Background on Social Networking Sites

MySpace:

The Beginning of Social Networking for Young People

• Founded by University of California graduates Tom Anderson and Chris DeWolfe
• Purpose: to create "an online social-networking community in which teens are encouraged to meet, communicate, and share personal information and pictures" (Kelsey, 2007, p. xiii).

Communication is key. Adolescents have history of using the Internet to communicate--first through e-mail, instant messaging and gaming websites--until social networking and virtual communities appeared.

(Rosen, 2007, p. 3)

Facebook:

The Continuation of Social Networking for Young People

• Created for college student networking in early 2004--launched by Mark Zuckerberg, Dustin Moskovitz, Chris Hughes, and Eduardo Saverin (Press Room, 2011).
• Expanded 149% between Feb. 2008 and Feb. 2009 alone (Rethlefsen, 2009, p. 49).
• More than 750 million users as of July 2011 (Press Room, 2011).

The Anatomy of a Facebook Profile