Researchers compared 500 undergraduate students with one of their parents, creating 500 student–parent pairs and 1,000 participants in total. The students attended one large public Midwestern university and were identified as rural by their ZIP code at application. Students and parents answered a survey about personal network diversity, social media use and social tolerance.
The study found that going to university is linked with meeting more diverse acquaintances and with greater tolerance. Social media was generally linked to wider, more diverse networks and more acceptance. But when students and parents used the same platforms, results were mixed: some students had less diverse networks, while parents who shared platforms often had more racially and ethnically diverse networks. The researchers say long-term effects are not yet known.
Difficult words
- undergraduate — a student studying for a first university degreeundergraduate students
- survey — a set of questions to collect information
- diversity — variety of different kinds of people or thingspersonal network diversity
- tolerance — willingness to accept people who are differentsocial tolerance
- acquaintance — person you know but not welldiverse acquaintances
- platform — website or app where people meet or connectplatforms
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- Do you think going to university helps people meet more different kinds of people? Why or why not?
- Do you use social media to meet new people? How does it change the people you meet?
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