Social Inclusion: The Use of Social Media and the Impact on First-Generation College Students

• Published in: Journal of the Association for Information Systems Vol. 24; no. 5; pp. 1313 - 1333
• Main Authors: Gonzalez, Ester S., Deng, Xuefei (Nancy)
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Atlanta Association for Information Systems 01-09-2023
• Subjects: College students; Colleges & universities; Digital media; First generation students; Higher education institutions; Information systems; Social networks; Students
• ISSN: 1536-9323; 1536-9323
• DOI: 10.17705/1jais.00792

Social inclusion has become a pressing issue for organizations wishing to close the inequality and
disparity gaps associated with underrepresented or disadvantaged groups. The challenge is becoming
particularly critical in higher education institutions suffering from low retention rates and low
graduation rates among first-generation college students (FGCS). In response to the challenges
imposed by the notion of social inclusion, some universities and colleges are exploring the use of
social networking technologies such as social media (SM) in ways that can impact social inclusion.
In order to improve the understanding of how social networking technology affects the social
inclusion of FGCS, we conducted a case study in a public, Hispanic-serving institution in the United
States. We used technology affordance theory to reveal various affordances actualized by FGCS and
various outcomes resulting from those affordances. To explain how the actualization of different
strands of affordance produces certain outcomes, our analysis of 102 FGCS’ narratives followed an
established five-step framework for identifying generative mechanisms, revealing three SM user
types—Community Builders, Scholars, and Information Seekers—and four actualized affordances,
namely interconnection, inspiration, insightfulness, and intense comfort, which are conceptualized
into three generative mechanisms: identity booster, academic growth, and self-care. Our results
provide insights into SM usage for social inclusion outcomes. By revealing how technology use can
promote social engagement and mitigate exclusion experienced by FGCS, this study contributes to
the broad social inclusion research on technology and disadvantaged communities.