west_social networking site for students from military families_msc560_final

Running head: SOCIAL NETWORKING SITE FOR STUDENTS FROM MILITARY FAMILIES 1

Social Networking Site for Students from Military Families

Heidi R. West

Fielding Graduate University

SOCIAL NETWORKING SITE FOR STUDENTS FROM MILITARY FAMILIES 2

Abstract

Eighty percent of the approximately 2 million military children in the United States attend a

public school (Military Child Education Coalition, 2014, as cited in Cole, 2014, p. 497). On

average, these children will move more than six times before they graduate high school (DoD,

2015), and “those ages 5 to 17 are at a high risk for emotional and behavioral problems” when

parents or siblings are deployed (Lester & Flake, 2013, p. 4). I propose the creation of

Stationary: a stable, closed-group social networking site designed for students from military

families. There are three goals of Stationary: strengthen the psychological health of military

students, identify military students within local school systems, and connect military students

with school counselors. Local Stationary websites in each school district could provide positive

peer support, local social connections, group identity through exclusivity and positive social

development, while addressing social anxiety, unhealthy coping mechanisms and isolation.

Keywords: social networking site, military children, military students, peer support,

social development, school, Stationary, social anxiety, positive social development, identity


Social Networking Site for Students from Military Families

Military families face a unique set of challenges: deployments, family separations and

frequent relocations. There are several informational websites, social media platforms, local

support groups and health profession resources to guide the service member and their family

members; however, the military has not yet tapped into the potential benefits of creating a social

network site for students from military families. For today’s adolescents, accessing social media

is as much a part of everyday life as eating and sleeping. In addition, adolescents are turning to

their peers now more than any other time of life for advice, social support and affirmation;

however, the majority of military students feel invisible within the public school system, which

often fails to understand the inner struggles these students may be experiencing. Furthermore, it

can be difficult for military students to create lasting bonds with peers as they often relocate

several times during their schooling. To address these social failures, I propose the creation of

Stationary: a closed, social network site for military students located within each school district.

There are three goals of Stationary: strengthen the psychological health of military students,

identify military students within local school systems, and connect military students with school

counselors.

Target Audience: Students from Military Families

Over the last several years, researchers have studied into the implications of war on the

military family. For many children, they have known nothing but war and family separations.

Often these same children are wrought with fears of losing a loved one on the battlefield or

carrying the burden of parental responsibilities at home (Huebner & Mancini, 2014, as cited in

Bello-utu & DeSocio, 2015, p. 18). More noticeably than their peers, children from military

families crumble under the weight of stress, depression, anger and anxiety (Lester & Flake,


2013). School-aged children from military families can display emotional and behavioral

instabilities, a decrease in school performance, and even symptoms of drug and alcohol abuse,

especially when a parent or sibling deploys overseas. “Studies show that the longer and more

often a parent is deployed, the greater the psychological, health, and behavioral risk for the

child” (Lester & Flake, 2013, p. 5). Finally, like their parents, military students often carry

virtues of resilience and personal sacrifice for the good of the whole (Cole, 2014). The longer

these students remain separated from their deployed parent, the more they internalize symptoms

of weakness (Hall, 2008; Huebner, 2013, as cited in Cole, 2014, p. 499), making it difficult for

school counselors to identify those in need of help.

Negative Social Implications for Military Students

When change is an inevitable aspect of military life, military children seek solace in the

stability of a school environment, which “provides social and emotional support” (Chandra,

Martin, et al., 2010, as cited in Bello-utu & DeSocio, 2015, p. 21). Unfortunately, only about

86,000 military students of the nearly two million military students have the option of attending

Department of Defense schools, which are tailored to meet the needs of the military family

(Dwyer, 2014). Unlike their parents, military students lack an identity among their peers, who

do not share the same culture, language, experiences or sacrifices. Like their peers, military

students have an innate longing to belong and relate to those around them in order to establish

lasting bonds (Allen, Ryan, Gray, McInerney, & Waters, 2014). Without a nationally established

registry by the Department of Education, school districts have little knowledge of the number or

identity of military students attending their institution, thus describing them as “invisible” and

“off the radar” (Dwyer, 2014, p. 3). A lack of social identity can lead to withdraw and

depression (Lucier-Greer, Arnold, Ford, Bryant, & Mancini, 2015), both of which can have


detrimental effects on the psychological infancy of an adolescent. Adolescents who are unable

to connect with peers often face the risk of social anxiety and loneliness. Military students feel a

need to connect with peers when arriving at new schools, but can face a conflict between their

peer identity and their individual identity as a member of the military community (Margalit,

2010, as cited in Allen, et al., 2014, p. 3). Unfortunately, these lonely adolescents typically seek

solace in online activities that limit the possibility of face-to-face communication (Huan, Ang, &

Chye, 2014), thus perpetuating the possibility of isolation.

Multiple qualitative studies support the influential role of school environments in the

positive development of adolescents and their sense of belonging (Drolet & Arcand, 2013) by

providing “positive social contacts, a feeling of social integration, an attachment to prosocial

organizations, and the ability to find one’s way through various contexts” (Lerner, Phelps,

Forman, & Bowers, 2009, as cited in Drolet & Arcand, 2013, p. 2); however, military students

average six relocations before graduation (DoD, 2015), making it difficult to establish and

maintain long-term social connections, which have shown to affect “an adolescent’s well-being

and healthy development” (Larson, 2011, as cited in Lucier-Greer, et al., 2015, p. 2). When

adolescents lack a perceived sense of social connectedness with their school, they can internalize

negative emotions which surface as negative external behaviors (Allen, et al., 2014).

Finally, a large aspect of adolescent psychological development revolves around the

social learning theory, which states that adolescents will observe and internalize the actions and

decisions of those with whom they feel they can most “significant and influential” (Bussey &

Bandura, 2004, as cited in Drolet & Arcand, p. 2). Military students cannot afford to flounder

within the school system when they need the direction and influence of school counselors and


teachers who can guide them through setbacks and provide them solace away from stressful

home environments (Drolet & Arcand, 2013).

Proposed Social Media Strategy

I propose the creation of Stationary: a stable, closed-group social networking site

designed for students from military families and accessible in school districts where military

members and their families are serving. There are three goals of Stationary: strengthen the

psychological health of military students, identify military students within local school systems,

and connect military students with school counselors.

On Jan. 14, 2011, President Barack Obama signed the “Strengthening Our Military

Families: Meeting America’s Commitment” report (White House, 2011). The government-wide

effort included “improving the quality of the educational experience, reducing the negative

impacts of frequent relocations and absences, and encouraging the healthy development of

military children” (White House, 2011, p. 2). I propose a broadcasted presidential

announcement on the five-year anniversary of the report. President Obama would have an

opportunity to publically acknowledge the government's continued commitment to military

families and act as a voice of authority to legitimize the site (Cialdini, 2001) with an official

launch at the start of the 2016-2017 school year.

In order to gather a national list of school-aged military students, I propose piggybacking

off the idea set into motion by the Los Angeles Unified School District, which “became the first

district in the nation to add a check box on school enrollments that identified parents or

guardians as military members” (Dwyer, 2014, p. 4). All military students would receive a

parental consent form outlining the site’s mission, features, links and privacy laws, in accordance

with Section 312.5, Parental Consent, of the Part 312: Children’s Online Privacy Protection


Rule. To protect the privacy of the military students and prevent non-military students from

accessing the site, the service members must sign and return the forms in person to the school

registrar, who will ask them to verify his or her identity by showing a government-issued

identification (U.S. Government Publishing Office, 2015). Upon approval, military students

would receive access to their designated school district’s local Stationary website.

Upon initial login, Stationary users could create personal profiles, which would be

limited to their name, school name, a personal photograph and a list of hobbies. Users are

encouraged to self-disclose with the understanding that any information shared on the site will

not dispersed outside of the Stationary network or available for secondary uses (Joinson,

McKenna, Postmes, & Reips, 2007). Information is limited to protect against possible security

hacks that could jeopardize the safety of military members and their families. Like most social

networking sites, Stationary would include action buttons to encourage social connections.

Discuss: Military students would be encouraged to present a military-related topic on which

their local Stationary chapter could provide counsel, advice or encouragement. This feature

encourages observational learning and modeling to guide military students to healthy

behaviors and choices while gaining acceptance and social support (Bandura, 2001).

Share: Military students are encouraged to share feelings, moods, news or anything that

promotes self-disclosure and trust among peers while enhancing psychosocial development

(Bandura, 2001).

Connect: Military students are encouraged to expand their social networks and connect with

other military students within their school district.

Invite: Military students are encouraged to expand their online interactions to offline

connections by organizing district-wide Stationary events, volunteer opportunities or social


gatherings. Community involvement improves “youth well-being and academic

engagement” (Eccles & Gootman, 2002; Ludden, 2011, as cited in Lucier-Greer, 2015, p. 4).

Chat: Military students are encouraged to engage in two-way communication with their

online friends, rather than limit communication to Share or Discuss.

Stationary site links will be limited to prevent information overload and distract from a focus

on qualitative posts.

Scholarships: Military students will have direct access to applications for scholarships

pertaining to military children (Operation Homefront, 2015).

Topics: Military students will have direct access to a consolidated list of articles and

resources pertaining to military life that could provide guidance during times of uncertainty.

Surrounding Schools: Military students will have direct access to the Stationary websites

within their school district to discourage feelings of isolation and encourage expanded social

networks.

Ask for Help: Military students are encouraged to seek professional help from a school

counselor when facing internal struggles. This feature allows the student to chat online or

schedule a face-to-face appointment from the privacy of their computer.

Each school district would assign school counselors to monitor activity as site

administrators. The site will be embedded with the Simply360 Social Media Monitoring

Analytics Tool (2015), which tracks keywords, conversations, popular topics, feedback, identify

influencers on the site and compile data into comprehensive spreadsheets. School counselors

would send quarterly analytics reports to the U.S. Department of Education, which would

provide environmental assessments to military healthcare pediatricians. Student feedback would

be encouraged to empower Stationary members and provide them ownership of their social


experience (Dessart, Veloutsou, & Morgan-Thomas, 2015). Finally, school counselors would

monitor the military students within their school for improved psychological well-being.

Theoretical Rationale

When military students lack stability at home or a sense of belonging at school, they can,

like their peers, turn to social networking sites for acceptance identity confirmation. Research

suggests that “when they feel connected and comfortable with school-based peers, early

adolescents use the Internet to seek out additional opportunities to interact with them” (Gross, et

al., 2002, as cited in Joinson, et al., 2007, p. 339).

Social Networking Sites Enhance Psychosocial Development

Recent findings suggest that adolescents are merging online and offline relationships to

fulfill “developmental needs of sexuality, intimacy, increasing autonomy and identity

exploration” (Christie & Viner, 2005 as cited in Reich, Subrahmanyam, & Espinoza, 2012, p.

357). Social networking sites encourage adolescents to establish personal social identities by

self-disclosing beliefs, worldviews, shared interests and other self-identifying information. On

the other hand, users can join otherwise-inaccessible groups who share their interests or

affiliations and exchange feedback on communal goals (Shapiro & Margolin, 2014). In either

case, adolescents develop “close relationships based on trust, self-disclosure and loyalty”

(Collins & Steinberg, 2006; Brown and Larson, 2009, as cited in Shapiro & Margolin, 2014, p.

2).

In a narrative review of 43 studies involving the social benefits of social media, Best,

Manktelow and Taylor (2014) found that online technology increases self-esteem, social capital,

opportunities for self-disclosure, perceived social support and safe identity experimentation (p.

33). Specifically, social networking sites were among the forms of digital communication that


provided adolescents with social support, thus “increasing emotional support, self-disclosure and

belongingness while reducing social anxiety” (Best, et al., 2014, p. 32). Self-disclosure is

necessary in the healthy processing of emotional distress and increase perceived social support

when community members are receptive. Furthermore, social networking sites offer a sense of

community that transcends the bounds of cyberspace, indicating gains in bonding and bridging

social capital that lead to offline interactions (Tomai, Rosa, Mebane, D’Acunti, Benedetti &

Francescato, 2010, as cited in Best, et al., 2014, p. 32).

Adolescents are Already Online

According to a research study by the Kaiser Family Foundation (2010) “11-18 year olds

are exposed to roughly 11 hours electronic media daily” (as cited in Shapiro & Margolin, 2014,

p. 1). While face-to-face communication is preferable, their top five means of digital

communication are social media, texting, social network sites, emailing and instant messaging

(Common Sense Media, 2012). Furthermore, teens report that “the use of social media has

enhanced their relationships with friends and family members, and improved their social and

emotional well-being, making them feel more confident, outgoing, popular, sympathetic to

others and better about themselves” (Common Sense Media, 2012, p. 10). Finally, adolescents

reported their top three reasons for using social media as to maintain established friendships,

form new friendships at school and connect with those who share similarities (Common Sense

Media, 2012).

Social Media Builds Community Identities

Most businesses create networking platforms as a venue for their like-minded consumers

to collaborate and exchange ideas for brand improvements (Mangold & Faulds, 2009).

Likewise, the Department of Defense has created multiple social media identities where service


members, families of service members and those with a general interest in military matters can

provide direct feedback to lawmakers, socially connect and engage in topics of military interest.

In doing so, these exclusive groups form community identities based on the values instilled by

the military, experiences shared during times of war, sacrifices made for the common good, and

unique challenges characteristic of military living. As a result, community members feel special,

and maintain a sense of belonging and perceived social support (Mangold & Faulds, 2009).

Stationary has the opportunity to provide the same sense of identity for military students.

Conclusion

Military students are wrought with psychological challenges perpetuated by multiple

deployments, family separations and frequent relocations. They find it difficult to establish and

maintain close friendships and often turn to unhealthy coping mechanisms like alcohol and drug

abuse or social isolation. While military spouses and parents can turn to online informational

resources and local support groups, military adolescents lack a stable, reliable outlet for

establishing social support. Integration of Stationary into school districts nationwide could

potentially improve the social well-being of military students, decrease social anxiety following

relocations and encourage the development and sustainment of close friendships.


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