Volume 7, No 2, 2010
Exploitation of social media among university students: A case study
Farzana Shafique, Mushahid Anwar and Mahe Bushra
Abstract
This study aimed at finding the trend of social media usage among the students of the Islamia University of Bahawalpur (IUB). For this purpose a sample of final year students was taken from the Geography Department. A questionnaire survey was administered to get the response from the students. The questionnaire was containing both open and close ended questions. The responses show that many social media websites such as CiteULike, Technorati, Connotea, Blogger, Twitter and Wikis etc. were frequently used by the responded students for communication, research work, online learning and making social contacts. It was also found that they have good IT skills and sophisticated tools and good Internet connections available to them so they do not encounter any problems in accessing these sites. Although this survey is restricted to a group of Geography students of IUB, the data obtained provide some insights into how students in Pakistan have been using the social media for both formal and informal types of learning and communication. In general, the acceptance by Pakistani students towards the use of social media for learning seems positive. It is hoped that the findings described here will help build a foundation for future investigations in Pakistan related to social media.
Pages: 1-10
Keywords: Social media; Social networks; Web 2.0; University students; The Islamia University of Bahawalpur; Pakistan