Learning Outcomes of Educational Usage of Social Media: The Moderating Roles of Task–Technology Fit and Perceived Risk

Abstract

This study aims to explore the moderating roles of task–technology fit (TTF) and perceived risk (PR) in the relationships between the educational usage of social media (SM) platforms and its use outcomes. This is to better understand the potential benefits of using SM for educational purposes and to provide thorough insights on how SM usage would influence students’ use outcomes. We conceptualize the potential use outcomes through three-dimensional factors: perceived satisfaction, perceived academic performance, and perceived impact on learning. We further hypothesize that TTF and PR have negative moderation effects on the relationships between SM usage and the variables of use outcomes. In addition, we examine gender differences using multi-group analysis. Data were collected from a state college in Palestine using a self-administered survey, and Smart-PLS was used for data analysis and model testing using partial least square–structural equation modeling. The findings reveal that TTF has significant negative effects on the relationships between SM usage and its outcomes, whereas PR has insignificant negative moderation effects. Despite the significant negative interaction effects of TTF, the educational usage of SM has a positive impact on use outcomes. Furthermore, the findings only indicate significant gender differences in three variables: information sharing, TTF, and PR.