This research examined how college students feel about their professors requesting them to be a Facebook friend. Recognizing the ways in which professors and students communicating through social networking could produce additional educational opportunities for collaboration and instruction, while also causing tension or awkwardness as the process develops. Semistructured interviews were utilized by the researcher to obtain information from the selected participants, and the data were analyzed by comparative methods. Through this study, it was revealed that students are split on the appropriateness of professors as Facebook friends. They prefer little to no self-disclosure from their professors. They do not see Facebook friendships with professors as an invasion of their privacy. Although most students believe Facebook can be an effective educational tool, there are mixed feelings whether using Facebook as an educational tool strips the site of its originally intended social purpose, most students will accept their professor’s Facebook request but only because they feel that they have to. This study extends the limited initial research on Facebook usage in education, namely with students.
","abstract_html":"<p>This research examined how college students feel about their professors requesting them to be a Facebook friend. Recognizing the ways in which professors and students communicating through social networking could produce additional educational opportunities for collaboration and instruction, while also causing tension or awkwardness as the process develops. Semistructured interviews were utilized by the researcher to obtain information from the selected participants, and the data were analyzed by comparative methods. Through this study, it was revealed that students are split on the appropriateness of professors as Facebook friends. They prefer little to no self-disclosure from their professors. They do not see Facebook friendships with professors as an invasion of their privacy. Although most students believe Facebook can be an effective educational tool, there are mixed feelings whether using Facebook as an educational tool strips the site of its originally intended social purpose, most students will accept their professor’s Facebook request but only because they feel that they have to. This study extends the limited initial research on Facebook usage in education, namely with students.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Dearbone, Ryan"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts","degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":"Department of Communication","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. Blair Thompson (Director), Dr. Angela M. Jerome, Dr. Kumi Ishii"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2014,"date_issued":"2014-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2014-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T06:08:26Z","subjects":["friending","social network communication","teacher-student relationships","social media","Communication","Communication Technology and New Media","Interpersonal and Small Group Communication"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/1349","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Blair Thompson (Director), Dr. Angela M. Jerome, Dr. Kumi Ishii"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Dearbone, Ryan"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Department of Communication"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["friending","social network communication","teacher-student relationships","social media","Communication","Communication Technology and New Media","Interpersonal and Small Group Communication"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/1349"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This research examined how college students feel about their professors requesting them to be a Facebook friend. Recognizing the ways in which professors and students communicating through social networking could produce additional educational opportunities for collaboration and instruction, while also causing tension or awkwardness as the process develops. Semistructured interviews were utilized by the researcher to obtain information from the selected participants, and the data were analyzed by comparative methods. Through this study, it was revealed that students are split on the appropriateness of professors as Facebook friends. They prefer little to no self-disclosure from their professors. They do not see Facebook friendships with professors as an invasion of their privacy. Although most students believe Facebook can be an effective educational tool, there are mixed feelings whether using Facebook as an educational tool strips the site of its originally intended social purpose, most students will accept their professor’s Facebook request but only because they feel that they have to. This study extends the limited initial research on Facebook usage in education, namely with students.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Relational Development, Self-Disclosure, and Invasion of Privacy: College Students and Teachers as Facebook Friends"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. Blair Thompson (Director), Dr. Angela M. Jerome, Dr. Kumi Ishii"],"dc:creator":["Dearbone, Ryan"],"dc:description.abstract":["This research examined how college students feel about their professors requesting them to be a Facebook friend. Recognizing the ways in which professors and students communicating through social networking could produce additional educational opportunities for collaboration and instruction, while also causing tension or awkwardness as the process develops. Semistructured interviews were utilized by the researcher to obtain information from the selected participants, and the data were analyzed by comparative methods. Through this study, it was revealed that students are split on the appropriateness of professors as Facebook friends. They prefer little to no self-disclosure from their professors. They do not see Facebook friendships with professors as an invasion of their privacy. Although most students believe Facebook can be an effective educational tool, there are mixed feelings whether using Facebook as an educational tool strips the site of its originally intended social purpose, most students will accept their professor’s Facebook request but only because they feel that they have to. This study extends the limited initial research on Facebook usage in education, namely with students.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/1349"],"dc:subject":["friending","social network communication","teacher-student relationships","social media","Communication","Communication Technology and New Media","Interpersonal and Small Group Communication"],"dc:title":["Relational Development, Self-Disclosure, and Invasion of Privacy: College Students and Teachers as Facebook Friends"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Department of Communication"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T06:08:26Z"}