Social Networking in Higher Education in Turkey: Students’ Use and Perceptions

Abstract

The proliferation of social networking sites (SNSs) has created a phenomenon that engages millions of Internet users around the world, especially young people. Given the popularity of these sites and their importance in young people's lives to facilitate communication and relationships, it is important to understand the factors influencing SNS use and explore perceptions of the young generation about the effects of SNS on their daily life. The SNS trend is a relatively new one in Turkey and little research has been reported on its acceptance and use in education. This research was designed to gather preliminary evidence of the current adoption of SNSs by higher education students. The study was conducted in a public university in Turkey with 180 participants. The purposes of using the Internet and the positive effects of using the SNSs were studied. The results show that students are using the Internet for email, playing games, studying, working, and for communication purposes. Results of this small-scale study in one location indicate that students differ somewhat in their current and anticipated uses of SNSs such as the currently-popular Facebook. It also showed that the young generations are using SNSs for learning new information, collaboration, and communication purposes. While both males and females were equally positive of using the SNNs, males were more negative on the dimensions of cognitive and emotional effects of SNNs.