Determination of University Students' Reasons Ofusing Social ...

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ScienceDirect Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 190 (2015) 519 – 522

2nd GLOBAL CONFERENCE on PSYCHOLOGY RESEARCHES, 28-29, November 2014

Determination of university students’ reasons of using social networking sites in their daily life Huseyin Bicen a* Near East University, Faculty of Education, Nicosia, 98010, Northern Cyprus

Abstract The aim of this research is to find out undergraduate students’ reasons of using social media in their daily life. In this research students were chosen from Near East University's various departments. 229 volunteer undergraduate students from the department of teaching the mentally disadvantaged, department of music teaching, department of pre-school teaching, department of psychological counseling and guidance, and department of computer education and instructional technology were chosen as a sample. This study was applied during the 2013-2014 spring term. The survey was development by the author. This 5 type likert survey contains 16 positive statements. The collected data was analyzed with the SPSS package software. Results were shown through percentages and descriptions. According to the results, the most frequent reason for using social networking is for instant communication with their friends. © 2015 2015The TheAuthors. Authors.Published Published Elsevier © byby Elsevier Ltd.Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer-review under responsibility of Academic World Education and Research Center. Peer-review under responsibility of Academic World Research and Education Center. Keywords: social networking, students, reason

1. Introduction Rapid improvement in smart mobile devices means that most people use social networking sites day by day. The major impact of social networking sites can change people’s life styles. With the smart phones and other mobile devices, social networking sites are a communication tool used by so many people. That function also changes users’ habits (Gikas & Grant, 2013; Urea, 2013; Kaya, 2013; Severino & Craparob, 2013; Ruiz-Molina, Cuadrado-Garcia & Montoro-Pons, 2013). Thanks to social networking sites, users communicate with other users instantly and they are able to share their ideas (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2011). When introduced initially in 1997 with SixDegrees, social

* Huseyin Bicen . Tel.: +90-392-2236464/378; fax: +90-392-6802023. E-mail address: [email protected]

1877-0428 © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer-review under responsibility of Academic World Research and Education Center. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.05.036

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Huseyin Bicen / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 190 (2015) 519 – 522

networking sites improved their functions day by day and users could communicate and share their interests (Gruzd, Staves, & Wilk, 2011; Tess, 2013). After the impact of social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook, pinterest, linkedin and Academia etc. users have shown strong demand (Kimmons & Veletsianos, 2014). According to research social networking sites could inquire of users about their needs in order to improve their service (Bala & Arat, 2013; Towner & Muñoz, 2011). In that environment, not only the users’ knowledge but also their ability to share files, share news, videos, audio, status, events etc. might be improved (Hamid, Waycott, Kurnia, & Chang, 2015). Moreover users in that environment could share their interests (Preece & Shneiderman, 2009). In this research the aim is to find out undergraduate students’ reasons of using social media in their daily life. 2. The aim of the research The aim of this research is to find out undergraduate students’ reasons of using social media in their daily life. 2.1. Participants In this research students were chosen from Near East University's various departments. 229 volunteer undergraduate students from the departments of teaching the mentally disadvantaged, music teaching, pre-school teaching, psychological counseling and guidance, and the department of computer education and instructional technology were chosen. This study was applied during the 2013-2014 spring term.

2.1.1

Gender Table 1. Gender of student distribution Gender

f

%

Male

155

67,7

Female

74

32,3

Total

229

100,0

Table 1 shows the students’ gender distributions. Table 1 demonstrates that 67.7% (n=155) students were male and 32.3% (n=74) students were female.

2.1.2

Age Table 2. Age of student distribution Age

f

%

18 19 20 21 Total

20 65 45 69 229

8,7 28,4 19,7 30,1 100

Table 2 shows students’ age distributions. According to distribution 8.7% of students are 18, 28.4% of students are 19, 19.7% of students are 20, and 30.1% of students are 21 years old.


2.1.3

Department Table 3. Departments of students’ distribution Department

f

%

Department for Teaching the Mentally Disadvantaged

66

28,8

Department of Music Teaching

39

17,0

Department of Pre-School Teaching

46

20,1

Department of Psychological Counselling and Guidance

51

22,3

Department of Computer Education & Instructional Technology

27

11,8

Total

229

100

Table 3 indicates student’s distribution department. 28.8% (n=66) of students were from the department for Teaching the Mentally Disadvantaged, 17% (n=39) of students from Music Teaching, 20.1% (n=46) of students from Pre-School Teaching, 22.3% (n=51) of students from Psychological Counseling and Guidance, and 11.8% of students were from the department of Computer Education & Instructional Technology. 2.2. Instruments The survey was developed by the author. This 5 type likert-scale survey contains 16 positive statements. For the survey’s reliability The Cronbach’s alpha number was found to be 0.86. 2.3. Data Analysis The collected data was analysed with the SPSS package software. Results were shown through percentages and descriptions. 3. Results & Discussion 3.1 Undergraduate students’ reasons of using social media in their daily life Table 4 shows the descriptive statistics of undergraduate students’ reasons of using social media in their daily life. Table 4. Undergraduate students’ reasons of using social media in their daily life Std. Items Deviation Mean I am using social networks for; 1. Instantly communication 4.71 .87 2. Informing my friends status 4.63 .94 3. Photo sharing 4.54 1.03 4. Like photos and comment status 4.47 1.04 5. Informing latest news 4.33 1.18 6. Video sharing 4.11 1.26 7. New information 3.87 1.50 8. Informing events 3.48 1.54 9. Status update 3.35 1.48 10. Check-in 3.04 1.36 11. File sharing 2.82 1.27 12. Finding new friends 2.56 1.60 13. Educational purpose 2.46 1.61 14. Exchange of ideas 2.31 1.04 15. Follow discussion groups 2.05 1.52 16. Follow famous people 1.82 1.45

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According to Table 4 students most prefer to use social networks for instant communication (M= 4.71, SD=.87), informing their friends of a status (M=4.63, SD=.94), photo sharing (M=4.54, SD=1.03), liking friends’ photos and commenting on friends’ status (M=4.47, SD=1.04), and information about latest news (M=4.33, SD=1.18). On the other hand they also used social networks for video sharing (M=4.11, SD=1.26), new information (M=3.87, SD=1.50), and information of events (M=3.48, SD=1.54). Among other results they were neutral about using social networks for status updates (M=3.35, SD=1.48), check-in (M=3.04, SD=1.36), and file sharing (M=2.82, SD=1.27). Students did not use social networks to find new friends (M=2.56, SD=1.60), for educational purpose (M=2.46, SD=1.61), to exchange ideas (M=2.31, SD=1.04), to follow discussion groups (M=2.05, SD=1.52), or to follow famous people (M=1.82, SD=1.45). According to McEwan (2013) social networks strengthen the ties between people. On the other hand, they can improve relationships between friends. Also Valenzuela, Park, & Kee (2009) found that social networks improve communication. 4. Conclusion According to the results, students use social networking the most for instant communication with their friends. The findings show that in this era social networks are our fastest communications tools. On the other hand students prefer to use social networking to view the status of their friends, share photos, and like and comment on photos and to follow latest news. We could say that students’ interest to learn about their friends’ life style is an important factor and they use social networks to understand what is going on in the world. All of these are important reasons, as well as students using social networks to learn about new information and events. To check-in and file sharing were not the main reasons for using social networks. Findings indicate that students do not use social networks for educational purposes, finding new friends, and to be members of groups or follow famous people. In conclusion their main reason for using social network sites is for instant contact with other friends. References Bala, H., & Arat, Y. (2013). Digital Pedagogy Using Social Network Tools in Architectural Education. Global Journal On Technology, 3(0). Retrieved April 2, 2014, from http://world-education-center.org/index.php/P-ITCS/article/view/1743/1537 Gikas, J., & Grant, M. M. (2013). Mobile computing devices in higher education: Student perspectives on learning with cellphones, smartphones & social media. The Internet and Higher Education, 19, 18–26. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.iheduc.2013.06.002 Gruzd, A., Staves, K., & Wilk, A. (2011). Tenure and promotion in the age of online social media. 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