Abstract
This article seeks to examine the use patterns of Facebook by Midlands State University (MSU) students as a communication tool from 2012 to 2013. It focuses on MSU students in Zimbabwe focusing on how social media networks such as Facebook can be used by university students to communicate academic, social and political issues in their day to day lives. Again, this will reflect on the efficiency and cultural impact that Facebook has in the academic world, particularly in Zimbabwe. The article will respond to issues such as: assessing the behaviour, attitude of the students themselves, and impediments they encounter when using social network sites such as Facebook. It will also analyse the uses of Facebook among college students as way of gratifying their needs, which include: establishing relationships socially and communicating with friends and family members. The article will be informed by such theories as information theory, electronic colonialism theory and the uses and gratifications theory. Only few students with access to it and with solid technological background to utilise it for social, academic and political issues maximise its availability. Facebook combines sound, still and moving images that can be used for social identity, apart from academic research and communication purposes. The article will be subjected to both qualitative and quantitative research methods. Therefore, unstructured and structured questionnaires, together with informal interviews will be used as data collecting techniques. Key words: Communication, social cognitive theory, electronic colonialism, gratification, social networking sites, Facebook, users, wall-posting, behaviour and attitude.
Highlights
Facebook remains the currently most used social networking platform in Zimbabwe, its use by students at Midlands State University (MSU)
From the Focus groups discussions (FGDs), interviews and questionnaires conducted by the researchers, this study discovered that50% of the MSU students had joined Facebook social network site, because of their friends and this tallies well with the above explanation about Bandura (1976)’s social
MSU students, those ranging from 19 to 35 years of age. It analysed the use of Facebook as a communication tool by students at MSU from 2012 to
Summary
Facebook remains the currently most used social networking platform in Zimbabwe, its use by students at Midlands State University (MSU). Social networking sites (SNS), have grown from a niche to a mass online activity, in which tens of millions of internet users are engaged, both in their leisure time, and at work. The company did not perform very well as it eventually closed three years later. The reason for this was that many people using the internet at that time had not formed many social networks; there was little room for manoeuvre. Dating sites required users to give their profiles, but they could not share other people's websites. There were some websites that would link former school mates, but the lists could not be shared with others (Cassidy, 2006)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
