Are You on Facebook or MySpace?
Wednesday, August 29, 2007 by HackCollege 
Danah Boyd, a PhD candidate at the School of Information at University of California - Berkeley, recently wrote a short essay on the apparent social class division between MySpace users and Facebook users on her blog.
In her essay, she begins with a quick distinction between the users of each social network:
The goodie two shoes, jocks, athletes, or other "good" kids are now going to Facebook. These kids tend to come from families who emphasize education and going to college. They are part of what we'd call hegemonic society. They are primarily white, but not exclusively. They are in honors classes, looking forward to the prom, and live in a world dictated by after school activities.
MySpace is still home for Latino/Hispanic teens, immigrant teens, "burnouts," "alternative kids," "art fags," punks, emos, goths, gangstas, queer kids, and other kids who didn't play into the dominant high school popularity paradigm. These are kids whose parents didn't go to college, who are expected to get a job when they finish high school. These are the teens who plan to go into the military immediately after schools. Teens who are really into music or in a band are also on MySpace. MySpace has most of the kids who are socially ostracized at school because they are geeks, freaks, or queers.
When Facebook first came online, it was limited to Ivy-League students. Soon, however, more colleges were added, yet a college-style .edu email address was absolutely required. (Though this restriction has recently been lifted)
MySpace, on the other hand, started off primarily with bands and artists seeking their own "web space". Teenage concert goers flocked to MySpace to view their favorite bands' profiles and to create their own accounts. No college education required. Absolutely none.
And although both currently allow every Internet user to join, MySpace houses all the sexual predators. Are there none on Facebook?
With neither social network now requiring a college education, is the class division Boyd sees still in place? Is the strict Facebook layout more appealing to the upper-class student, with the flexible MySpace layout more eye catching to the lower-class student? And what does that say about you if you're on both social networks? Or neither?
Let us know in the comments: Which social network do you ascribe to?
Reader Comments (6)
I'd say there's a difference between MySpace's artistic concerns and oh-my-God-your-profile-blinds-me syndrome. I would still argue that Facebook was just built with a better foundation. Then again, I'm a Facebook user.
I use both; however, I use them for different things. I find myspace more useful for reconnecting with old friends from high school and back home, whereas I use facebook to network within my current social circle. I do agree that myspace has a lot more going on in terms of music and art and also appeals to a wider range of people, if nothing more than the fact that it offers more in terms of people expressing themselves through their layouts ect.
I don't necessarily agree, though, with Dana Boyd's description of myspace. Yes, I'm sure all the kinds of people she mentioned are on myspace, but I don't think it's limited to just those people.
I'd like to know where she got her statistics. I mean, with the amount of users myspace has, it can hardly be filled completely with people whose parents didn't go to college and people who, themselves, are also not going to college.
@Adrienne: Good point. Her essay was really short on any factual data. I think she was merely trying to express an idea, but, you're right, I wish she had some numbers, too.
this person sounds like a fool. labeling all latinos and art fags (what a horrible term!) as undesireable outcasts and therefore myspace users. facebook is for goodie-goodies? HA! all the pics i see on facebook are of drunken hooligans or slutty hoes representing their latest sexual escapades. people use facebook to stalk others and promote debauchery through parties/events and whatnot. this person has no factual data to support anything said in this essay. it sounds like she's just writing from a biased viewpoint than any actual truth. facebook and myspace users are both hedonistic and self-obsessed. tht being said i have both =). however i only have myspace and use it rarely to talk to friends i don't see anymore (90% are college educated and are not socially inept)
[...] of sexual predators, whether they be on MySpace or [...]
So great!
thank you for sharing this with us