scholarly journals Applying the Uses and Gratifications Theory to Compare Higher Education Students’ Motivation for Using Social Networking Sites: Experiences from Iran, Malaysia, United Kingdom, and South Africa

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rouhollah Khodabandelou ◽  
Leila Karimi ◽  
Maryam Ehsani ◽  
Muhammad Ahmad
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Uses And Gratifications ◽  
Education Students ◽  
Uses And Gratifications Theory

scholarly journals The Influence of Social Networking on Lifestyle: A Higher Education Perspective

2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 94-100
Author(s):  
D Veerasamy
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
University Of Technology ◽  
The World

Social networks have become a way of life for many people who use them to connect and communicate with the world at large. Social media is defined as any tool or service that uses the Internet to facilitate conversations. Facebook is one of the most popular social networking sites (SNSs) and has a total of 55 million active users worldwide with an average of 250000 new registrations per day. After Yahoo, MySpace and Google, Facebook is also the fourth most popular SNS in South Africa. The purpose of the paper was to determine whether social networks have an influence on higher education students’ lifestyles and behaviour. This research was descriptive and quantitative in nature. The sample comprised 386 students studying at the Durban University of Technology (DUT). The results indicated that the majority of the respondents preferred Facebook as their social network of choice. More than half of the respondents indicated that they access their preferred social network five times or more per day. The majority of the respondents agreed that social networks allow for global interaction and that maintaining relationships has become easier with social networking,

scholarly journals Educational Use of Social Media in Higher Education: Gender and Social Networking Sites as the Predictors of Consuming, Creating, and Sharing Content

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 112-132
Author(s):  
Emel Dikbaş Torun
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Social Media ◽  
University Students ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Learning Resources ◽  
Education Students ◽  
Media Usage ◽  
The Social ◽  
Use Of Social Media

AbstractIntroduction:This study investigates the influence of gender and social networking sites (SNSs) such as Instagram, YouTube, WhatsApp, Facebook, and Twitter on consuming, creating, and sharing content within the educational social media usage behaviors of higher education students. The survey method is applied to measure students’ social media usage for educational purposes. So that a more effective use of social media in education can be provided, it is important to understand how university students vary in their educational use of social media. The aim of this study is to examine how higher education students use social media for their educational purposes based on the content and activities with which the students engage. The aim of the research is to determine the correlations, if any, between gender, preferred SNS type, and educational social media in regard to consuming, creating and sharing content.Methods:The derived scale is administered in Turkey with the participation of a total of 365 university students. Psychometric, validation and reliability analysis of the scale which is used in the study to collect the data were done first. Principal component analysis, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, descriptive, correlations and multivariate analysis of variance are applied to analyze the social media usage for educational purposes. Gender and the SNS type were set as the additional predictors of the consuming, creating and sharing content on social media.Results:The validation and linguistic adaptation of the Inside School Social Media Behavior (ISSMB) scale from English to Turkish is performed first. Results showed that the three factors of the original scale were confirmed. Secondly, the derived scale is administered with the participation of a total of 365 university students. Results indicated that gender difference was a significant factor in explaining the content creation on social media. Instagram, WhatsApp, and YouTube are the most preferred SNSs for educational use among students at the higher education level. No significant effect was reported for the type of the SNS used in consuming, creating, and sharing educational content on social media. The type of the SNS used by the students was not found to influence educational social media usage; accordingly, students consume, create and share content, regardless of the type of the SNS they use.Discussion:Higher education level students prefer watching videos more than any other social media activity for their educational purposes. The second most frequently preferred social media usage activity was reported as searching for the learning resources or information pertaining to schoolwork. Creating content was the least favorable social media usage. When the social media usage purposes focus on schoolwork and are furthermore educational, males’ social media usage outperforms the females. Thus, males were more likely to create content by using social media for inside schoolwork purposes than the females. Males were also more likely to have sharing habits than the females in sharing learning resources e.g., class notes with their classmates by using social media for their inside schoolwork purposes.Limitations:The total number of participants used in the research sample is a limitation of this study. The study data were only collected in Turkey, and so the study results are only regionally generalizable.Conclusion:Higher education students are consumers of the social media when they use it for educational purposes. Accordingly, students prefer being “passive consumer social media users who avoid active content creating”. Students prefer watching the uploaded ready-to-watch videos who avoid instead of creating and uploading their own video content. When sharing items are compared with creating content items, students responded more to the latter. Students do share their information with classmates e.g. exam schedules and lecture notes. Compared to other sharing content usages, students less frequently preferred sharing extracurricular learning resources. The gender difference found herein is a predictor of social networking site usage among young people, and social networking usage changes according to gender. Males are reported as being more “giving” within a school setting when it comes to sharing the educational content with their colleagues and friends. Social media is a reality of our modern lives, one that is growing exponentially; it is highly crucial that researchers facilitate a better understanding of the ongoing changes and developments that are emerging and transforming learning.Both outside and inside school, the social media usage behaviors of young people can be examined according to different age groups do determine any age-related differences. The subject can be improved with new findings and results from different sample groups.

scholarly journals Spanish academics and social networking sites: Use, non-use, and the perceived advantages and drawbacks of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, ResearchGate, and Academia.edu

First Monday ◽  
2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco Segado-Boj ◽  
Jesús Díaz-Campo ◽  
Erika Fernández-Gómez ◽  
María-Ángeles Chaparro-Domínguez
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Uses And Gratifications ◽  
Uses And Gratifications Theory ◽  
University Professors ◽  
Level Of Use ◽  
Depth Interviews

This study examines Spanish academics’ motives for using social networking sites (SNS) and their perceptions regarding the limitations of and drawbacks to social media. We analyse 18 in-depth interviews conducted with Spanish university professors chosen according to their disciplines, academic ranks and level of use. Our findings confirm prior research based on the uses and gratifications theory. Thus, we conclude that SNS are used for managing content, identifying experts in a researcher’s field of knowledge. In addition, academics need to manage different personal identities in each SNS they use.

scholarly journals LuluLemon's Instragram strategy: a qualitative content analysis using uses and gratifications theory

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elise Moore
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Digital Media ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Uses And Gratifications ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Uses And Gratifications Theory ◽  
Corporate Marketing ◽  
Related Information

Social Networking Sites (SNSs) have become increasingly integral to corporate marketing in recent years. Instagram is a newer platform that corporations have added to their digital media marketing presence. The aim of this MRP is to investigate Lululemon Athletica’s presence on Instagram by examining the specific techniques they employ to satisfy users’ Uses and Gratifications. 10 Lululemon Instagram posts were sampled for this study. From these posts, the first 50 comments were collected and coded using Whiting and Williams’ (2013) coding schema. This study highlights the value in (1) brands sharing useful brand and product-related information, and (2) interacting with consumers by responding to their comments and posing Socratic questions to spur dialogue and further engagement.

scholarly journals LuluLemon's Instragram strategy: a qualitative content analysis using uses and gratifications theory

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elise Moore
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Digital Media ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Uses And Gratifications ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Uses And Gratifications Theory ◽  
Corporate Marketing ◽  
Related Information

Social Networking Sites (SNSs) have become increasingly integral to corporate marketing in recent years. Instagram is a newer platform that corporations have added to their digital media marketing presence. The aim of this MRP is to investigate Lululemon Athletica’s presence on Instagram by examining the specific techniques they employ to satisfy users’ Uses and Gratifications. 10 Lululemon Instagram posts were sampled for this study. From these posts, the first 50 comments were collected and coded using Whiting and Williams’ (2013) coding schema. This study highlights the value in (1) brands sharing useful brand and product-related information, and (2) interacting with consumers by responding to their comments and posing Socratic questions to spur dialogue and further engagement.

scholarly journals University students’ perceptions of social networking sites (SNSs) in their educational experiences at a regional Australian university

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina Sadowski ◽  
Mika Pediaditis ◽  
Robert Townsend
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Curriculum Design ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Educational Experiences ◽  
Education Students ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Online Technologies ◽  
Diverse Learning ◽  
Face To Face Learning

Higher education institutions, and the way education is delivered and supported, are being transformed by digital technologies. Internationally, institutions are increasingly incorporating online technologies into delivery frameworks and administration – both through internal learning management systems (LMS) and external social networking sites (SNSs). This study aims to explore how higher education students in a regional Australian dual-sector institute use and manage SNSs for personal and study-related activities and their perceptions of how this impacts their educational experiences. This mixed-methods study involved a quantitative and qualitative survey of 355 vocational training and higher education students and in-depth focus groups with ten higher education students. Four key themes were identified through thematic analysis: SNSs as a tool for fostering peer connectedness with fellow students; deliberate and distinct variation between personal and educational use of SNSs; resistance to external SNSs within education settings; and, need for a balance between digital and face-to-face learning and connectedness. Implications for curriculum design and delivery, and development of support for students in diverse learning contexts, are considered.

scholarly journals The Use of Social Media in Public Relations at Non-Governmental Organisations in South Africa

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (6(J)) ◽  
pp. 150-161
Author(s):  
G. Nchabeleng ◽  
CJ. Botha ◽  
CA Bisschoff
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Public Relations ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Instant Messaging ◽  
Public Relations Practitioners ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
The Way

Social media can be a useful tool in public relations in non-governmental organisations (NGOs), but do NGOs make use of social media in their quest for service delivery in South Africa? Social networking sites, blogging, email, instant messaging, and online journals are some of the technological changes that changed the way interaction between people and how they gather information. Although social media is mainly used for interactive dialogue and social interaction, the private sector soon realised that the web-based technologies (especially Facebook and Twitter) could also be a competitive business tool. Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) soon followed suit however at a slower pace than the general communication growth rate of social media in South Africa. This article examines if social networking sites have any impact on public relations practices of NGOs in South Africa – an environment where both customers and employees still struggle to take full advantage of social media. The critical literature findings increase the understanding of the current and future challenges of social media use in public relations at NGOs in South Africa. The study explores the main differences between traditional and social media, how social media is redefining public relations role, and shed some light on defining public relations practices, identify the uses, limitations and benefits of social media by public relations practitioners in NGOs. Recommendations for future communication research are given. Based on the literature, a qualitative research design collected data using semi-structured, individual interviews. The results revealed that social media platforms such as Facebook do have an effect, and even changed the way in which NGOs communicate. The study also revealed that social media certainly has an impact on public relations relationships. This means that it has become crucial that public relations practitioners at NOGs embrace and take advantage of social media, and that they should also invest in proper electronic platforms to reap the benefits of improved communication internally and externally.

scholarly journals An Empirical Study of the Relationship Between Social Networking Sites and Students’ Engagement in Higher Education

2018 ◽  
Vol 57 (5) ◽  
pp. 1131-1159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felix N. Koranteng ◽  
Isaac Wiafe ◽  
Eric Kuada
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Social Capital Theory ◽  
Social Networking Site ◽  
Partial Least Square ◽  
Least Square ◽  
Equation Modeling

This article investigates how students’ online social networking relationships affect knowledge sharing and how the intensity of knowledge sharing enhances students’ engagement. It adopts the social capital theory as the basis for investigation, and the partial least square structural equation modeling was used to examine the hypothesized model. Responses from 586 students in higher education were analyzed. The findings provided empirical evidence which contradicts the argument that students perceive social networking sites as an effective tool for learning. Also, contrary to previous studies which posit that knowledge sharing impacts engagement, it was observed that there is no relationship between the two. However, as social networking sites differ in terms of member behavior norms, it is envisaged that if a similar study is conducted and limited to a specific academically inclined social networking site such as Academia.edu, ResearchGate, Mendeley, and so on, different findings may be observed.

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