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Social Network Sites (SNSs) have become an irreplaceable communication channel. Although, the history of SNSs is not quite long, many researchers have dedicated to observe the social impact brought by SNSs. Indeed, the influence of SNSs should not be overlooked. Many of the social phenomena in recent years are direct or indirect guided by SNSs, which we cannot help but to keep an eye on the newest development of the trend.

In Whose Space? Differences Among Users and Non-Users of Social Network Sites, Eszter Hargittai questions about the difference between users and non-users of SNSs, which most of the academic researches ignores. Eszter thinks this is an antecedent question that should be answered before studying other behaviors of use of SNSs.  Accordingly, Eszter adopts regression analysis to examine the correlation between multiple variations.

The following are the findings of the research. Originally, people think no one knows who you are in the cyberspace. However, the use of SNSs reflects the person’s social network in everyday life. We can see different races have a tendency to use different SNSs, such as Hispanic students are considered more likely to use MySpace, while Asians/Asian Americans are considerably more likely to use Xanga and Friendster. Different family backgrounds could also mirror the tendency of using different SNSs. In the research, there seems to be a positive relationship between parental schooling and the use of Facebook and Xanga, and a negative relationship between parental education and the use of MySpace.

We can say the use of SNSs is a way to stay connected with acquaintances. Most people take SNSs as a tool that maintains and deepens the relationship of someone we have already known. Thus, the online social activities of a person are not independent from the person’s physical social activities. The behavior and the social norms in SNSs have come closer to reality because the anonymity seems no more exists in this environment.

The interesting thing is: if students who are less likely to build relationships on campus in the first place, are also less likely to use SNSs that facilitate additional interactions with their friends or classmates. Accordingly, these students are even lonelier than before SNSs have been widely accepted. We can conclude that people who are already constrained due to particular circumstances are precisely the ones not benefiting from some of the Web’s potential.

Eszter also implies that students who live with its family may influence the well-connection with its peers. Eszter states that by spending less time on campus, students who live with their parents know fewer of their peers and know less about them, thus perhaps having less of a desire to keep in touch with them. On the other hand, students who live by themselves or in dorms are more active on SNSs.

In conclusion, SNSs facilitate the process of forming relationships with someone we already known. Thus, the use of SNSs is not all decided by one’s’ will, but the peer group may influence the decision. Because of the above factor, the use of SNSs reveals one’s social networks in everyday life. It may also reveal one’s demographic backgrounds, such as racial and ethical background, parental education statues and so on. Accordingly, SNSs helps people form strong relationship or interact with someone who shares similar backgrounds, and SNSs lead people to reduce the chances to get to know someone who shares less similarities.