Scope and Implications of Social Media in the Context of Higher Education: Review of Researches

2021 ◽  
pp. 231-253
Author(s):  
Arun K. Gupta
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Conclusive Evidence ◽  
Immediate Feedback ◽  
Effective Manner ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
Effective Use

Social media are extremely popular online destinations that offer users easy ways to build and maintain relationships with each other, and to disseminate information in an activity referred to as “social networking”. Students, teachers, parents and organisations, in increasing numbers use tools available on social networking sites, to communicate with each other in a fast and cost effective manner. The use of social networking sites to support educational initiatives has also received much attention. Popular social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, WhatsApp, Flickr, ResearchGate, YouTube, LinkedIn etc. demonstrates an emerging opportunity for students and educators within formal higher education contexts to share ideas, celebrate creativity and participate in an environment which offers immediate feedback from other members of the specific network. The present paper offers an introduction to social networking and emergence and growth of popular social networking sites. This is followed by an extensive review of researches on social media in the context of higher education. The scope and implications of social networking in educational context have also been discussed at length. Finally, major problems and issues involved in the use of social networking have been brought out. The inherent challenges and promises to optimize the use of social media in the context of higher education still require concerted efforts of educational technologies and academicians as conclusive evidence on the effective use of social media for attaining objectives of higher education is lacking at present.

Tweeting the Lecture: How Social Media Can Increase Student Engagement in Higher Education

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 91-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olan Kees Martin Scott ◽  
Alicia R. Stanway
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Student Engagement ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Sport Management ◽  
Sport Marketing ◽  
Course Materials ◽  
Online Lectures ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
Effective Use

The higher education sector increasingly uses social media as an educational tool to develop a sense of community and foster student engagement, particularly as social networking sites have become an integral part of the lives of digital natives. The current study sought to explore whether the use of Twitter could foster student engagement in a sport marketing course, specifically by embedding Twitter through two assessments, online lectures and weekly tasks. Mean score comparisons indicated that over a 13-week semester, students (N = 68) felt more engaged and included in the course because it had Twitter, found Twitter to be relatively easy to use, and the use of social media aligned with course objectives. The results of the current study have salience in sport management education, because the effective use of Twitter within a higher education context demonstrates how the use of social media can foster engagement with course materials.

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 Preserving professional identities, behaviors, and values in digital professionalism using social networking sites; a systematic review

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaista Salman Guraya ◽  
Salman Yousuf Guraya ◽  
Muhamad Saiful Bahri Yusoff
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Professional Identities ◽  
Professional Behaviors ◽  
Digital Era ◽  
Use Of Social Media

Abstract Background Despite a rapid rise of use of social media in medical disciplines, uncertainty prevails among healthcare professionals for providing medical content on social media. There are also growing concerns about unprofessional behaviors and blurring of professional identities that are undermining digital professionalism. This review tapped the literature to determine the impact of social media on medical professionalism and how can professional identities and values be maintained in digital era. Methods We searched the databases of PubMed, ProQuest, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, and EBSCO host using (professionalism AND (professionalism OR (professional identity) OR (professional behaviors) OR (professional values) OR (professional ethics))) AND ((social media) AND ((social media) OR (social networking sites) OR Twitter OR Facebook)) AND (health professionals). The research questions were based on sample (health professionals), phenomenon of interest (digital professionalism), design, evaluation and research type. We screened initial yield of titles using pre-determined inclusion and exclusion criteria and selected a group of articles for qualitative analysis. We used the Biblioshiny® software package for the generation of popular concepts as clustered keywords. Results Our search yielded 44 articles with four leading themes; marked rise in the use of social media by healthcare professionals and students, negative impact of social media on digital professionalism, blurring of medical professional values, behaviors, and identity in the digital era, and limited evidence for teaching and assessing digital professionalism. A high occurrence of violation of patient privacy, professional integrity and cyberbullying were identified. Our search revealed a paucity of existing guidelines and policies for digital professionalism that can safeguard healthcare professionals, students and patients. Conclusions Our systematic review reports a significant rise of unprofessional behaviors in social media among healthcare professionals. We could not identify the desired professional behaviors and values essential for digital identity formation. The boundaries between personal and professional practices are mystified in digital professionalism. These findings call for potential educational ramifications to resurrect professional virtues, behaviors and identities of healthcare professionals and students.

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 Social Media Use and Job Performance in the Workplace: The Effects of Facebook and KakaoTalk Use on Job Performance in South Korea

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 4052 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seung Yeop Lee ◽  
Sang Woo Lee
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Job Performance ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Instant Messaging ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Social Media Use ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
The Given

The use of social media, such as social networking sites and instant messaging, in everyday life continues to spread, along with social media use in the workplace. This study examined how using social media like Facebook (social networking sites) and KakaoTalk (instant messaging) at work affects individual job performance. It also analyzed whether social media use has different effects on individual job performance depending on the characteristics of the given task. The results demonstrated that both Facebook and KakaoTalk had linearly positive effects on individual job performance. Moreover, task equivocality had a positive moderating effect on the relationship between KakaoTalk use and job performance. The results may have significant implications for firms reviewing their policies on employees’ social media use. Since using social media such as Facebook and KakaoTalk in the workplace improves job performance, firms may consider encouraging employees toward this practice. In particular, they may consider supporting those employees who perform tasks with high task equivocality in making use of instant messaging platforms.

Social Networking Sites

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 62-75
Author(s):  
Lydia Kyei-Blankson ◽  
Kamakshi S. Iyer ◽  
Lavanya Subramanian
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Social Interaction ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Relationship Status ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Patterns Of Use ◽  
Midwestern University ◽  
Use Of Social Media

Social Networking Sites (SNSs) are web-based facilities that allow for social interaction, sharing, communication and collaboration in today's world. In the current study, patterns of use of social media among students at a public Midwestern university are examined. In addition, students were surveyed regarding concerns for privacy and trust and whether concerns differed by gender, ethnicity, employment and relationship status. The survey data gathered from students suggest that students mostly used SNSs from less than one hour to about 3 hours a day and for communication and maintaining relationships. Students also had academic uses for SNSs. Even though concerns for privacy and trust exist, they did not differ by gender, employment and relationship status and students are still willing to use SNSs. The findings from this research have implications for various stakeholders especially instructors who may be considering the use of SNS for academic purposes.

scholarly journals Factors for Successful Use of Social Networking Sites in Higher Education

2012 ◽  
Vol 49 ◽  
Author(s):  
L Schlenkrich ◽  
Dave Sewry
Keyword(s):  
Social Networking ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Information Quality ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
Full Potential ◽  
Effective Manner

Social networking sites are extremely popular online destinations that offer users easy ways to build and maintain relationships with each other, and to disseminate information in an activity referred to as social networking. Students, lecturers, teachers, parents and businesses, in increasing numbers, use tools available on social networking sites to communicate with each other in a fast and cost-effective manner. The use of social networking sites to support educational initiatives has received much attention. However, the full potential of social network sites has yet to be achieved as users continue to strive for optimal ways of using these sites, as well as battle to overcome the negative characteristics (for example, privacy, security, governance, user behaviour, information quality) of these sites. This paper proposes factors for successful use of social networking sites in higher educational institutions. These success factors need to be adopted by users in order to develop the positive aspects of social networking, while at the same time mitigating the negative characteristics. An initial set of factors for successful use of social networking sites, as well as measures to test successful use of social networking sites were derived from the literature. These factors were tested by means of an online survey of students at a university, the results of which informed the final factors for successful use of social networking sites. The factors enable users to overcome the negative characteristics associated with social networking sites. If used successfully, social networking sites can offer lecturers and students a useful tool with which to develop their relationship and contribute to their learning experience.

scholarly journals Recruitment Via Social Media: An Exploratory Study

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-93
Author(s):  
Aida Maryani Bt Abd Rashid ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Job Applicants ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Online Recruitment ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
The Right ◽  
Recruitment Tool

Recent studies have shown that social media platforms such as Facebook and LinkedIn, have become emergent agents for employer and recruitment Agents to search for potential employees to work for their companies. Employers and recruitment agents are using social networking sites for recruitment as these sites offers a vast database of people information. Social media has made an easy pathway for employers and recruitment agents to narrow down their search to the targeted group of people and hire the best employees, thus elevating online recruitment to greater height. However, there are risks associated with the use of social media as a recruitment tool and users must understand that once they become part of a social media community, their online profiles can be accessed by almost everyone. By knowing the risks and complications of social media, it will be a step in the right direction towards managing the apparent risks. The objective of this paper is to study how social media is used in attracting quality job applicants and examine the risk associated with social media recruitment.

Exploring the use of social media sites for health professionals' engagement and productivity in public sector hospitals

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Naeem ◽  
Wilson Ozuem
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Employee Engagement ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Instant Messaging ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Political Forces ◽  
Use Of Social Media

PurposeCompetitive pressure and social influence for technology adoption have increased among developed, developing and emerging countries. The influence of social structure, organizational forces and political forces varies between public sector hospitals in countries where there are more social media restrictions. This study aims to explore how the use of social media can influence employee engagement and productivity in the workplaces of public sector hospitals.Design/methodology/approachThe study follows a social constructivist approach to understand employee attitudes, motivation culture, political forces and the local context. Data were collected from health professionals of five public sector hospitals using a non-directive and semi-structured interview method.FindingsThe results show that the use of social media sites has increased collaboration, coordination and cooperation among health professionals, especially in critical situations. They are more socialized, connected and engaged, thus helping them to exchange useful knowledge using instant messaging apps. Conversely, there are no organizational polices and specific laws and too little support from management and senior doctors to drive the use of social networking sites in public hospitals. The use of social media has enhanced health professionals' engagement and productivity as they are able to share their expertise, knowledge and information with their colleagues and subordinates.Research limitations/implicationsThe results can guide policy-makers, researchers, hospitals, doctors and the Ministry of Health about the positive use of social networking sites in the workplace. The positive use of social networking sites in the workplace can enhance information, knowledge and coordination which may help to enhance employee engagement and productivity.Originality/valueThe present study has provided a social media health organization workplace (SMHOW) model which explains how individual and organizational contexts can influence the actual use of social media in healthcare organizations.

Social Media

2020 ◽  
pp. 172-192
Author(s):  
Priyanka Garg ◽  
Saloni Pahuja
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Mobile Apps ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Social Worlds ◽  
Business Decision ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
Media Applications ◽  
The Impact

In this age of digitisation social media has become an integral part of our lives. It is an important tool for business decision makers as it enables them to stay connected with their consumers. The firms intend to make profitable use of social media applications such as YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Mobile Apps. This chapter details out the concept of social media, how it differs from traditional media, the specific categories such as content communities, micro blogging, collaborative websites, social networking sites, live casting, virtual game and social worlds, etc. Further the impact of social media on youth is highlighted. This chapter presents guidelines regarding optimum utilization of social media. Also the strategies to handle different social media activities are discussed

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