Glenn Connelly / Photo Editor

The last time you logged out of your MySpace account, did you take a moment to wonder why you logged on – or why you even made a profile in the first place? Was it out of mindless boredom? To gain a more valid social identity? Or because you wanted to watch videos and look at photos all afternoon?Valerie Barker has the answer to those questions.Myspace and Facebook are wildly popular, with a combined visitors-number of more than 150 million. With this popularity comes an increasing amount of attention in the media. Because of this, parents, lawmakers and school officials have expressed concern over this new form of online communication.However, the topic has not garnered much scientific research. Valerie Barker, Ph.D., a lecturer for the School of Journalism and Media Studies at San Diego State, is currently working on a re-vamped version of her first study about why people use social networking Web sites. Barker surveyed a group of SDSU freshmen and found four major motivations for usage of social networking sites: passing time, entertainment, social identity gratification and virtual companionship. “This is something that is incredibly pervasive, not just among young people,” Barker said. “People are latching onto it.”The first two seem obvious to anyone who logs into the site regularly. Most SDSU students tend to use the Web sites to pass time, post pictures of their weekend or set up future plans.However, Barker found another aspect of these sites that helps to make them phenomenally addictive to all aspects of the population.The results of her study divided users into two separate groups: those who identified with their peer groups and those who did not identify strongly with their peer groups and felt negative about them. The participants who identified strongly with their peers said they used the sites mainly for entertainment and passing time, which is what most students associate Myspace and Facebook with.However, those who felt alienated from their peer groups sought “virtual companionship” from the Internet. These participants conduct much of their social life online.”The Internet opens up huge vistas in terms of creating virtual communities,” Barker said. “It can be helpful in creating an extension of ordinary life; however, those who do not have much in ordinary life are the people who are at risk in the Internet community.”Added journalism junior Rachael Alonzo: “It’s an easy way to communicate with people without having to verbally or physically be with them.”That risk has been increasingly publicized in the media. More and more news stories include some facet of these Web sites in their reporting, whether it’s about laws placing restrictions on them or about crimes, threats or suicide attempts that were rooted in social networking sites.After analyzing her results, Barker said her study did not include enough male subjects, so her second survey will attempt to reach more men in order to make an accurate comparison between the sexes and their differences in social networking site use. Her second study will also include participants from China and Japan, in order to compare the motivations of use cross-culturally. Barker’s research is currently undergoing peer review and is pending publication in a scientific journal. Her findings will be presented in Montreal in May at the International Communication Association Convention. Once her second set of research is completed, she will attempt to publish her findings separately.