Three Search Skills from College Students That Adults Want to Emulate

Dentsu Inc. conducted a diary study with 19 university students over approximately one year as an industry-academia collaborative project with the Yuko Fujita Seminar at Meiji University's School of Business and Commerce. We analyzed the data together with the seminar students, researching young people's lives and their relationship with media in modern society.

This series reveals the "real-life habits of university students" uncovered through the diary study, incorporating insights gained from the collaborative research.

We perform numerous web searches daily using smartphones and PCs. Perhaps some readers even found this article through a web search. Furthermore, "SNS searches" using social media have recently become widespread among younger generations, meaning that even the simple act of "searching" varies greatly depending on the person.

This time, while introducing how today's university students "search" and enjoy information, I, Mika Kifuse, will explore the information awareness of recent university students as a researcher.

Our diary study also revealed that many university students skillfully use SNS search for information gathering. Analyzing their behavior shows they instantly select the appropriate SNS tool based on what they want to search for or their purpose, efficiently collecting information.

Needless to say, much of the information on SNS comes from posts by ordinary people. These posts document their own experiences, observations, and hearsay. Precisely because SNS search is about "searching people's experiences," the information is sometimes perceived as more reliable than the neatly packaged information from mass media.

The SNS searches conducted by today's university students can be categorized into three main types.

1. Twitter Searches for Breaking News and Trends

They find Twitter more convenient than other SNS platforms for getting the latest hot topics quickly. Therefore, when they come across interesting tweets or articles, they don't just read them; they use screenshot and retweet functions to share them.

Researcher's Explanation

Twitter is characterized by its real-time nature. Today's college students skillfully leverage the characteristics of SNS, using Twitter searches when they want to know or see something as quickly as possible, or when they want to understand the current situation.

Generally, web media (like YouTube videos and news articles) are considered faster at delivering information than mass media. For today's college students, accustomed to the rapid pace of web media, unedited posts from ordinary people on social media are accepted as the most real-time information available.

While "information from SNS" can sometimes raise questions about reliability, with SNS search—where you can receive a lot of information from a single source—I think people confirm reliability based on the sheer volume of information: how many people are posting about it and how widely the information has spread.

2. Instagram's # (hashtag) search offers a more authentic simulated experience

2:30 PM: On the day of the fireworks festival, I take a break with a friend at a family restaurant. While resting, we use our smartphones to gather information because we don't know where the fireworks will be launched from.

Both of us shared the desire to take photos from the perfect spot, since we'd brought our DSLR cameras. We thought Twitter would be the best place to gather this kind of information, but we didn't find many useful leads, so we decided to look elsewhere.

Me: "What if we analyze where the photos tagged 'Atami Marine Fireworks Festival' on Instagram were taken? That might give us a clue about where the fireworks are being launched from?"

Friend: "That's smart! Let's do that!"

I thought it was a brilliant idea myself. When we actually searched using that hashtag, we found that from the spot where the poster was, the fireworks would be launched directly in front of us.

Researcher's Explanation

Instagram's # (hashtag) search allows you to find images posted by ordinary people. Furthermore, since posts can include location data and original # (hashtags), users viewing those posts can have a "virtual experience" as if they were seeing the scene in the photo themselves.

Today's college students use these virtual experiences to access real-world information. In this case, they found the optimal answer—where they should go—based on that location-tagged, real-world information.

Similarly, even when visiting a place for the first time, they use Instagram searches to "virtually experience" surrounding information while seeking out destinations and experiences worth pursuing.

3. Investigating Details with "+α Search": A Hybrid of SNS and Web Search

I saw someone spinning one of those boomerang-like things around and around. Curious about its name, I searched on my phone: "trending, spins around, press the center." That's how I found out it's called a "hand spinner."

Wondering why this mysterious toy was trending, I casually searched Twitter using the keyword "hand spinner."

Researcher's Explanation

Social media searches have their limitations. For instance, searching for something when you don't know its name is difficult. In such cases, I still use search engines for web searches.

Then, to gather additional information and see more authentic user behavior, I perform social media searches to obtain further details. Today's college students combine web searches with social media searches to gather reliable, real-world information about things that interest them or they want to investigate.

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This time, we focused on the "SNS search" technique used by today's university students. These search techniques are valuable not just for students but for adults too, making searches more efficient. The influence of SNS information on younger generations is significant, and it has undoubtedly become an indispensable part of their lives.

Learning how to effectively handle information found on SNS may be an essential skill for today's college students, who have grown up in this information-driven society.