Title: The Use Of Facebook By Students Of The University Of Papua New Guinea

By: George Sikin (ICS Student)

 03^rd  of  May, 2013

The role social media/network has come to play in this information age is an issue no individual can ignore. It has huge impact on the personal and professional lives of people. Indeed, its influence spans globally and it is rapidly growing in terms of its users, applications, innovations, and modifications. Of course, it is an information and communication tool. For the purpose of clarity and coherent sequencing in the context of this presentation, the terms ‘social network’ and ‘social network’ shall be interchangeably used because they can be taken as synonyms. Examples of social media tools in this contemporary age include Facebook, Twitter, Linkedln and Ning only to name a few.

This paper bears my findings regarding the use of Facebook as information and communication tool by doing a mini research on randomly selected students here in the University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG). I interviewed them with respect to time usage, the financial cost, what Facebook means to their personal and professional lives, and their perceptions on the effectiveness of this tool.

I carried out an interview on 20 fellow students of equal gender participation. They all admitted to having exposure on Facebook. A mere 10% said they deactivated their Facebook accounts whereas the rest can be summed up in the humorous reply of one who said, “Facebook is our life, our very breath.” That fascinated me and caused me to ask them (the 90% currently on Facebook) the very next logical question: How often do they go on Facebook? Using a closed-interview method, I gave them to choose from a range of time frame. Surprisingly (maybe because I’m not on Facebook), almost all except 3 interviewees replied by saying they ‘surf’on Facebook once every 10 minutes, even in the classes and while interacting physically with their environment. Indeed, my generation swims along with the tide of this technological age. In unified chorus of gesture, they all claim to like Facebook.    

I was all the more overwhelmed when they responded to my query of how much money in terms of their sim card units they can estimate spending just to ensure they go on Facebook. 15/17 currently on Facebook admitted they lost track of either the actual or approximate spending on accessing this tool. The other two students were financially manageable enough to say they spend roughly around K20/week on Facebook accessibility. The ones that deactivated expressed that one of the very reason they did so were not because they disliked this social media tool, but that because they seemed not to have any control over their spending when it comes to keeping up friends, events and news on Facebook page.  

Worthy for consideration was the fact I found that all of them admitted that Facebook is a very important information and communication tool. Of the 20 I interviewed, 6 of them happened to be current executives in their respective association and affiliation groups on campus (UPNG). They all admitted Facebook helps them in posting their notices or ‘Toksave’ as they put it in pidgin, out to their members. One brave respondent among them sarcastically commented it’s about time we do away with the notice boards in the campus. He made a profound statement that students are now more phone/technologically conscious. He convinced me greatly because I myself get tired of seeing a lot of papers pinned on the notice boards. In many instances, it looks so untidy and unworthy of our claim to be the Premier University in the Pacific. The responses from the rest of the others said they now feel they can be anywhere at any one time- thanks to Facebook. 4 others (all female respondents) jokingly said they are able to communicate with their mothers about the ‘girls stuff’ frequently. All of them find this tool very effective for information and communication purposes.

Asked about their general perception of this tool, they all agreed that Facebook is an excellent information and communication tool that synchronizes well with the demand of the time we’re living in. They believed the designer of this tool saw a vast need and purposed in his heart to resolve it. However, with mixed feelings of sadness and anger, they spelt out their sentiments with regard to the attitude of its users. Criticisms uncalled for, images that are morally degrading, and relationships that once embraced the essence of loyalty but are not anymore, are some of the evil effects of ‘sick’ users of this well-intended tool.

On a personal level after conducting this research, I came to appreciate this tool, Facebook. I deactivated my account therein because of the immense negativeness that violated my Christian ethics. However, a critical evaluation of the responses from my participants revealed that it is more benefiting to be on Facebook. There’s a lot more to gain- professional affiliations, current social developments, and a wider community of people who may share common interests with me. Almost all my research respondents maintained that despite the negatives one shall encounter, it is ‘a sin of the age not to keep up with the relevant tool of the age- Facebook’ (The National, p.34). Of course, my perception changed while in the course of carrying out my research. I must also state my conviction that my findings can and must be treated as a great reflection of the use of this tool in the lives of many citizens of this nation, especially the student population.

PNG women using Facebook to campaign against domestic violence

By Lawrence Boi

Political Science Student

University of Papua New Guinea

9th of May, 2013

Fig.1.0 ICS Department_UPNG

In the contemporary society, social media has proven to be a reliable source for communication and information. The rate at which social media is adopted is fast becoming epidemic in the everyday lives of both the rural and urban population of Papua New Guinea. Every now and then people walking on the streets, at the work place, in schools, doing businesses, and or elsewhere on leisure purposes are exposed to some form of social media for communication and information. The importance of social media is significant in the more modern day lives of Papua New Guineans. The explosion in the use of social media by Papua New Guineans is changing the way that they are engaging in politics, business and social activities on the home front. It is also changing the way that the international community is engaging with Papua New Guinea.

This paper will illustrate how women in Papua New Guinea utilize Facebook to promote the issue of domestic violence ,especially house wives, to raise concerns on some of the social issues they face in their daily lives. Facebook has open up the minds of women to take a stand in addressing and raising concerns on domestic violence and social issues commonly faced in their daily lives.

There are estimated to be about 30,000 Facebook users in PNG but the number might be much higher. Every day new Facebook accounts are being created and many Papua New Guineans are able to communicate using this medium (Yochai 2012). There are 60% male users and 40% female users in Papua New Guinea out of the total Facebook users.

House-wives have found Facebook very useful in their lives. With the innovative intervention of Facebook some Papua New Guinean house-wives have been able to express their consent on political debates, economical discussions and raise concern on social issues affecting them. In a male dominated society women are given little or no chance at all to express their freewill and rights. However, this has turned around to some certain degree where women are now at liberty to be involved in the political, social and economy spheres of life through the usage of social media/networking such as Facebook. Commonly, women feel reluctant to come out to speak of their consent in public but, contrarily, Facebook enables them to become active participants in point of discussions on surrounding issues that affects their livelihood through social networking.

Domestic violence is commonly faced by most Papua New Guinean house-wives. In 2011, Facebook groups were set up by social media users in PNG to protest police inaction in certain cases. For example, a former policeman, Simon Bernard, who had been beating his wife regularly over a six-year period, was finally brought to justice. A Facebook group created page, ‘Papua New Guineans against domestic violence’, in response to the media reports and used by Facebook members to express their anger and frustration, engage in debate on the issue, as well as share domestic violence stories. This Facebook group, which attracted 5,000 members in its first 48 hours, also received coverage across blogs in PNG and in international media including the Huffington Post.

This domestic assault case prompted civil society groups to use online and social media tools to encourage Papua New Guineans to sign a petition and to demand action from the local police. After receiving over 500 emails, the PNG superintendent in charge of the case appealed for public help in the case and was forced to launch an investigation into allegations that police had been harboring Simon Bernard. Today this Facebook group remains a site to discuss domestic violence issues in PNG. It contains emergency contact information so that victims of domestic violence in PNG have access to immediate support as well as to health and sexual violence centers.

New civil rights women’s groups have been using Facebook to launch their protest against violence on women in Papua New Guinea. Posted image and pictures of women leading the campaign and other photos of women being beaten with bruises, scars, cuts and swollen face were uploaded on Facebook for media attention. Upon the concern raised on Facebook, Peter O’Niell's government provided their support by posting a link to an article released by the Eoin Blackwell, AAP PNG Correspondence on Facebook. Peter O, Neil stated that ‘domestic violence is set to become a criminal offence in PNG’. Through the effort of women campaigning against domestic violence on Facebook has attracted attentions from the government.  

 Social media is a vital tool for information and communication that can be effectively used to address developmental issues as well as social issues encountered in Papua New Guinea. The latest intervention of Facebook users has greatly helped women to  fight violence against women in PNG. Increasing number of women from all over PNG have shown their interest and support by joining   this Facebook group. Women are now fighting violence against women on Facebook and have been rapidly getting responses from the public at an amazing rate. Social media can also be used in such areas of life to bring out public concerns in relation to inequalities and disruption in societies.

See:

Stop Domestic Violence in Papua New Guinea