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Uses and perceptions of Tuenti and Facebook among students from the University of the Basque Country Sergio Monge-Benito, Ph.D. - Professor at the Department of Audiovisual Communication and Advertising University of the Basque Country (Basque - Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea) sergio.monge@ehu.es María Elena Olabarri-Fernández, Ph.D. - Professor at the Department of Audiovisual Communication and Advertising University of the Basque Country (Basque - Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea) mariaelena.olabarri@ehu.es Abstract: Previous studies about social networks have provided information about their penetration, frequency of use, and importance across the different sectors of the population. Nevertheless, these studies have ignored some more specific questions. This analysis intends to fill the gap left by commercial research and focuses on a strategic public: the university students who will become the future professionals. Based on several focus groups and a survey applied to more than 650 university students, this article analyses students’ perceptions of the two leading social networks in Spain (Tuenti and Facebook), students’ knowledge about the legal conditions of use of these networks, and the activities they do while connected to those sites. The results show that the two social networks have very different brand images among students, that there is a great ignorance among students about the legal conditions of use of the networks, and that students’ consumption habits are based on multitasking and include activities related to television. Keywords: social networks; Tuenti; Facebook; university students; uses; brand image. Summary: 1. Introduction. 2. Methodology. 2.1. Sample. 3. Results. 3.1. The image of Tuenti and Facebook. 3.2. Knowledge about the terms of use. 3.3. Multitasking, television and the use of social networks. 3.4. Microsoft Messenger and instant communication. 4. Conclusions. 5. Bibliographic reference. Translation by Cruz Alberto Martínez-Arcos 1. Introduction The results of this article are part of the research project entitled “University students and social networks, new online relationships dynamics” funded by the University of the Basque Country (reference number EHU10/17).
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This project has already investigated how the media have already tried to use social networks (Noguera, 2010), what new professional profiles and changes are they producing (Flores-Vivar, 2009), how are their models being transformed (Campos, 2008), what media representations they generate (Bacallao Pino, 2010) and the reasons why Facebook has a greater growth than Tuenti (García, 2010). Although few years ago we wondered whether the social networks would be a temporary phenomenon or a significant change in the way people communicate (Fernández, 2008), today nobody doubts that these tools are here to stay and are becoming increasingly important in the way we communicate. This is especially true about the youngest segment of the population. Social networks have experienced a considerable growth in Spain in the past two years, especially the two leaders: Tuenti and Facebook. According to the Observatory of The Cocktail Analysis (2008, 2010), between 2008 and 2009 the use of Tuenti increased from 12% to 33% and of Facebook from 13% to 64%, among Spanish Internet users. In view of the data, it seems that Facebook has become the leading social network in Spain. However, these numbers hide a more complex reality because according to the second of these studies (The Cocktail Analysis, 2010:14) the penetration level of Tuenti in young people aged 16 to 25 years is over 85%. Advertising professionals should be aware of this figure. The youngest population segment are the early adopters of the social networks but also the first population group that is building relationships dynamics in coexistence with them. It is predictable that during these early years we will witness the emergence of trends of use and perceptions that will mark the development of the medium. Therefore, our analysis will focus on the relationship between university students and the social networks. University students are part of this group of early adopters (Facebook began as an exclusively university network), show a high degree of Internet use, and are relatively accessible for this type of research. One of the issues we are concerned about is that the two leading social networks, Tuenti and Facebook, are quite similar in terms of functionality and general purpose. What differences do young people find between them? Do students have different images of each social network? And in what sense? This article aims to provide an outline of the main characteristics that university students attribute to the two networks and tries to demonstrate that each one has a very different brand image (Aaker, 1996). A previous study analysing the brand associations of the different networks (Zed Digital, 2008: 48-52) among the Internet user population found that Facebook was perceived as more international, more adult, more serious, more represented in the media, and with a more promising future. In contrast, Tuenti’s image was perceived as more playful, less original, more oriented to teens and more national. This previous study refers to the Internet user population in general, while our research will focus on a specific segment: university students, mainly between 18 to 23 years of age. The secondary sources suggest that young http://www.revistalatinacs.org/11/art/925_UPV/04_MongeEN.html
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people, in general, prefer Tuenti, while the most positive associations (International, with promising future) correspond to its competitor. We believe that it may be interesting to further explore the rest of the perceptions towards each of the networks It would be quite bold to attempt to correlate directly certain brand associations with the success of one or another social network, because the success of these networks depends on many other elements that are difficult to isolate: alliances with other media, human resources, the management of their user database, etc. Thus, this article aims to offer an overview of the image of the two social networks among students, since differentiation is one of the elements that give value to a brand and allow it to compete in the market (Aaker, 1996b). On the other hand, we obtained certain information about the use of social networks from various secondary sources. We know that the percentage of users that connects to them daily is very high, between 61% (IAB, 2009: 8) and 55% (The Cocktail Analysis, 2010: 7). Based on these figures we can conclude that the networks are very frequently used. The main motivations for using social networks are (The Cocktail Analysis, 2010: 21): keeping in touch with friends and acquaintances (61%), entertainment (51%), finding old friends or acquaintances (36%), obtaining information about parties or events (28%), and making new friends (20%). However, there are more questions about the intensity and forms of use that are not answered in recent studies, especially regarding the multitasking consumption of the networks. Do young people do other activities while connected to their favourite social networks? What activities? We are particularly interested on whether the networks share their time with television and how this overlap occurs. The fourth report of the study entitled Televidente 2.0 (The Cocktail Analysis, 2010b: 3739) offers some data on the social networks and television. For instance, this study indicates that 35% of Internet users stated that they "frequently" or "occasionally" comment on the social networks about what they are watching on television. Can the social networks be fostering a new type of interactivity in television consumption? Will this interactivity be more intense among university students, as early adopters, than in the rest of Internet users? Another issue that generates some concern is the extent to what young people are aware of the legal conditions of use of the social networks. The conditions governing the reproduction rights of the contents (photos, comments, etc.) uploaded by users are especially critical, since they regulate such popular activities as sharing photos. The terms of use are similar in both networks although with subtle differences. Facebook’s terms of use (2010) explain the following with regards to content: “You grant us a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use any IP content that you post on or in connection with Facebook ("IP http://www.revistalatinacs.org/11/art/925_UPV/04_MongeEN.html
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License"). This IP License ends when you delete your IP content or your account unless your content has been shared with others, and they have not deleted it�. On the other hand, Tuenti states the following in its terms of use (Tuenti, 2010): “By publishing contents on your profile -photos, files, texts, videos, sounds, drawings, logos or any other material- you retain all your rights over them and grant TUENTI a limited license to reproduce and publicly announce them, to add information and transform them, in order to adapt them to the technical requirements of the service. This authorization is global, non-exclusive (meaning you can grant another license over your content to any person or entity, in addition to TUENTI), for as long as you keep your existing profile and for the sole and exclusive purpose that TUENTI can provide the service in the terms explained in these terms of use." In both cases, the user retains the rights on all the material uploaded to the social networks but gives non-exclusive reproduction rights to the companies. In the case of Facebook, the user also gives the company the possibility of transferring such reproduction rights to third parties. At Tuenti, that possibility is not specified but its terms of use make very clear in other sections that the data provided by the user can be used to send advertisement as part of the service. How aware are students about this norm and the rights they retained over their content? Have students read the terms of use of the social networks they use? If they have not done so, do they know what legal conditions regulate the services provided by the networks? Finally, the last aspect to be explored refers to a very specific function of the social networks. We examine whether the recent implementation of chat functionalities on social networks is replacing the traditional agents of IM, such as Microsoft Messenger (the market leader). Are social networks replacing the Instant Messaging applications as the main providers of permanent communication with friends? Both Facebook and Tuenti have chat applications that allow users to know when their friends are connected and to talk with them in real time. The secondary sources indicate that instant messaging and social networks have very similar frequencies of use (The Cocktail Analysis, 2010: 7-8):
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Daily
Several times per week
At least once per week
At least once a month
Less frequently
Instant Messaging
56%
19%
9%
6%
8%
Social networks
55%
16%
9%
4%
9%
The two systems have with a similar frequency of use, but the social networks offer all the basic features of instant messaging (excluding, for example, file sharing) so it is reasonable to think that they will end up cannibalizing those communication spaces. Our research expects to confirm this. Therefore, we could articulate the hypothesis of this research in the following way: 1. University students have different perceptions about the characteristics of Facebook and Tuenti (e.g. about the age of their users, immediacy, professionalism, privacy, etc.). 2. University students do not read the terms of use of the service of the networks social. a. University students are unaware of the legal boundaries applying to the content they publish on the social networks. 3. University students connect to social networks while performing other activities. b. Social networks promote the consumption of television by giving users a channel of real-time interaction to compare or discuss with friends/contacts what they are watching. 4. The chat in Facebook and Tuenti is replacing traditional Instant Messaging applications (Microsoft Messenger) as providers of simultaneous communication through the Internet. 2. Methodology This study is based on a combined qualitative and quantitative methodology. Firstly, two focus groups were conducted to ensure that the researchers shared the same terminology and perspectives with the subjects of study. The focus groups also gave us the opportunity to address the issues under study from a more open perspective. The results section includes some quotes obtained in these focus groups. The focus groups were conducted on 8 and 23 February of 2010 and each involved 5 students from the University of the Basque Country. The sample selection responded to an equal distribution of males and females, and first-year and second-year students (which http://www.revistalatinacs.org/11/art/925_UPV/04_MongeEN.html
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influences age). Participants were coursing different bachelor’s communication degrees (Journalism, Advertising and Audiovisual Communication). There was no significant difference in the data obtained in both groups, and thus it was decided to continue with the next phase. Taking into account the qualitative information obtained from the two focus groups, a questionnaire was prepared and emailed to students of three faculties of the University of the Basque Country: the Faculty of Social Sciences and Communication; the Faculty of Science and Technology, and the School of Advanced Engineering (Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería). The data collection took place in June 2010. After eliminating incomplete surveys, 652 valid surveys were examined through an electronic method. 2.1. Sample Of the total of valid surveys, 403 (61.81%) were answered by females and 249 (38.19%) by males. Compared to the average of female students in the University of the Basque Country (56%), there is a slight over-representation of women in the sample in relation to the proportions of the University. In terms of age, the sample is distributed as follows: Age Under 18 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 Over 35
Number 1 82 109 97 90 85 66 46 28 16 7 3 4 4 3 2 2 0 3 4
Percentage 0.15% 12.58% 16.72% 14.88% 13.80% 13.04% 10.12% 7.06% 4.29% 2.45% 1.07% 0.46% 0.61% 0.61% 0.46% 0.31% 0.31% 0.00% 0.46% 0.61%
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As we can see, 81.13% of the sample is aged between 18 to 23 years, the most common age range among university students. 88.19% of the surveyed students stated having an account in Facebook and/or Tuenti, a figure that is quite adjusted to Tuenti’s penetration rates according to the secondary sources (The Cocktail Analysis, 2010: 14). All data presented below come from the 575 respondents, who claimed having accounts in these social networks. Therefore, the sample has certain limitations. This is a sample of undergraduates from a single university in a specific region of Spain. However, the sample has an appropriate size to make generalisations about the students of the University of the Basque Country (margin of error of 4.5%, confidence level of 95.5%, and on the hypothesis of maximum variability: p=q= 50%), although it would be risky to think that the results could be applied to the whole of the Spanish university students. This is very clear in the case of Catalonia and the Balearic Islands. For some unknown and surprising reason, the study “Generación 2.0” detected that Spanish teenagers (11-20 years old) consistently preferred Tuenti over Facebook (as it is the case of our University sample) in all the autonomous communities with the exception of Catalonia, where 75.2% preferred the American social network while only 5.1% preferred the local version (Sánchez Burón, Fernández Martín, 2010: 11). There were also significant but much smaller differences in the Balearic Islands (24.1% and 67.3%). Apart from the issue of representativeness of the sample, these regional changes in preferences make us think that the networks may have completely different brand images in these autonomous regions, for example. 3. Results 3.1. The image of Tuenti and Facebook
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In this age range (81.13% of the sample is aged 18 to 23 years), the preference of Tuenti over Facebook is clear. 64.31% of the sample stated that Tuenti is their favourite network, while only 20.85% prefers Facebook, and 14.84% has no preference. Undergraduates’ preference for Tuenti is less marked, but still significant, than the preference of teenagers: 88,5% of teens prefers this network, while only 7.4% prefers Facebook (Sánchez Burón, Fernández Martín, 2010: 11). Preferences are distributed primarily according to age, i.e. as age increases, the preference for Tuenti decreases and the preference for Facebook increases. The data of our sample is quite similar to the results of the “Generación 2.0” study regarding young people: at age 18, for example, the preference for Tuenti increases up to 82.93%. This relationship between the preferences and age may explain why Tuenti is clearly perceived as aimed to younger people (84.57% believed so, while 3.19% though so about Facebook). Part of Tuenti’s appeal for the younger audience may reside on its image. Tuenti is identified by younger people as the best tool to interact with close friends (71.63% believed so, while 7.09% though so about Facebook) and, to a lesser extent, as the best way to interact with acquaintances (51.50% vs. 13.27%). Let’s not forget that access to Tuenti is by invitation only while registration in Facebook is voluntary and straightforward. This has probably led to the construction of a closer relationship environment, composed of friends of similar age. In the focus groups there were several statements that suggested this situation by pointing out that Facebook lacked http://www.revistalatinacs.org/11/art/925_UPV/04_MongeEN.html
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privacy: “In my group of female friends their mothers have Facebook and so we have to be careful about what we say there”, and “Even my mother is on Facebook”. However, the idea of privacy is not as strong as we might think. 43.89% considered Tuenti to be a more intimate environment, while only 21.95% thought so about Facebook. There is a considerable share of people that are unsure about this issue (34.16%), and considered that both networks offer similar levels of intimacy, and for this reason we cannot draw a clear conclusion. Although Tuenti is used by younger people, who has gained accessed through invitation, and is considered to be the best network for keeping in touch with close friends, the social networks in general are far from being perceived as a really private space, in spite of what is proposed in one of the secondary sources (Zed Digital, 2008: 24). While in 2008 users believed Facebook and Tuenti were shared but restricted spaces, 92.87% of respondents in our survey said they had never uploaded private information to any of these networks (because this type of information was to be shared only with few trusted friends). Moreover, 45% has removed tags of their names in pictures, 62% has asked a friend to remove photos in which they appear, and 90% has changed their profile privacy settings. Based on the previous findings, we can conclude that university students do keep an eye on the contents that are uploaded to the networks and worry about their privacy. Therefore, Tuenti is considered to be the most private network within a generic space (social networks) that is not considered private at all by the sample of respondents. Another strength of Tuenti’s brand is that it is seen as a simpler and more intuitive tool (84.45%) than Facebook (7.42%). The focus groups mentioned several times that this quality (being “simpler/more “intuitive”) was the main reason they preferred the Spanish social network over the American one. Despite this perception, the last developments in Tuenti seem to go in the opposite direction: it has added the possibility of creating pages, using games or displaying advertising in new ways. All these new developments mimic the strategy and functionality of Facebook, and also make Tuenti more complex to manage. Tuenti could be throwing stones on its own roof by imitating the leader of the market, since by doing so endangers one of its strongest brand associations: simplicity and intuitive operation. Perhaps related to this last aspect, Tuenti is also perceived as a “faster tool to share ideas” (52.74%) than Facebook (10.27%). Several contributions offered by the focus groups suggest that this factor could be related to university students’ frequency of use of the social networks (e.g., “I connect to Tuenti several times a day but to Facebook only once a week”). It could also be suggested that Tuenti is able to generate higher levels of engagement than Facebook, but we do not have the data to prove such hypotheses. Whether it is related to the simpler or more intuitive operation, the frequency of use, or the engagement that this tool generates, the truth is that the Spanish network is clearly perceived to be “faster to share ideas” than its American competitor is. http://www.revistalatinacs.org/11/art/925_UPV/04_MongeEN.html
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On the opposite side, Facebook is perceived as a more complete tool (77.33%) than Tuenti (10.25%). Several factors can contribute to this image. First, Facebook offers external software developers the possibility of adding applications to the platform. On the other hand, Facebook has traditionally had more features than Tuenti (groups, pages, tabs in the profiles, etc.). This image of a more complete network does not always have positive consequences, as some interviewees expressed during the focus group: “I get confused with so many little games [...] they send me some game invitations, but I only use the network to send messages and look at the photos…” Facebook is also perceived as a more formal/professional network (69.20% vs. 6.73%). The positive impact that this brand association may have is limited since, as we have seen, the professional uses of the networks are quite low in users’ list of motivations for using them (The Cocktail Analysis, 2010: 7). Regarding other aspects, we have seen that Tuenti was considered the best network to keep in touch with close friends and acquaintances. In contrast, Facebook is considered as a social network to be used to get in touch with “foreign people” (82.62% against 4.79%). This coincides with the statements of the focus groups: “I have Facebook because I lived in England for some time”. The American social network has an international reach that the Spanish networks lacks, as well as a huge user base outside Spain (more than 400 million active users worldwide). European university students frequently establish relations with other university students from different countries through various exchange programmes, of which the best-known example is the Erasmus programme. Facebook “is more universal” and is often used to maintain relationships with people in other countries: “my sister, for example, is living abroad [...] and we used to email each other but now we do everything directly through Facebook”. The international image of Facebook has been reinforced by another element of the questionnaire. When the sample was asked about what social network “had more users”, 65.25% of respondents thought it was Facebook, while only 21.28% thought it was Tuenti. This combination of ideas (a more complete, professional, and appropriate tool for maintaining international relations) might make us think that Facebook has a more serious image that Tuenti. However, the fact that Facebook allows external developers to design applications and games is not entirely consistent with that image. Respondents clearly identify Facebook as a social network that has more games (90.43% vs. 2.30%). Tuenti has recently begun to offer games on its platform, but its competitor offers them since long time ago and has a much stronger image in this regard. Perhaps, games are the reason why Facebook is considered more entertaining (60.82 vs. 17.73%), although this is a much less marked preference than the one obtained when respondents were asked directly about games. http://www.revistalatinacs.org/11/art/925_UPV/04_MongeEN.html
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Data from the focus groups could also shed some light on this issue: some of the interviewees stated that their preference for Tuenti was very marked and that they connected to Facebook from time to time “only for the games” provided by the platform. We can therefore say that the university students differentiate perfectly between both networks, which have very different brand associations. Tuenti is simpler, more intuitive, faster to tell share ideas, best suited to interact with friends and acquaintances, and to some extent, a more intimate space. Tuenti is undoubtedly the favourite of university students. On the other hand, Facebook is perceived as much more universal, more professional, more complete, more suitable for relations with “foreign people”, and moreover has an entertaining side, which is most likely driven by the games offered in the platform. 3.2. Knowledge about the terms of use
79.82% of respondents accepted that they have not read the terms of use of the social networks they use, which is not difficult to understand, given the average age of the sample and the complexity of the terms of use of most of the software we use today. But what is perhaps more surprising is that 20.18% (one in five) of students did read the terms of use when the most common idea in these cases is that “nobody reads the terms of use”. On the other hand, when students were asked whether they believed they knew the legal conditions governing the use of Facebook or Tuenti, 30.71% considered themselves to be knowledgeable, which is a considerable higher share than the 20.18% of students that reads the terms of use. However, only 62.83% of those who originally stated they had read the http://www.revistalatinacs.org/11/art/925_UPV/04_MongeEN.html
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conditions of use are part of this 30.71% who consider themselves well-informed. This means that, among those surveyed, 2 of 5 people who read the terms of use of Tuenti or Facebook do not seem to understand the terms or at least does not believe they understand them. 69.29% of respondents stated without any embarrassment that they do not know the legal conditions governing the services of the social networks. Despite this, they continue to use them. When students were asked about the things they believed Tuenti or Facebook could do with the user-generated content, there was a lot of confusion and inconsistency in the responses. A generalised idea emerged in the focus groups: “You lose the rights over your pictures and the pictures become property of the company”. 51.16% believed Facebook and Tuenti can do anything they want with user-generated contents because users give them all the rights over that content. More than half (56.98%) of those who considered they were aware of the legal conditions governing the services of the networks marked this option as answer, which is false because users only transfer very specific rights, as we saw in the introduction. What is clear is that most of the respondents (66.67%) agreed that some rights are transferred to Facebook and Tuenti when users upload content to them (66.67% considered it is false that users do not transfer any right to the networks, 10.39% consider the statement to be true, and 22,94% do not know whether it is true or false). Thus, the most common belief is that uploading content to the social networks implies transferring rights over that content, so all control is lost: “what you upload to the network stays on the network”. It is interesting that although 5 of every 10 (51.16%) respondents considered that by uploading contents to the social networks the users transfer all rights over the content to the social networks, 2.5 billion photos were uploaded monthly to Facebook in 2009 (Royal Pingdom, 2010). This figure contrasts with the fact that 54.92% of respondents completely or strongly agreed that they are concerned about what people can do with their personal information on the networks. University students are concerned about their privacy, but are also completely ignorant of the legal consequences of what they do. University students show certain fatalism regarding the content they published on the web. This is reflected in expressions like “About the photos over which I do not have control? Such is life!” and “If you have uploaded a picture, it will stay there and there is no way back”. It is not surprising that the stronger idea is that the networks keep the rights over the uploaded content even after users cancel their accounts (43.19% believe this is true, 22.58% believe it is false, and 34.23% do not know whether it is true or false). On the other hand, university students are not sure whether the networks have the right to reproduce their content through any other medium (33.15% said this idea was true, 33.87% http://www.revistalatinacs.org/11/art/925_UPV/04_MongeEN.html
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said it was false, and 32.97% did not know whether it was true or false), so we can assume that they are not very aware of the places where their contents can be published. Students are neither sure whether the social networks can allow third parties or companies to reproduce their contents (27.60% of students thinks networks can do so, while 36.02% thinks the opposite, and 36.38% does not unknown). This is an issue that does not seem to worry students too much and when asked about the uses that future employers (companies) can make of the contents they upload to social networks they expressed ideas such as the following: “I think I can trust the company as much as trust my friends” or “I think this is just rambling”. Even when one suggests to them that the networks could be using their personal data to send them segmented advertising, students respond that “it is better to receive advertising fitting their preferences”. The most common ideas among the students of the University of the Basque Country had some ambivalence. On the one hand, all of them consider that using the networks involves some loss of rights. However, most of them do not have a clear idea of the limits of that loss, which they consider to be acceptable in general. University students define this loss of rights with the following terms: “It has given me more than it has taken away from me”, “we should assess the risk and the service” or “you take a risk, but it rewards you”. We can only conclude that young people have a significant lack of knowledge regarding the terms of use of the social networks they use and especially concerning the rights of the content the published on them. Not even those who claim to know the terms of the networks have a clearer idea: the percentage of the times they answer “I don’t know” is lower but then their answers are almost equally distributed between the right and wrong choices. In general, respondents believe that Tuenti and Facebook can do anything with the content they upload, but still they keep on using them inspired by certain fatalism: “I am responsible for my actions and whether I show it or not on the Internet does not change anything”. 3.3. Multitasking, television and the use of social networks
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95.61% of respondents stated they do other activities while connected to Tuenti or Facebook, which is not surprising given that according to various authors (Combes, 2006; Skiba, 2003; Dorman, 2000; Oblinger, 2005) multi-tasking is the preferred learning style of today’s young people. When we asked students about what they do while connected to their social networks, the favourite activities to synchronise with the use of networks were: other computer activities (89.67%), listening to music (82.03%), watching TV (46.85%), studying (35.61%), reading books or magazines (21.22%), and others (11.47%). The activities frequently identified as “others” include doing homework with low involvement (12), watching online series or movies while the networks’ windows are minimized (5) and house work (4). The computer is maintained in the background as a continuous connection with their friends and as a window to the activities occurring in their social environment. The two activities that are most frequently synchronised with the use of networks are easy to explain. When students are working on the computer (checking mails or browsing, for example) it is easy to maintain the connection to the social networks and give them attention at specific times to respond to a chat message or to consult the new publications. Listening to music, on the other hand, is highly compatible with the use of social networks, since their audio content is practically limited to the occasional videos and chat alerts. Most of the interaction in social networks has a visual, not audible, component. http://www.revistalatinacs.org/11/art/925_UPV/04_MongeEN.html
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The third activity that is synchronised with the networks use requires a more detailed analysis. A significant percentage (46.85%) of respondents stated that they watch TV while connected to Facebook or Tuenti. To some extent, the popularisation of Wi-Fi connections and laptops has enabled this phenomenon, which we should analyse in more details as it also appeared in the focus groups. Initially, the idea of being connected to the networks while watching television suggested additional possibilities of interaction: “you can be watching TV and commenting on how bad the series is”. The act of watching TV could be increased by the real-time interactivity allowed by the social networks. However, when respondents were asked about what do they use Facebook or Tuenti for while watching television, 71.84% stated that they use it to do activities (see profiles, photos, etc.) that have nothing to do with what they watching and 42.45% use it to talk with friends about matters that not related to what they are watching. Social networks are configured mainly as a distracting element that steals the attention of the viewer. Some previous studies (Zed Digital, 2008: 31) already pointed out that the television consumption level of active consumer of social networks was slightly lower than the consumption level of people who did not use the networks. However, on the other hand, the percentage of respondents who stated they connect to the networks while watching television at night was very small (9.43%) as to be considered a major source of distraction. Today, nearly half of surveyed users simultaneously use social networks and watch television, so that the number of people involved in the trend is larger. The answers seem to indicate that, in general, television and social networks collide head-on and compete for the attention of the user-viewer. In any case, not everything is negative. Cases of complementarity can also occur in the combination of media. For instance, 30.20% of respondents stated that they use social networks to talk with friends about topics directly related to what they are watching on television. This result is close to the 35% of people who in the “Televidente 2.0” study stated that they “occasionally” or “often” commented about the things they watch on television (The Cocktail Analysis, 2010b: 39). Therefore, it seems that university students are not more inclined to make this “interactive consumption” than the Internet user population in general. Here is important to investigate what advantages does this interactive consumption offer to the medium television: greater involvement? A more social consumption? Greater capacity to attract audiences in real-time with moments of maximum interest? However, the answers to these questions is outside the objective and capacity of the present study. There is a small percentage (7.35%) of respondents who even accepted using the social networks to verify the information on television, which perhaps may be increasing the critical consumption of the media. However, the percentage demonstrates that at the moment this is a residual group. http://www.revistalatinacs.org/11/art/925_UPV/04_MongeEN.html
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Therefore, we must conclude that the complementarity between television and social networks is not the dominant trend in university students. The dominant trend is that both media steal each other’s attention at the moments of simultaneous consumption and it is expected that due to its ephemeral (audiovisual) content and passive reception TV will take be the most negatively affected. It is not difficult to imagine viewers completely engaged with the content in their laptops and only looking at the television at the particular moment in which something on the TV calls their attention, only to go back to what they were doing in the social networks just minutes (or seconds) later. Recent participant observation exercises conducted with B.A. students (taking the subject of “Advertising persuasion”) have shown evidence that this situation is quite common among university students (families, shared flats for students), but we do not have stronger evidence based on a structured study with a representative sample to confidently affirm this. 3.4. Microsoft Messenger and instant communication
The results of a previous study (The Cocktail Analysis, 2010:8, 10) suggested that, in spite of the emergence of social networks, Microsoft Messenger continued to be the tool for immediate communication with more penetration among Internet users. According to the study, Messenger was considered to be “a better solution in terms of product” and with a “very strong emotional connection”. However, this trend seems to have come to an end. 73.67% of our sample strongly or completely agreed that Tuenti and Facebook are replacing Messenger as the preferred tool to communicate with their friends online. This is a very clear trend. In addition, it is expected that this trend will be more accentuated as the penetration of the networks continues to grow and all the friends that users could previously access only through the traditional instant messaging software are also available on social networks. http://www.revistalatinacs.org/11/art/925_UPV/04_MongeEN.html
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4. Conclusions Although the data are not applicable to all Spanish university students, they do give us a quite solid indication (of 652 surveyed people, 88.19% used Tuenti and/or Facebook) to affirm that the social networks are a consolidated trend with a great influence on the relationship channels of this group. The surveyed students show a clear preference for Tuenti, which they regard as simpler, more intuitive, younger, more agile, and more suitable for communicating with close friends. In spite of its games and entertainment offer, Facebook is perceived as a more formal, as a more complete product, and as having a wider and more international audience. Therefore, the hypothesis that young people have different perceptions (hypothesis 1) is confirmed by the marked differences in the “brand associations” of both networks. These brand associations are quite compatible with the descriptions provided by the secondary sources that were consulted for this study. It is worrying for the continuity of Tuenti that its recent strategic moves tend to imitate Facebook’s features and development. If these new developments and features are not implemented carefully, Tuenti could be damaging one of its clearest brand associations (“simpler and more intuitive”). The loss of this association could threaten the Spanish network’s widespread preference among young people. There is a clear ignorance about the legal conditions that govern the use of the social networks. Very few respondents have read the terms of use of the networks they use, and those who have done so, generally, do not have a clearer idea of the rights that are kept or transferred over the uploaded contents, for example. Yet, those who claimed to know their rights have stronger opinions about the terms of use of the networks, but often they are wrong. As an example, we have found that there are many wrong conceptions about the rights that are given to the social networks over the content published by users. The most widespread idea is that Facebook and Tuenti can do virtually anything with these contents, but still they continue to be the most used social networks. Therefore, the study confirmed that young people do not read the terms of use of the networks they use (hypothesis 2) and that they are unaware of the legal boundaries involved when uploading contents (hypothesis 2a). On the other hand, the social networks are commonly used while doing other activities, like computer work or listening to music. Young people demonstrate once again their predilection for multitasking and attention fragmentation. Moreover, the percentage of those who watch television while using the social networks is also significant. The study confirms that young people use networks while doing other activities (hypothesis 3) but it is not true that this will serve to improve the experience when the main activity is watching television (hypothesis 3a). Based on the collected responses, the use of social networks does not strengthen the medium of television but disrupts its use. Most of the time http://www.revistalatinacs.org/11/art/925_UPV/04_MongeEN.html
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the networks are used for tasks that have nothing to do with what users are watching on television (chatting with friends, browsing profiles, see photos, etc.), although in some cases they are also used to talk about what is shown on television. This trend has enormous implications, especially for advertising planners. In an environment in which television audiences are increasingly more fragmented and it is more expensive to reach them, the social networks are subtracting attention from television. Even when the viewers are in front of the TV they may be distracted viewing their friends’ profiles or sending messages. Finally, it was confirmed that young people are letting Tuenti and Facebook to replace Messenger as the preferred tool for instant communication with friends (hypothesis 4). The answers to other parts of our survey allow us to predict that Tuenti is occupying this space more than Facebook is, because apart from being the preferred network for the sample (64.31%), it is considered to be faster to share opinions (52.74%). 5. References Aaker, D. (1996): Building Strong Brands. The Free Press, New York. Aaker, D. (1996b): “Measuring brand equity across products and markets”. A California Management Review; Spring; 38, 3, pp. 102-120. Bacallao Pino, L. M. (2010): “Representaciones mediáticas de las redes sociales: un estudio de casos” (Media representations of social networks: a case study). Revista Latina de Comunicación Social, 65, pp. 114-125. La Laguna (Tenerife): University of La Laguna. Online document available at: http://www.revistalatinacs.org/10/art/887_UZaragoza/09_Lazaro_Bacallao.html [Consulted on 14 July 2010] DOI: 10.4185/RLCS–65–2010–887–114–125 Campos Freire, F. (2008): "Las redes sociales trastocan los modelos de los medios de comunicación tradicionales" (The impacts of Social network on the traditional media). Revista Latina de Comunicación Social, 63, pp. 287-293. La Laguna (Tenerife): University of La Laguna. Online document available at: http://www.ull.es/publicaciones/latina/_2008/23_34_Santiago/Francisco_Campos. html [Consulted on 11 October 2010] Combes, B. (2006): “Techno savvy or techno oriented: Who are the net generation?” In Khoo, C.; Singh, D.; Chaudhry, A.S. (Eds.), Proceedings of the Asia-Pacific Conference on Library & Information Educa-Asia-Pacific Conference on Library & Information Education & Practice, 2006 (A-LIEP 2006), Singapore, 3-6 April 2006 (pp. 401-408). Singapore: School of Communication & Information, Nanyang Technological University. Dorman, S.M. (2000): “Implications of growing up digital. Review of Tapscott’s Growing up digital”. The Journal of School Health, 70(10) 420-422. Facebook (2010): Statement of Rights and Responsibilities. Online document available at: http://www.facebook.com/terms.php?ref=pf [Consulted on 5 July 2010] Fernández, S. (2008): “Redes sociales. Fenómeno pasajero o reflejo del nuevo internauta” (Social networks. A temporary phenomenon or a reflection of the new Internet user). Telos, nº76, July-September, central booklet. http://www.revistalatinacs.org/11/art/925_UPV/04_MongeEN.html
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Flores-Vivar, J.M. (2009): “Nuevos modelos de comunicación, perfiles y tendencias en las redes sociales” (New models of communication, profiles and trends in social networks). In Comunicar 33; pp. 73-81. García, José Sixto (2010): “Comportamientos activos en usuarios 2.0: Facebook supera a Tuenti, la red social que había sido líder en España. Causas, estrategias de comunicación e impacto en la recepción” (Active behaviours in users 2.0: Facebook beats Tuenti, the former leading social network in Spain. Causes, communication strategies and impact on reception). In Observatorio (OBS*) Journal, vol.4 - no2 (2010), pp. 153-166. IAB Spain Research (2009): Estudio sobre redes sociales en Internet (Study of online social networks). Online document available at: http://www.slideshare.net/IAB_Spain/informe-sobre-redes-sociales-en-espaa Noguera Vivo, J. M. (2010): “Redes sociales como paradigma periodístico. Medios españoles en Facebook” (Social networks as a journalistic paradigm. Spanish media on Facebook). In Revista Latina de Comunicación Social, 65. La Laguna (Tenerife): University of La Laguna, pp. 176-186. Online document available at: http://www.revistalatinacs.org/10/art/891_UCAM/13_JM_Noguera.html [Consulted on 9 July 2010] DOI: 10.4185/RLCS–65–2010–891–176–186 Oblinger, D.; Oblinger, J. (2005): “Is it age or IT: First steps towards understanding the Net Generation”. In Oblinger, D.; Oblinger, J (Eds), Educating the Net Generation. Online document available at: http://www.educause.edu/educatingthenetgen [Consulted on 5 July 2010] Tuenti (2010): Terms of use. Online document available at: http://www.tuenti.com/#m=Terms&func=view_terms_of_use [Consulted on 5 July 2010] Royal Pingdom (2010): Internet 2009 in numbers. Online document available at: http://royal.pingdom.com/2010/01/22/internet-2009-in-numbers/ [Consulted on 2 July 2010] Sanchez Burón, A.; Fernandez Martín, M. (2010): (R 2.0 2010. Teens’ habits in the use of social networks). Online document available at: http://www.slideshare.net/ucjc/generacin-20-hbitos-de-losad [Consulted on 22 July 2010] Skiba, D. (2003): “The Net Generation: Implications for nursing education and practice”. In NLN Living Book. Online document available at: http://electronicvision.com/nln/chapter01/ [Consulted on 5 July 2010] The Cocktail Analysis (2008): Herramientas de comunicación online: Las Redes Sociales (Online communication tools: the social networks). Online document available at: http://www.tcanalysis.com/2008/11/13/the-cocktail-analysis-pone-en-marcha-elobservatorio-sobre-la-evolucion-de-las-redes-sociales/ [Consulted on 12 June 2010]
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The Cocktail Analysis (2010): Informe de resultados Observatorio Redes Sociales 2ª oleada (Results report of the Observatory of Social Networking. Second report). Online document available at: http://tcanalysis.com/uploads/2010/02/tca2a_ola_observatorio_redes_informe_publico.pdf [Consulted on 11 June 2010] The Cocktail Analysis (2010b): Televidente 2.0, 4ª Oleada (Viewer 2.0, 4th report). Online document available at: http://www.tcanalysis.com/uploads/2010/06/televidente_2010_informe_ejecutivo. pdf [Consulted on 15 July 2010] Zed Digital (ZenithOptimedia Group) (2008). El fenómeno de las redes sociales. Percepción, usos y publicidad (The phenomenon of social networks. Perception, uses and advertising). Online document available at: http://www.zeddigital.es/Estudio%20de%20redes%20sociales_20_11_2008.pdf [Consulted on 15 July 2010]. _______________________________________ HOW TO CITE THIS ARTICLE IN BIBLIOGRAHIES / REFERENCES: Monge-Benito, S. and Olabarri-Fernández, M. E. (2011): "Uses and perceptions of Tuenti and Facebook among students from the University of the Basque Country", at Revista Latina de Comunicación Social, 66, pages 079 to 100. La Laguna (Tenerife, Canary Islands): La Laguna University, retrieved on ___th of ____ of 2_______, from http://www.revistalatinacs.org/11/art/925_UPV/04_MongeEN.html DOI: 10.4185/RLCS-66-2011-925-079-100-EN Note: the DOI number is part of the bibliographic references and it must be cited if you cited this article. To send this article to a friend, just click on the little envelope:
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