A one-year follow-up study of changes in social media addiction and career networking among college students with disabilities

Abstract

Objective This one-year follow-up study examined the changes of impact of using social media among college students with disabilities from the initial survey. Participants 193 students completed the follow-up survey of the 341 who agreed to participate. Methods Paired t-test compared the changes in social media usage between the two surveys. Multiple linear regressions examined the relationship of social media use variables and social media addiction, career networking, disability subtypes between the two surveys. Results The daily average time spent on social media remained similar over one year. However, the level of social media addiction increased, especially among male students. One positive change was that students spent more time using social media for career networking purposes. Conclusion Public awareness and education of social media addiction should be raised. Additionally, students could benefit from being guided and encouraged to use social media for positive activities such as career networking.