Exploring the Influence of Social Media Usage for Academic Purposes Using a Partial Least Squares Approach

Jabar H Yousif,Firdouse R Khan,Safiya N Al Jaradi,Aysha S Alshibli

doi:10.3390/computation9060064

Abstract

Social media applications have been increasingly gaining significant attention from online education and training platforms. Social networking tools provide multiple advantages for communicating, exchanging opinions, and discussing specific issues. Social media also helps to improve the processes of teaching and learning through sharing educational programs. In this study, we used a quantitative research technique based on the partial least-squares (PLS) linear regression method to determine the influence of using social media as an online discussion and communication platform for academic purposes by assessing the relationships among the skills obtained through social media, the usage of social media, and the purpose of social media. A total of 200 students participated in this study (88% female and 12% males), and a purposive sampling technique was used to select a suitable population for the study. The results show that 61.5% of the participants use the web daily for more than five hours, mainly for social communication (meaningful dialog and discussion skills) and entertainment. The students agreed that social media develops their creative thinking, but it has no positive impact on their academic performance.

Highlights

Social media (SM) applications have gained significant attention in academia and practice; according to the annual reports of social media management platforms, social media and mobile apps achieved significant growth in usage in 2018
The current study considers factors such as skills obtained through social media, the usage of social media, and the purpose of social media
In this study, we investigatof using social media as a communication and discussion channel for educational purposes ed the influence of using social media as a communication and discussion channel for educational purposes by assessing the relationship between the skills obtained through by assessing the relationship between the skills obtained through social media and using social media and the purpose of social media

Summary

Introduction

Social media (SM) applications have gained significant attention in academia and practice; according to the annual reports of social media management platforms, social media and mobile apps achieved significant growth in usage in 2018. Throughout the Middle East, about 250 million people use 304.5 million mobile phones [1]. Social media has increasingly become a necessary tool for maintaining connections and transferring experiences globally. Emmert-Streib and Matthias examined incorporating big social data with social networks that needed to build accurate prediction models [2]. Emmert-Streib et al described the importance of data from social media in a general context, which provides excellent opportunities for extensive mining amounts of text, image, and videobased data [3]. Statista has reported a steady increase in social media usage globally [4]

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