Trends in Students Media Usage

Trends in media usage by students can affect the way they learn. Students demand the use of technology, thus institutions and instructors should meet students’ requests. This paper describes the results of a survey where drivers in the use of media show continuously increasing or decreasing values from the first to the fourth year of study experience at the Western University, Canada, highlighting trends in the usage of new and traditional media in higher education by students. The survey was used to gather data on students’ media usage habits and user satisfaction from first to fourth year of study and found that media usage increases over the years from first to fourth. The presentation of data using bar charts reveals a slight increase over the years in students owning notebooks or laptops off-campus and a significant increase from first to fourth year of students accessing online academic periodicals and journals. Another noteworthy finding relates to fourth year students being more conscious of the quality of information that they read on the Internet in comparison to students in first year, even though this is a slight year on year increase

Media Usage in Post-Secondary Education and Implications for Teaching and Learning

The Web 2.0 has permeated academic life. The use of online information services in post-secondary education has led to dramatic changes in faculty teaching methods as well as in the learning and study behavior of students. At the same time, traditional information media, such as textbooks and printed handouts, still form the basic pillars of teaching and learning. This paper reports the results of a survey about media usage in teaching and learning conducted with Western University students and instructors, highlighting trends in the usage of new and traditional media in higher education by instructors and students. In addition, the survey comprises part of an international research program in which 20 universities from 10 countries are currently participating. Further, the study will hopefully become a part of the ongoing discussion of practices and policies that purport to advance the effective use of media in teaching and learning

The Social Media Scourge among University Students: A Study of the University for Development Studies, Ghana

In spite of the development potential of social media, various studies have revealed worrying trends of such media’s abuse especially among students of tertiary institutions. Using interviews conducted with students and staff of the University for Development Studies, the study set out to establish the frequency of social media usage among students, their reasons for using such media and the harmful effects of new media usage on the academic and socio-economic lives of students. The study found that Facebook and Whatsapp are the most frequently used social media followed by Twitter, Skype and YouTube. Also, more than a quarter of respondents use such media more than once a day while over half of them engaged in social media usage once a day. Moreover, more than half of the respondents used social media mainly to chat with friends and relations while a fifth used it for academic purposes. Respondents admitted that social media usage took time from their academic work. Some indicated that they spent about two United States dollars each day on social media and that they used such media during lectures, thereby making them lose concentration during lectures. It also emerged from the study that students put such media to perpetuate fraud. The study recommends that university authorities should regulate usage of social media. In particular, students should be prevented from using phones during lectures. Ghana’s National Media Commission and National Communications Authority must enact cyber protection regulations to reduce the harmful effects of social media usage on tertiary students

Media Usage in Post-Secondary Education and Implications for Teaching and Learning

The Web 2.0 has permeated academic life. The use of online information services in post-secondary education has led to dramatic changes in faculty teaching methods as well as in the learning and study behavior of students. At the same time, traditional information media, such as textbooks and printed handouts, still form the basic pillars of teaching and learning. This paper reports the results of a survey about media usage in teaching and learning conducted with Western University students and instructors, highlighting trends in the usage of new and traditional media in higher education by instructors and students. In addition, the survey comprises part of an international research program in which 20 universities from 10 countries are currently participating. Further, the study will hopefully become a part of the ongoing discussion of practices and policies that purport to advance the effective use of media in teaching and learning

Media Usage Survey: How Engineering Instructors and Students Use Media

Web 2.0 has ubiquitously penetrated academia. The dissemination of online information services in higher education has led to substantial changes in faculty teaching methods as well as the learning and study behavior of students. For example, the use of online services, such as Google and Wikipedia, has become mandatory not only during teaching and learning activities but also during leisure time for students and faculty. At the same time, traditional information media such as textbooks and printed handouts still form the basic pillars of teaching and learning. This article explains the preliminary results of a survey about media usage in teaching and learning conducted with Western University faculty and students, highlighting trends for the usage of new and traditional media in higher education. Furthermore, the article intends to participate in the ongoing discussion of practices and policies that purport to advance the effective use of media in teaching and learning

Social Media in Higher Education: Building Mutually Beneficial Student and Institutional Relationships through Social Media.

Social applications such as Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter have driven the public growth of Web 2.0. Universities and colleges are using social media to reach student prospects, keep contact with current students and alumni, and provide a mechanism for group collaboration and interaction in the classroom. Higher education institutions are influenced by current social media trends, and figuring out how to effectively interact with various constituencies within the social media environment can be challenging. In this study, a group of higher education students were surveyed about their social media practices and preferences with a focus on education-related activities. The goal of the research was to determine what aspects of social media use were most effective in reaching the student constituency based on social media usage patterns. The results led to significant observations that aid in the development of social media tactics to reach university and college students

Phone Bad : A Mixed-Methods Exploratory Case Study Analysis of Social Media and Ostracism

Foundational theories of social psychology were written before the existence of social media. As evolving technology has created an environment where users maintain constant social contact, there exists a need for research concerning how human social needs manifest in an online environment, and even moreso for how constant interconnectedness affects people. Previous research indicates a positive correlation between experienced ostracism and social media addiction. However, social media usage tends to be high among users who feel connected, as well as users who feel disconnected, thus indicating that the link between social media and social disconnection may be a ‘chicken-and-the-egg’ situation. This mixed-methods quantitative and qualitative study seeks to identify correlation between ostracism and disordered social media usage, and to illuminate new trends for further exploration. The COVID-19 pandemic presents a unique circumstance wherein people have been restricted from public spaces and gatherings for over a year, therefore relying on social media more than ever for interpersonal fulfillment. Quantitative deductive data were collected with a survey utilizing the Social Media Usage Disorder Scale (SMDS) in terms of both before and during the pandemic, and the Ostracism Experience Scale for Adolescents (OES-A). The survey sought to identify whether there was a correlation between experienced ostracism and disordered social media usage among undergraduate students, and whether participants had experienced a change in disordered social media usage before versus during the pandemic. Qualitative, inductive interviews were conducted with ten volunteers from the survey, and analyzed in terms of an exploratory case study examining each individual’s relationship with social media, reasons for usage, and their perception of its effects. Common occurrences between interviews are sorted in the qualitative discussion. The interviews aimed to illuminate new links between lifestyle factors or other predispositions that might affect an individual’s social media usage in a number of ways including: type of platform used, effects of certain platforms, and the individual’s feelings toward their own usage. This study provides implications for further research on the usage of social media and its effects

Social Media for Information Dissemination among Students

Social media usage trends have established a drastic jump from 5% in 2005 to 72% in 2021. This study, therefore, sought to investigate the extent to which social media is being used to facilitate information dissemination by students in Ghanaian Universities. The Uses and gratifications theory (UGT) which seeks to explain why and how people actively seek out specific media to satisfy specific needs was used as the theoretical framework for the study. The descriptive research design was used to gather both qualitative and quantitative data from respondents across tertiary institutions in Ghana. The study established that social media serves as one of the vital tools for learning and information dissemination among the students. The students used social media for academic work more than for recreational activities. They access social media through the mobile devices they own and are connected to the internet. Whiles the majority of them had only one social media account, a significant proportion had more than one social media account. Although they somewhat trust the information on social media, they only consider it to be genuine unless it is related or find it relevant in the field of academics.https://dorl.net/dor/20.1001.1.20088302.2022.20.3.8.5  

The usage of social media, social networking sites and students’ ethics: a study of students at Universiti Malaysia Sabah Labuan International Campus

The research tries to answer the question on what were the reasons the social media and networking sites were used by students? Which particular component of the social media is the main component of their usage? Is it merely as a means of pastime activity, a source of showing affection to another (friends, colleagues, parents, etc.), source of trends (fashion), sharing problems or social networking. Do students understand the ethics of using the social media? This is what is focused in this article where a quantitative survey was used to determine a students’ response on their usage of the social media and social networking websites. The findings show that the main reason students used the social media and networking websites is purely for academic (learning) purpose. Students also used it as a means of entertainment and enjoyment during pastime

The New Teacher of Ideas: A Study on Social Media, Political Influencers, and Generation Z

The current study focuses on members of Generation Z and where they learn about politics and receive political news. Different than previous generations, Generation Z receives news on social media more than on traditional media platforms (Murmuration, 2023). Politicians must quickly begin to understand how to engage and connect with the next generation of voters on these social media platforms. For these reasons, this study surveyed members of Generation Z at The University of Mississippi. Current University of Mississippi students are members of Generation Z and reflect common trends among this Generation, such as constant usage of social media. This research is important in helping political campaigns increase engagement among the youngest group of voters. A candidate or party who can increase participation among Generation Z could potentially win future elections