After reviewing the literature associated with this field of study, it suggested to me to look at online social networks from the online-offline dynamic. The online-offline dynamic is defined as the ability of an online social network to develop and maintain relationships and transfer those relationships to the real world environment. Therefore, it seemed that I should focus my dissertation on a real-world effect of online social networking. I will focus on the issues surrounding incoming first-year students coming from small towns going to large universities and how those freshmen use Facebook as a coping mechanism. A coping mechanism will be defined as the unconscious or conscious way of dealing with stress that allows the user to connect with other users on the network, other people or other organizations within the real world environment.
