Study on uses and applications of the social network Facebook at the University of Cuenca (2015-2016)

Social networks on the Internet, in particular Facebook, have become a hypermedia communication channel but their languages and content have unsuspected implications in culture, education, daily life and social order. They generate radical changes in the understanding of individual identity, interactions, expression and mobility and they reflect the structures of power, domain as emancipation. To carry out a study on the social network Facebook, as a first stage that begins Hypermedia studies, responds to a need and constitutes a huge social responsibility for the ignorance of the impacts of its modalities of use in the ecosystem of human, professional or social relations. We limit this study to the University of Cuenca, but its results radiate themselves to the youth of our city, region and culture. The methodological processes, procedures and analysis instruments will allow us to collect scientific information and characterize uses and practices of the virtual community. The work will develop a conceptual system, a new communication model, will design processes and strategies to build and share knowledge oriented to the use of the network, in freedom, but with criteria, principles, rights and qualities of life. The team of researchers is constituted by teachers of the Communication career at the University of Cuenca, of Assistants and the collaboration of national or foreign agencies such as those that support the Cicnetart Research Group. For 21 months we can carry out an edu-communicative study. We will relate content analysis. We will observe and survey a sufficient number users of the Network. With which we intend to build a database and have conceptual theoretical elaborations and application formats that guide learning and design campaigns about the best use of these personal and social development resources.

14th RESEARCH PROJECT COMPETITION