Allen Liu Final draft

Facebook is the most dominant social networking site in colleges right now. According to a recent study done by OnlineEducation.net on college students' use of social media in the U.S., 96 percent of college students use Facebook. In addition, 75 percent of college students report that they want to collaborate online with each other via Facebook (Andrew, 2011). Because of the popularity of Facebook among college students, there are questions about potential use of it that could benefit them. One important question is whether Facebook will be beneficial for college adjustment for freshmen. College adjustment is a critical issue because when teenagers come to the campus for their first time, they will experience stressful life transition. Danah Boyd, professor in Media, Culture, and Communication at New York University, claims that the local network familiar to high school graduates is no longer available to them in the new college environment, which could exacerbate the stress (Boyd, 2013). Facebook, a social networking site that allows one to stay socially connected with other people, emerges as a possible solution to this problem. However, there is a debate of whether Facebook is beneficial for college adjustment. The proponent side argues that Facebook, if used properly, will help students benefit from better learning environment, become more socially connected, and achieve positive psychological mindset. On the other hand, the opponent side argues that Facebook use is linked to lower grades, lower social confidence in real life, and depression and low self-esteem. This paper, therefore, will analyze the interest group, advocacy group, the use of language on different side, and debate on factual claims. In addition, results from social science research will also be analyzed for closer examination on the debate over factual claims. While some corresponding factual and value claims on different sides agree with each 2 other, the ultimate underlying conflict within the debate is related to the dispute over factual claims about Facebook's effect on learning, social and psychological adjustment for college students. Sub-debates such as Facebook's effects on students' learning, social, and psychological adjustment to colleges underlie the main dispute. In the sub-debate on learning adjustment, opponent side claims that Facebook is socially distractive, which can leads to poor academic performance, whereas proponents argue that Facebook allows freshmen to have better learning experience because of its educational values. In addition, proponents argue that Facebook is merely integrated with students' lives rather than negatively …