Undergraduate students' perceptions toward social media usage and academic performance: A study from Saudi Arabia

Abstract

This study investigated perceptions of undergraduate students toward social media usage. It also examined the relationship of students' usage purpose as well as usage period with their GPA. This study sought to establish the most popular applications that students preferred. Questionnaires were distributed and 132 students enrolled in the current study. Results indicated that there were general positive perceptions toward using social media for academic purposes. There also was a statistical significant relationship between the purpose of social media usage and students' GPA. Findings also revealed that there were no statistically impact of students' usage period of social media on GPA. WhatsApp and Twitter were the most preferred social media options used among students whereas Wiki, Facebook and LinkedIn were the lowest options reported. The findings of this study can be used to recommend the effective ways of incorporating social media into learning activities without affecting students' performance. Implications and recommendations for further research are discussed.