Variations in College Student LinkedIn Usage Across Social Classes

Caity Begg | Harvard '16

linkedin.com/in/caitlinbegg // @caitybegg

Do college students' motivations behind using LinkedIn vary across social classes?

Do very rich students abstain because they

feel it is unnecessary, or is this more common among lower class students because of an intimidation factor?

Additionally, does a student's level of comfort in reaching out to weak ties through the platform vary based on class?

1. Research Question

My research focuses on the motivations behind using LinkedIn through the lens of

different social classes across college students. Do LinkedIn members motivations for utilizing the platform differ significantly by social class? What can these findings say about income inequality in the United States, and what can these findings indicate about how different social classes leverage their networks? Is a working class student less comfortable reaching out to a weak tie?  

 - Sacks and Graves: Situational Usefulness

- Schraide: Digital Production Gap

Importance & Relation to Literature

• Interviews

  • 7 so far:
    • 2 Harvard (1 lower class, 1 higher)​
    • 2 BC (1 middle, 1 higher)
    • 2 Penn (1 middle, 1 higher)
    • 1 Lesley (higher)
  • 3 more scheduled:
    • 1 Wellesley 
    • 2 BU
  • All female

Research Methods

• Survey

  • Used for supplemental comparison, analytical leverage, same questions used as interview
  • Detailed, takes about 5-8 minutes online
  • 30+ respondents so far

LinkedIn Usage largely does not vary widely across social classes, but the lower income students surveyed indicated increased motivation in using the platform (due in part to desired class mobilization). Most of those who did not use the platform were higher income students who "hadn't gotten around to it yet"--contrasting the notion of a lower class "intimidation factor".

There are limitations to these results due to sample size.

Findings

Specific Evidence

• Lesley student only interviewee without LinkedIn
• So far 5 surveyed students
  • Reasons for not:
    • All but one: haven't gotten around to setting one up yet
      • One said not necessary
        • sophomore, didn't feel need to network yet
• Usage of platform varied, but most once a week
• Average comfort reaching out to weak tie 2.91
• 61% have not reached out to weak tie
• 67% 100k+, 33% below

Could be due to school environment or personality

However, data indicates support for lower class desired mobility

Alternative Interpretation

Importance in Relation to Literature

Sacks and Graves: "How Many 'Friends' Do you Need?" (how much relied on social media)

Schradie: Digital Production Gap (content gap across classes)

Papacharissi’s “The virtual geographies of social networks: a comparative analysis of Facebook, LinkedIn, and ASmallWorld” (self presentation across platforms)

Concluding Remarks