarothersthatmayprovideinformationbutnoemotionalsupport;Putnam2000)independentoftheirlevelofself-esteemorlifesatisfaction,whilelessintensiveFacebookuserswithlowerself-esteemorsatisfactionindicatelessbridgingcapital(Ellisonetal.
2007).
Inanextensionofthisstudy,Steineldetal.
(2008)showedthatFacebookuseledtomorebridgingsocialcapital1yearlater,ratherthantheotherwayaround.
StudyingYouthTransitionsThroughaSocialNetwork:FirstImpressions205Bondingcapital,incontrast,referstosocialconnectednesswithsimilarothers,typicallyin-groupmembers.
This"feelingofbelongingtoasocialgroup"(Kbleretal.
2010,p.
2)hasbeenstudiedinassociationwithFacebookusewhereitwasshownthatthemorepeoplepostinformationonsocialnetworks,themoreconnectedtheyfeeltoothers(Kbleretal.
2010).
WhenaskedwhytheyareonFacebook,usersindicatedmostlysocialmotiveslikeconnectingwithothersandmeetinglike-mindedpeople(onlyasmallgroupofpeopleindicatedusingFacebookmainlyforplayinggames).
Additionally,theylikedtotellothersaboutwhathappenedtothemandtolookatwhatothersweredoing(Joinson2008).
Onlinesocialnetworksarethususedasafacilitatorforsocialrelationships.
Introvertedindividualsandthosewithlowerself-esteemforexampleindicateusingthenetworkmainlytobuildnewrelationshipsandconsideringonlinecommunicationasmoreeffectivefordevelopingin-depthcommunicationthanface-to-faceinteractions(ValkenburgandPeter2007;Valkenburgetal.
2005).
Beyondthebenecialaspectofenlargingthesocialnetworkandsharingexperiences,Valenzuelaetal.
(2009)investigatedtheassociationbetweenFacebookuseanddifferentwell-beingoutcomes.
Theyshowedthat,althoughtheseeffectswerenotlarge,Facebookusewaspositivelyassociatedwithsocialtrust,lifesatisfaction,politicalparticipation,andcivicengagement.
Thesendingssuggestthatuseofsocialnetworksdoesnotleadtosocialisolation–asisoftenproclaimedby"cyberpessimists"(Valenzuelaetal.
2009,p.
893)–butcanevenhavebenecialeffectsonreal-lifeinteractions.
Overall,thesestudiespointtotheusefulnessofonlinenetworkstostrengthenandwidenthesocialnetworkandtheperceivedimportanceofsocialinteractions.
Wethusassumedthatparticipantsmaywanttosharetheirtransitionexperienceswithothersandextendtheirnetworktosimilarothers.
Asarstresearchquestion,wearethereforeinterestedintheroleofexchangeofexperienceswithotherindividualsfacingsimilartransitionsinlifecourseregulationanditsimplicationsforwell-being.
Asecondmajorresearchquestionconcernstheroleofidenticationwithsignicantothersasawaytocopewithdifculttransitionaldemands.
Social-psychologicaltheoriesconcernedwiththepsychologicalmanifestationsofgroupmembership(i.
e.
,SocialIdentityTheory,Self-CategorizationTheory)analysehowindividualsshiftbetweenpersonalandsocialidentitiesasafunctionoftheirmembershipsinsocialgroups(e.
g.
,Tajfel1978;Turneretal.
1987).
Identifyingoneselfwithagroupcanprovidesocialsupportsuchthatdifcultornegativeexperiencesmaybebetterregulatedwhenonefeelslikeamemberofagroup(e.
g.
,Outtenetal.
2009).
Oneoftherstsocialpsychologicalstudiesofcomputer-mediatedcommunica-tion(CMC)analysedcommunicationpatternsincomputer-mediatedvs.
face-to-facesettings(Kiesleretal.
1984).
Theauthorsshowedthatparticipantsinteractedmoreequally(therewerefewerdominantindividuals)inCMCandsuggestedthat,becausedominanceandgroupinformationarelessvisibleovercomputer,computer-mediatedinteractionsmaybemoreequalandlessinuencedbyexistinggroupdifferences.
ThisquiteoptimisticviewofCMC–ofbreakingdownsocialbarriersandnorms–hasbeenquestionedbytheSocialIdentitymodelofDeindividuation206V.
Eicheretal.
Effects(SIDE;Reicheretal.
1995).
Here,anonymityanddeindividuationmakethesocialidentitymoresalientandthusprovokestrongrelianceonthenormsofthein-groupandarejectionoftheout-groupratherthanabreakdownofsocialbarriers(Postmesetal.
1998).
Thus,itappearsthattheanonymityofCMC,andthusofsocialnetworks,doesnoteliminateexistinggroupboundaries.
Rather,itleadstoanemphasisofsocialidentitythattransformsaninterpersonalinteractionintoanintergroupinteraction,thusre-establishingthegroupboundariesfoundinreallife.
SuchaviewissupportedbyastudyontheformationofgroupnormsinCMCcarriedoutoverseveralmonthsinthecontextofacomputerizedstatisticscourse(Postmesetal.
2006).
Inthisstudy,groupsofstudentsdifferedfromeachotherwithregardtolengthofmessages,timeframeofmessagesorthenumberofreferencestooneself,forinstance.
Analysingthemessagesovertime,theauthorsfoundthattheytendedtogetmoreprototypicalforeachgroupovertime,butonlyforcommunicationamonggroupmembers:Whenparticipantssentmessagestoanout-group,theirmessageswerenotprototypicalfortheirgroup.
AllofthesestudiespointtothesalienceofgroupidentitiesinCMCandsuggestsimilargroupeffectsinonlinesocialnetworks.
Wethereforeexaminetheroleofgroupidenticationinthecontextofonlinesocialnetworksandanalysewhetherthisidenticationhelpsindividualstocopewiththedemandsoflifetransitions.
1.
2OutlineoftheStudyMethodologyThepresentstudyonyouthtransitionsfollowsalongitudinalmixed-methodsdesignoveraperiodofatleast4yearsduringwhichparticipantsarecontactedonceayear.
Allparticipantsrstcompleteaquestionnaire,assessingabroadrangeofdifferenttypesofvulnerabilityandregulationstrategiesaswellastransitionalprojectsandlifecoursegoals.
Inthisquestionnaire,theyareaskedfortheiremailaddressandausernamefortheirregistrationtotheonlinesocialnetwork.
Forallparticipantswhoindicateanemailaddressauseraccountiscreatedintheonlinesocialnetworkofthestudy.
Besidestheanalysisoftheroleofcommunicationalexchangeandsocialidenticationinlifecourseregulation,thesocialnetworkisalsousedasawaytostayincontactwiththeparticipantsforthedurationofthestudy.
Finally,asmallsubgroupofparticipantsisselectedforin-depthinterviewsabouttheiruseofspecicregulationstrategies.
Weusethesedifferentmethodsofdatacollectiontoanswerdifferenttypesofresearchquestions,butalsotoadaptourmethodologyasmuchaspossibletocommonly-usedcommunicationchannelsofparticipants.
Theyareyoungadultsaged15–30yearswhoareinamoreorlessvulnerablepositionregardingtheirprofessionaltrajectory(i.
e.
,somealreadyhavestableemployment,whileothershavetroubleevenndinganapprenticeshipplace)andtheirlevelofeducation(rangingfromcompulsoryschoolingtouniversitydiploma).
Thenetworkmaythushelptoencourageparticipationbyyoungadultswhomaynotbeusedtocompletingquestionnairesandwritingtexts.
StudyingYouthTransitionsThroughaSocialNetwork:FirstImpressions2072OnlineSocialNetworksOnlinesocialnetworkshavebecomeincreasinglypopularamongyoungadultsasamethodofconnectingwithpeers.
Therstonlinesocialnetworkswerecreatedinthe1990sandbecameamassphenomenonduringthe2000swiththecreationofMySpace,Facebook,GoogleC,etc.
Today,themostwidelyusedonlinesocialnetwork,Facebook,hasmorethan900millionusers(rangingfrom5%ofthetotalpopulationinAfricato45%ofthetotalpopulationinNorthAmerica),halfofwhichlogineveryday(Socialbakers2012).
InSwitzerland,whereourstudywasconducted,approximately40%ofthepopulationhasaFacebookaccount,apercentagethatrisestomorethan75%amongyoungadults(16–34yearsold)(Socialbakers2012).
Thesestatisticssuggestattheveryleastawidespreaduseofcomputer-mediatedcommunicationstoolsamongyoungadults.
2.
1ReasonsforUsinganOnlineSocialNetworkinaStudyonYouthTransitionsTheassumptionthatamajorityofyoungadultsinSwitzerlandusesonlinesocialnetworkswasoneofthekeyreasonswhywedecidedtousethismethod.
Incontrasttostandardizedquestionnaires,anonlinenetworkwouldgiveparticipantstheopportunitytoexpressthemselvesviaamediatheyaresupposedlycomfortablewithandusedto.
Andasweareparticularlyinterestedinmorevulnerablepopulations,thisoptionseemedevenmoreimportant:Insteadoffrighteningoff(orboring)participantswithstandardizedquestions,wewantedtogivethemthepossibilitytoparticipateinthestudywiththemethodtheyoftenusetocommunicatewithothers.
Asecondmajorreasontouseanonlinesocialnetworkwasitsexibilityasamethodofdatacollection.
Participantscanusethenetworkwhenevertheywantforaslongastheywant.
Thispermitsacompletelyexibletimeschedulebothforparticipantsandforresearchers.
Participantscould'talk'abouttheirexperiencesassoonastheyhappeninsteadofseveralweeksormonthslater(whenresearchershappentocollectdata).
Thisimmediacymightminimizerecalleffects,whichareoftenparticularlystrongforemotionalexperiences(ThomasandDiener1990).
Thesamewaythatparticipantscanchoosefreelywhentousethenetwork,researcherscanusethenetworkexiblytoaskquestionsandstimulatediscussionsatdifferenttimepoints.
Theexibilityofnetworksisnotlimitedtothetemporalaspect,butalsoextendstotheformatofthedatacollection.
Researcherscanpostclosedandopen-endedquestions,inviteparticipantsforone-item-polls,invitediscussionsonspecictopicsandsoon.
Thenetworkthusoffersamoreexiblewaytostudydifferenttopicsthanquestionnairesandinterviewstypicallyallow.
Athirdadvantageoftheonlinesocialnetworkistheeaseofcontactingthepar-ticipants.
Ourparticipantsareyoungadultswhoexperiencemanylifetransitions,likestartinganewschoolorjob,movingoutoftheparentalhomeormovingin208V.
Eicheretal.
withapartnerorfriends.
Thisperiodinlifeisthusmarkedbymanychanges,whichcanmakeitmoredifculttostayincontactwithparticipants.
Byusingparticipants'emailaddresstocreateanaccountonanonlinesocialnetwork,participantscouldbecontactedindependentlyofemploymentchangesormovinghouse.
Ifparticipantschangetheiremailaddress,theycanadaptthisintheiruseraccount,makingthecontinuityoftheaccountpotentiallyindependentofchangesinpeople'slives.
Anotherreasonthatledtothedecisionofthecreationofanonlinesocialnetworkwastoincreasethedelityofparticipantsoverthecourseofthestudy.
Throughanonlinesocialnetworkwehopedtobeabletostayincontactwiththem,sotheywouldnothaveforgottenaboutthestudybythetimetheywerenextcontacted.
Additionally,wewantedtoincreaseidenticationwithourstudythroughdirectinteractionwithparticipants,astrategyalsointendedtodecreaseattritionrates.
2.
2ReasonsforCreatingaNewOnlineSocialNetworkInordertobuildastrongstudyidentityforourstudy,wewantedtocreateanewonlinesocialnetworkforwhichwewereabletodecidethelayoutandthefunctionsandconnectitwithapublicwebsiteforthestudy.
Thenewnetworkwouldbecloselylinkedtoourstudyandbyusingthenetwork,participantswouldalsoidentifywiththestudyitself,thusensuringcontinuousparticipation.
Thesecondmajorreasonforcreatinganewnetworkwastohaveanetworkthatisexclusivetotheparticipantsinourstudy.
Allparticipantsenterthenetworkwithoutpreviousandoutsidecontactsandcanfocussolelyonotherparticipantsofthestudy.
Inexistingnetworks,peoplearealreadyconnectedwithotherpeopleandoftenhavealreadydevelopedaspecicbehaviouralpatternonhowtousethenetwork.
Bycreatinganewnetwork,wewouldbeabletogiveallparticipantsthesame'startingpoint'andcouldalsoanalyserelevantbehavioursofco-regulationthatwouldhavebeendifculttostudyinanexistingnetwork(e.
g.
,newlyformedconnectionsbetweenindividuals,creationofgroupsaroundspecictopics).
Analreasonfornotrelyingonanexistingnetworkrelatestodataprivacy.
Ifwehadintegratedthestudywithinanexistingnetwork,itwouldnothavebeenpossibletoguaranteeparticipantstheprivacyoftheirdata,asitwouldbeownedbythespecicnetwork.
Bycreatingourownnetwork,weareabletoensurethatparticipants'dataisnotusedforcommercialpurposesandissolelyusedforresearchpurposeswithintheresearchgroup.
3TheOnlineSocialNetwork"ProjetExpériences"Inthissection,wepresenttheonlinesocialnetworkcreatedforthepurposesofthepresentstudy,named"ProjetExpériences".
First,wedescribetheconcretedecisionsandstepswetookinthecreationofthenetwork.
Then,wegiveanoverviewoverStudyingYouthTransitionsThroughaSocialNetwork:FirstImpressions209someofthefunctionsofthenetworkandindicatehowtheyrelatetoourresearchquestions.
Inathirdsubsection,weshowrstresultsbasedon365participants.
Finally,weconcludewiththedifcultiesfacedinthecreationandmaintenanceofthenetwork.
3.
1BuildingtheNetwork:Steps,Choices,andDifcultiesVariousfunctionalgoalsdeterminedtheplanningandtheconstructionofthenetwork.
Wewantedtobeabletopostclosedandopen-endedquestionsandshortpolls(i.
e.
,exibilityofdatacollection),contactparticipantseasilythroughawebsiteandnewsletters(i.
e.
,easeofaccesstoparticipants)andcontrolaccesstothenetwork(dataprivacy).
Accesscontrolwasalsointendedtolinkthenetworkcloselytothestudyandthusstrengthenidenticationwithit.
Additionally,tostudyourresearchquestions,weneededtocreateaplatform,whereparticipantscouldposttextsandmediacontents(e.
g.
,pictures,videos,music)toeveryoneorjusttheresearchteam,aswellasinteractwithotherusersonlinethroughfriendshipconnectionsandexchangeprivateandpublicmessages.
Finally,wewantedthenetworktobesimilartoexistingnetworkssothatparticipantswouldfeelcomfortableandexperiencedinusingit.
Westartedexploringthedifferentpossibilitiesforcreatingasocialnetworkingplatform,inspiredbythefeaturesofthemostpopularexistingones(FacebookandTwitter).
Givingthecurrentsuccessofonlinecommunities,manyContentManage-mentSystems(CMS)arefreelyavailableontheinternet.
CMSareapplicationsprovidingtoolsforcreating,editing,andpublishingwebcontentfornon-expertusers(amongthemostusedCMSsareDrupal,Joomla,andWordpress).
Themaindifcultywastocompareandchoosebetweenthedifferentoptions,astherearemanydifferentapplicationsandplug-ins(softwarecomponentsthataddspecicfunctions)anditthustakestimetoexploretheadvantages,compatibilityandperformanceofeachone.
TogetherwiththeITteamoftheuniversityofLausanne,wedecidedtouseWordpress,astheITcentrealreadyhadexperiencewiththemust-haveplug-insforthisCMSandwasreadytocollaborateintheconstructionofthenetwork.
3.
2BuildingOurOnlineSocialNetworkUsingWordpressWordpressisafreeandopen-sourcesoftwareallowingthecreationofblogsandwebsites.
Withthemultitudeofplug-insavailable,Wordpressisalsoabletotransformawebsiteintoarealnetwork.
WemadesurethatallthefeatureswewantedwerepossiblewiththisCMSandcheckedwiththeITteamthatwehadthenecessarysystemrequirementstouseit.
BeforeinstallingWordPress,wehadtodeneourdomainnameandregisteritonadomainregistrationwebsite210V.
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(e.
g.
,GoDaddy).
Thedomainnameshouldreectthecontentofthewebsite,beeasytorememberandofcoursebeavailable.
Asourprojectwasinterestedinyoungpeople'slifeexperiences,wechose"ProjetExperiences.
ch"(i.
e.
,projectexperiences).
Aswewantedtoincludesocialnetworkingfeaturesinadditiontosimpleblogs,weinstalledBuddypress,apowerfulplug-inforWordpressthatenablesparticipantstointeractwitheachotherandtransformsWordpressintoasocialnetworkplatform.
Beforewecustomizedourwebsiteandsocialnetwork,wechoseathemethathandlesthelayoutofthesiteanditscontentanddeterminesthefeaturesavailableontheplatform.
Wechose"Buddypresssocial"asitallowsustodisplaydifferentpagestouserswhoaresignedinversusotherswhoarenot.
Thisway,wewereabletomakethedescriptionandresultsofourprojectpublictoallvisitors,whilerestrainingthesocialnetworkpart(e.
g.
,prolesandactivitiesofparticipants)tologgedusers.
Thisthemeallowsadditionalinteractionfeatureslikedisplayingthemostcommentedpostsandthemostpopulargroups,improvingtheinteractiveexperienceofthenetwork.
Theonlydisadvantageofthisthemeisthatitisnotfree(around$100peryear).
Afterinstallingthetheme,wecreatedthedifferentpagesofourpublicwebsite,whichisvisibletoeveryonewithoutregistration.
Onthispublicwebsite,wedescribeourproject,presenttheresearchteamandgiveregularupdatesontheresultsoftheproject.
Wealsopresentthesocialnetworkandshortlydescribeitsmainfunctionsanduses.
Onthispublicwebsite,wealsosuggestacalendarwithregionaleventsthatcouldbeofinteresttoourparticipants.
Finally,weofferthem"Usefullinks",alistofrelevantwebsites(associative,informative,pedagogicalorpreventive)thatmaybeusefulforeducation,hobbiesorhealth.
Afterthispublic,andmoreclassic,partoftheplatform,wecustomizedthenetworkusingBuddypressplug-ins.
3.
2.
1Functions(andRelatedPlug-Ins)Buddypressisanelaborateplug-inwithmanyfeaturesthatcanbeindividuallyactivated.
WeoutlinethedifferentfunctionsanddescribethefeaturesofBuddypressrequiredforeachfunction.
Participantscanupdatetheirproleusingavarietyofcategories,likefavouritelmsandbooks,andtheycanalsogiveabriefdescriptionofthemselves.
Theprolecangiveinterestinginformationonhowtheparticipantsdenethemselvesandiftheyidentifywithspecicgroups(e.
g.
,describingthemselvesasanapprenticeoremployeeataspeciccompany).
Thisfunctionispossiblewiththefeature"ExtendedProles".
Theuserscanmakefriendconnectionsbyaskingotheruserstobetheirfriends.
Theseconnectionsareespeciallyimportantforourresearchquestionongroupidenticationaswecaninvestigateifpeoplemakeconnectionssolelywithintheirgroup(e.
g.
,employeesatacompany)oriftheytrytoenlargetheirnetworkbyconnectingwithparticipantsfromothergroups.
Thisfunctionisenabledbythefeature"Friends".
StudyingYouthTransitionsThroughaSocialNetwork:FirstImpressions211Theuserscanposttexts,links,picturesorvideostheywanttosharewithothermembersofthenetworkandtheiractivitiesarethendisplayedonthenetworkforothermemberstosee.
Thisfunctioniscentraltoourresearchasitallowsparticipantstoexpressthemselvesontheirday-to-day-life,butalsoonspecicexperiences.
Additionally,theycanchoosetocommentonpostsofotherparticipants,whichisinterestinginthecontextofsharedexperiences:Doparticipantscommentbysharingsimilarexperiences,offeradvice,givefeedback,ordonotrespondatallThefeature"Activitystream"allowsthedisplayofrecentactivitiesofeachmember,whileanadditionalplug-in"BuddypressActivityPlus"allowssharinglinks,pictures,andvideos.
Inadditiontopostingpublictexts,participantscansendpersonalmessagestootherusersdirectly,whichonlytheycansee(likeemails).
Thisfunctionispossiblewiththefeature"Privatemessaging".
Finally,participantscancreateandjoingroupsbasedonspecictopicsthatmayinterestthem.
Thisfunctionisalsocentralforourresearchasparticipantscanwriteordiscussabouttopicsthatmaybeofspecicconcerntothematthattime(e.
g.
,theirapprenticeship,theirboss,theirrelationships).
Weareinterestedtoseeifpeoplewilldiscussabouttheirexperiencesregardingspecictopicsandifso,howthisdiscussionwilldevelop:Willpeopleactivelyencourageeachotherorgiveadviceorwilltheypassivelytelltheirownexperienceswhilenotengaginginadiscussionwithothers.
Additionally,itwillbeinterestingtoseeifthelanguageusedinsuchgroups(e.
g.
,positivevs.
negative"atmosphere",abbreviations,longervs.
shortertexts)willbedifferentfromgrouptogroup(similarlytotheemergenceofnormsinthestatisticscoursebyPostmesetal.
2006).
Nexttothesepublicgroups,participantscanalsocreateprivategroups,whichareonlyvisibletotheparticipantandtheresearchteam.
Here,participantscantalkaboutprivateexperiencesoruseitasadiarytodocumenttheireverydaylifeandevents.
Thisnalfunctionisenabledthroughthefeature"Groups".
Theseplug-insandfeaturesareintegratedintheBuddypresspackageandaremostlydesignedtoenrichtheinterpersonalandintergroupinteractions,whichwasoneofourpriorities.
Tofacilitatethemanagementofournetworkweinstalledthefollowingadditionalplug-ins,testedthemandcheckedtheircompatibilitywithourBuddyPresstheme:"AddNewUsers"(facilitatestheadditionofnewusersandattributionofdifferentroles,e.
g.
,subscriberforparticipants,administratorforresearchteam),"ContactForm7"(allowsthecreationofcontactformssoparticipantsandpeopleinterestedonourprojectcaneasilycontactus),"WP-polls"(enablesthecreationofquickpollsonspecictopics),"BPRedirecttoproleforBuddypress"(redirectsuserstotheirproleandactivity-pagewhentheylogin),and"WysijaNewsletters"(allowsthedesignandcreationofnewslettersandmakesitpossibletoimportandmanageourlistofparticipants).
Finally,weincluded"Connectionattemptslimit"toincreasethesecurityofournetwork:Withthisplug-in,wepreventindividualsorarobotfrommakingunlimitedloginattempts,makingthenetworkmoresecureagainstattacksfromoutsiders.
212V.
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3.
2.
2NetworkPreparationandMaintenanceBeforeregisteringtherstusersonournetwork,wecreatedseveralgroupsontopicswhichwethoughtmightberelevanttoparticipantsandwouldbeinterestingforustocollectdata(e.
g.
,myapprenticeship,myboss,myworries,myprojects,feelinglonely).
Wewantedparticipantstojointhesegroups,talkabouttheirexperiencesinthesedifferentdomainsanddiscussthemwitheachother.
Wewereinterestedtoseehowparticipantswouldtalkabouttheirexperiences,howtheywouldinterpretthem,butalsohowotheruserswouldreact(e.
g.
,bysharingtheirownexperiencesorofferingtheiradvice).
Nexttotheseresearch-relevanttopics,wealsocreatedseveralgroupsaroundleisure-orientedtopicstomotivateparticipantstojointhegroupsanddiscussions(e.
g.
,music,sports,news,festivals,vacations).
Thesegroupsarenotprimarilythefocusofdatacollection,butwereintendedtogiveparticipantsthepossibilitytoexchangeonlesssensitivetopicsandtostrengthentheirdelitytothenetworkandthestudy.
Oncethenetworkwasinuse,wesentoutnewsletterstoinformparticipantsaboutnewresultsofthestudyonthewebsiteandtoannouncethecreationofnewgroups.
Wetherebywantedtoremindparticipantsofthenetworkandthestudyandhopedtomotivatethemtologinbyaskingspecicquestions.
Finally,weorganisedrafes(e.
g.
,ticketsforthemovietheatre)tofurthermotivateourparticipantstousethenetwork.
Withrespecttoourroleasresearchersonthenetwork,allofthemembersoftheresearchteamhadauseraccountwiththeirrstnameandthemention"researchteam"inparentheses(e.
g.
,Mouna(researchteam)).
Assuch,wewerereadilyidentiablebytheparticipantsasmembersoftheresearchteam.
Weupdatedourproleandsometimespostedcommentsingroupstostimulatethediscussion.
Wecouldparticipateindiscussions,butdidnotwanttoexplicitlymoderatethediscussionsbetweenparticipants.
3.
3SomeResultsRegardingtheUseoftheNetworkThissectionpresentssomepreliminaryresultsoftheuseofthenetwork.
Theresultsarebasedonparticipantsrecruitedfromtwoinstitutions:The"CentreforProfessionalFormationandOrientation"(CPFO)andthe"MunicipalityofLausanne"(MOL).
TheCPFOisacentreforyoungadultswhohavedifcultiesndinganapprenticeshipplaceorwhodonotknowyetwhattypeofapprenticeshiptheywouldliketodo.
Participantsfromthisinstitutionarethusparticularlyvulnerableregardingtheirprofessionaltrajectory.
TheMOL,incontrast,waschosentogetacomparisongroupofapprentices,aswellasyoungemployees,whoarewellintegratedintothelabourmarket.
Wewerethusabletorecruitparticipantsatdifferentstagesoftheirprofessionaldevelopment.
StudyingYouthTransitionsThroughaSocialNetwork:FirstImpressions2133.
3.
1ParticipantsandProcedureParticipantsfromtheCPFOwereeitherpre-apprenticesorapprentices,andthosefromtheMOLeitherapprenticesoryoungemployeesaged16–30.
Thesefourgroupsofparticipantsdifferedwithregardtotheirprofessionalsituation.
TheemployeesfromtheMOLwereinstableemploymentwithlittlejobinsecurity.
Incontrasttotheemployees,theapprenticesfromtheMOLmaynotbeemployedbytheMOLafterwards,buttheirapprenticeshipatthisinstitutionislikelytogivethemgoodprospectsfortheirjobsearchaftertheapprenticeship.
TheapprenticesfromtheCPFOwereunabletondanapprenticeshipwithinacompanyandwerethuslessintegratedinthejobmarketthantheircounterpartsfromtheMOL.
Finally,thepre-apprenticesfromtheCPFOhadusuallynotyetchosentheirspecicprofessionaltrackyetorhadtroublendinganapprenticeship.
Thesefourgroupsthusdifferwithrespecttotheirpresentprofessionalsituation,butalsointheirprospectsforndingastableemploymentinthefuture.
AttheCPFO,membersoftheresearchteampersonallypresentedthestudywithashortdescriptionofitsgoalsandthedifferentmethodsofparticipationtothepre-apprenticesandapprenticesduringoneoftheircourses.
Thewebsiteandnetworkwasalsobrieyshowntoparticipants,alongwithsomeofitsfunctions.
Allofthepre-apprenticesandapprenticeswhoattendedthepresentationcompletedthequestionnaire,buttherateofcourseabsenteeismwashigh(51.
7%forpre-apprentices,31.
9%forapprentices).
AttheMOL,participantswerecontactedwithaletterdescribingthestudyandindicatingthewebsiteofthestudyforfurtherinformation,aswellasaquestionnairewithareturnenvelope.
28.
9%oftheapprenticesand28.
7%oftheemployeescompletedthequestionnaire.
Table1indicatesthesocio-demographiccharacteristicsofthesampleofpeoplewhocompletedtherstquestionnaire.
3.
3.
2MeasuresThequestionnaireincludedquestionsonregulationstrategiesanddifferenttypesofvulnerability,aswellasactivitiesofyoungadults.
Onlythemeasuresusedinthischapterwillbepresentedhere.
Table1Means,standarddeviationsandpercentagesofsocio-demographicvariablesofthesamplethatcompletedtherstquestionnaireCPFOMOLPre-apprenticesApprenticesApprenticesEmployeesTotalAge:M(SD)16.
68(0.
85)19.
35(1.
83)19.
07(2.
91)26:42.
2:34/22.
24(4.
61)Men:%62.
160.
863.
647:455.
1Swiss:%43.
953.
278.
289:072.
7N587955173365214V.
Eicheretal.
Discriminationwasassessedwithoneitem,whichwasadaptedfromtheEuropeanSocialSurvey:"Areyoumemberofagroup,whichyoubelieveistreatedlesswellthanothergroupsinSwitzerland"Answeroptionswereyes(1)orno(0).
FinancialworrieswereassessedwithtwoitemsfromtheLIVESDailyStressInventory(Morsellietal.
2014).
Participantsreportedtowhatdegreetheywereworriedaboutnothavingenoughmoneytocovertheirlivingexpenses(e.
g.
,payingrentandbills)orneedingnancialaid(e.
g.
,unemploymentbenets,socialaid).
Theitemshadtoberatedonascalefrom1(itdoesnotworrymeatall)to4(itworriesmealot).
RelationalworrieswereassessedwithtwoitemsfromtheLIVESDailyStressInventory(Morsellietal.
2014).
Participantsindicatedtowhatextenttheywereworriedaboutbeingaloneorofhavingconictswithfamilymembersonthesame4-point-scaleasbefore.
Self-esteemwasassessedwithveitemsfromtheRosenberg(1965)Self-Esteemscale,whichhadtoberatedona6-pointscaleof1(notatall)to6(absolutely).
Oneexampleitemwas"Onthewhole,Iamsatisedwithmyself".
LackofcontrolwasassessedwithoneitemfromthePerceivedStressScale(Cohenetal.
1983),whichhadtoberatedona6-pointscaleof1(notatall)to6(absolutely):"IfeelthatIamunabletocontroltheimportantthingsinmylife".
Internetuseandcomputeraccess.
Inadditiontothesepsychologicalquestions,participantswereaskedabouttheiruseofinternetandcomputerresources.
TheywereaskedwhattheydidontheInternetandcouldselectmultipleanswers:(1)readandwriteemails,(2)participateonanonlinesocialnetwork,and(3)surfonwebsites.
Additionally,theywereaskedhowoftentheyusetheInternetonthefollowing5-pointscale:0(neveroralmostnever),1(severaltimespermonth),2(severaltimesperweek),3(everyday),and4(severaltimesperday).
Finally,theywereaskedwhethertheypossessedorhadeasyaccesstoacomputerand/orasmartphone.
3.
3.
3WhoHasanOnlineAccountInarstquestionnaire,weaskedallparticipantstoindicatetheirnameandcontactdetails(i.
e.
,postalandemailaddress)tobeabletocontactthemagain.
Additionally,weaskedthemtoprovideausernamefortheonlinesocialnetwork.
Ofthe365participantscompletingthequestionnaire,280participants(76.
7%)indicatedavalidemailaddresssothatwewereabletocreateanaccountforeachofthem.
Inordertodeterminewhoismoreorlesslikelytoprovideavalidemailaddress,weranalogisticregressionanalysisincludingsocio-demographicvariablesinarststepandcomputerandinternetuseinasecondstep.
Inanalstepweincludedthedifferenttypesofvulnerabilitydiscussedintheintroduction.
Asourstudyfocusesonvulnerability,itisimportanttoknowwhetherourmethodologyisadaptedtoourparticipantsorif–onthecontrary–themostvulnerableparticipantsdecidenottoparticipateinthesocialnetwork.
Werantheseanalyseswiththeentiresample(ND365participants).
StudyingYouthTransitionsThroughaSocialNetwork:FirstImpressions215Table2Means,standarddeviationsandpercentagesofcomputeruseandvulnerabilitiesofthewholesample(ND365)CPFOMOLPre-apprenticesApprenticesApprenticesEmployeesTotalAccesstoComputer(%)93.
187.
296.
498.
394.
8Smartphone(%)41.
450.
076.
475.
664.
7InternetuseEmails(%)57.
957.
787.
391.
378.
2Socialnetwork(%)80.
780.
889.
175.
679.
6Surng(%)73.
776.
990.
794.
887.
0Frequency(0–4)2.
85(1.
06)2.
96(0.
97)3.
41(0.
78)3.
47(0.
69)3.
25(0.
87)VulnerabilityExternalDiscrimination(%)26.
811.
318.
230.
824.
3Financialworries(1–4)2.
24(0.
88)2.
45(0.
79)2.
34(0.
82)2.
14(0.
81)2.
25(0.
82)InternalRelationalworries(1–4)2.
11(0.
98)2.
08(0.
93)2.
35(0.
89)2.
15(0.
90)2.
16(0.
92)Self-esteem(1–6)4.
63(0.
99)4.
75(0.
93)4.
43(0.
79)4.
57(0.
71)4.
60(0.
82)Lackofcontrol(1–6)2.
61(1.
42)2.
63(1.
47)2.
27(1.
25)2.
30(1.
29)2.
41(1.
35)Table2presentsthemeansandstandarddeviationsandpercentagesofcomputerandInternetuse,aswellasofthedifferentvulnerabilitytypes.
Table3showstheresultsofthelogisticregressionanalysisontheindicationofavalidemailaddress.
Thelargemajorityoftheparticipantsownsacomputerorhaseasyaccesstoone,withemployeesfromtheMOLbeingmorelikelytohaveonethanapprenticesfromtheCPFO(X2(3)D13.
88,pD0.
003).
ParticipantsfromtheMOLweremorelikelytoownasmartphonethanparticipantsintheCPFO(X2(3)D33.
40,pBuddypressspecically,aredevelopedfornon-experts,usersstillneedtoinvesttimeandefforttomakesuchanetworkwork.
Theutilityofallthefeaturesandplug-ins,aswellastheircompatibilitywitheachother,needtobetestedandre-tested.
Beforegoingonline,wedidapilotstudywitharound50colleaguestoseeifthenetworkandallthefunctionswouldworkastheyshould.
Nowthatthenetworkisonline,westillneedtoupdatethesoftwareanditsplug-insregularlytoensuretheeffectivefunctioningofthewebsite.
Timeisalsoneededfortheregularupdateofthenetworkandwebsite.
Thecalendarofregionaleventsneedstobeupdatedeveryfewweeksandwetrytocreatenewgroupsaroundcurrenttopicstokeepparticipantsinterested.
StudyingYouthTransitionsThroughaSocialNetwork:FirstImpressions2194ConclusionandFutureDirectionsTherecanonlybeoneconclusionwithrespecttotheuseofnewlycreatedsocialnetworksforresearchpurposes,anditisratherdisappointing:Itisexceedinglydifculttoattractparticipantstologinandthentousethenetwork,nottomentiontobringthemtocontributetothenetworkonaregularbasisandtointeractwithothersinascienticallyexploitableway.
Withhindsight,itmaywellbethatasresearcherswewereoverlyoptimisticnottosayblindedbythescienticpossibilitiesofanetworkandatthesametimenotsensitiveenoughtoreal-lifeconstraintsofyoungadults.
Ormoresimply,theexpectationsofresearcherswerefundamentallyincompatiblewiththeeverydaymotivationsofparticipants.
Wehavetheimpressionwedideverythingwecouldinordertosetupanattractiveandfunctionalnetworkonlytoobservethatitdidnotmakemuchofadifference.
Thisoutcomejustseemstoshowthatsuccessfulimplementationsof"high-tech"solutionstostudysocialscienceproblemsrequireatremendousamountofpreparation,organisationandcommunication,andthusfunding.
Butnoteverythingislost.
Thereareseveralpossibilitiesthatcouldmakethenetworkmoreattractivetoyoungadults.
First,withthenecessaryfunding,itwouldbepossibletonanciallycompensateactiveparticipationinthenetworkaccordingtoclearguidelines,therebypotentiallycreatingaself-sustainingdynamicwithinthenetwork.
Second,thenetworkcouldbeopenedtothepublicatlargesothattheparticipantsofourstudycouldalsocommunicatewiththeirfriendsorotherpersonswhodonotparticipateinthestudy.
Thiswouldmakethenetworkevenmoresimilartotheusualsocialnetworkswiththeadvantage,however,thatwewouldmaintaindataprivacy.
Openingupthenetworkcouldalsoleadtoatransformationofthewebsiteintoanetworkonlifetransitionsingeneralwhereindividualscouldsharetheirexperiencesandlifeevents.
Websites,whichfollowasimilarprocedurearewww.
experienceproject.
comandwww.
microaggressions.
comforinstance,whichareregularlyvisitedbypeopleallovertheworldto"talk"abouttheireverydayexperiences.
Third,wemightfocusthenetworkontopicsthataremostrelevanttoourparticipants.
Forinstance,wecouldfocusontopicslikendinganapprenticeshippositionforpre-apprentices,thuscreatingaplatformthathasalsopracticalinsteadofonlyscienticgoals.
Suchanetworkwouldmaybealsosendamessagetoparticipantsthattheresearchteamissensitivetoissuesofconcernforparticipants.
Wearepresentlyevaluatingthesedifferentoptionsaimedatreinventingthenetwork.
Thefuturewillshowwhetherthesechangesresultinadifferentuserbehaviouramongyoungparticipants,thusmakingitpossibletoaddressouroriginalresearchquestions.
220V.
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