LITMIR.BIZ

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      When I reflect throughout my life, it becomes difficult to imagine what it would have looked like without the influence of social media. I never really considered myself social media savvy, but I have held a presence on many of the big social media sites. Use of social platforms allowed me to connect and build relationships with administrators and students as I transitioned into the first year of my overall collegiate experiences at predominantly White institutions (PWIs). I relied primarily on social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, and GroupMe, which exposed me to offices and events on campus during my undergraduate experience. Social media use has enabled me to connect with other graduate students of color while also contributing to my sense of belonging at PWIs.

      Background

      Before going forward, it is imperative to name the identities that I hold as they play a role in social media’s impact and utilization. I am a Black cisgender man with a newly acquired identity as a first-generation doctoral student. Those are the most salient identities that have impacted my use of social media.

My journey through higher education began in 2011 as I entered my undergraduate institution directly from high school. As I moved through college, I relied predominantly on Facebook as my main social media avenue. I was able to instantaneously connect with offices on campus, administrators, and campus leaders. However, I recall using Facebook to keep track of social events, auditions, and determine potential social circles and roommates. The social elements of social media began to further entangle themselves in my everyday life. If I had been told that my academic and professional career would be tied to my evolution of social media use in 2011, I would have been highly skeptical.

      It’s also important to note how my social media presence began, as opposed to how it is utilized today. In the beginning, my Facebook profile was reminiscent of most high school profiles: graduation photos, statuses reflective of teenage trials, and the occasional internet meme. I would like to think my current social media presence is more curated and strategic in comparison to my early years with these platforms.

      Networking

      While I initially began my social media existence with Facebook, by the time I entered my post-undergraduate life as well as graduate school, I had acquired accounts with LinkedIn and Instagram. I had additionally discovered how to best utilize privacy features on Instagram and Facebook. LinkedIn and Facebook became my primary networking tools to not only learn more about the field of higher education, but to connect and discuss with other scholars and practitioners, more specifically, Black individuals that hold those roles as well as other people of color. Through mentors and overheard conversations, I was introduced to social media communities centered on both people of color and Black people in the field, respectively.

      After meeting with the career center at my undergraduate institution, I learned how to cultivate a strong LinkedIn presence, but also how to infuse my profile with my own flair in order to connect. Beyond simply listing my roles and responsibilities on my profile, I began to share articles and papers that I had written in my undergraduate career as well as my master’s program. The articles were posted to help me stand out during my job search as a method of showcasing my expertise beyond a resume and cover letter. I remember the first day in my post-master’s degree role. My new supervisor indicated that she had read my articles on my LinkedIn profile and wanted to give me additional responsibilities in line with my expertise indicated through those publications. The articles also opened up conversations and exchanges of ideas from other individuals in higher education and future mentors by fostering digital discourse through agreement or challenge.

As my online network grew, so too did my social network at conferences and conventions. Even if we had not physically met before, our discourse over social media allowed us to greet each other as old friends and continue our conversations without well-lit screens. These connections led me to my next social media group for Black student affairs practitioners and scholars on Facebook. This group became a place of affirmation, challenge, support, and celebration as we kept each other aware of changing institutional and national policies and how they would impact our work going forward. Not only did social media allow me to connect and build with my own community, but I was able to remain current in the field while gaining new knowledge and insights from other professionals.

      Academic Success

      Social networks are essential to creating community and support structures on an interpersonal level; Black students, without these networks at the interpersonal and institutional level, may potentially experience social isolation (Strayhorn 2013). The experiences of “social isolation, alienation, or psychological stress may lead minority students at PWIs to withdraw from college” (Strayhorn 2013, p. 117). As I reflect on my experiences in both of my higher education programs (master’s and doctoral), I am thankful that I built social networks through social media in order to build community and sense of belonging. However, these social networks have served, at multiple points in time, as academic tools as well. Faculty in both graduate programs have either required social media participation and engagement as a grade component or strongly encouraged the usage of platforms, such as Twitter.

      With participation serving as a critical part of my grade in both graduate programs, I have seen the evolution of modern methods of participation counting toward my grade. I remember that active social media engagement could substitute physical and public engagement through responses to discuss prompts online. In-person class discussions that were once the prevailing method of securing portions of my grade shifted into the background to allow online discourse to take center stage. As someone that additionally identifies as an introvert with social anxiety, speaking in class would frequently trigger anxiety attacks resulting in me remaining silent for the duration of the course, so as digital alternatives began to proliferate, I found methods of accessibility. I could engage in discourse with my classmates, fellow scholars, and faculty through a keyboard, through a like, through a retweet, or through a direct message.

Social media use, for me, went beyond participation and into practical assignments as well. During a class centered on community colleges, we were tasked with working with local community colleges on a variety of projects, with my group working directly on an honor’s college renovation. Social media allowed us to communicate in real time with administrators and students as we restructured the program and created a lasting proposal. Social media proliferation created pathways to academic success that would not have existed a decade ago.

      Online Gaming as Social Media

      In the early iterations of video games, lack of internet connectivity prevented me from considering them as forms of social media. However, as gaming consoles continued to upgrade and modernize, I have come to view my current gaming habits as a form of social media. Modern consoles now come with the ability to connect to central hubs through the internet allowing players to communicate across the globe, post status messages, and exchange text messages, which aligns with my personal view of social media.

      Gaming, for me, has evolved beyond playing the actual games into connecting with individuals within my field that also game, with friends from high school and college, and with individuals that I mentor. I spend most nights with a headset on talking about modern issues in the world, within higher education, and in life to friends and colleagues.

      Within the field of higher education, I have been able to locate a gaming community as well. As we have worked to connect not only professionally, but personally, our gaming has become a form of self-care especially due to experiencing a pandemic. As we cope with the massive shifts happening at our respective institutions, brought on by the pandemic, we are still able to provide social updates, interact, and virtually connect through online gaming hubs.

      Gaming, as I have quantified it through my own experiences, has become a greater tool for social media to men than the standard social media applications. I have forged friendships, professional partnerships, and even mentorships through the headset with individuals both in and outside of my field of study.

      Conclusion

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