College Students’ Utilization of Social Networking Sites

Abstract

The use of Social Networking Sites (SNS) has grown in popularity in recent years, notably for college students' study and communication. This article examines college students' experiences with SNS and the strategies they employ to strengthen sociability and learning activities receiving assistance through social media platforms such as Facebook, TIKTOK, Messenger, YouTube, and WhatsApp. The qualitative study was established on primary data gathered from a semi-structured face-to-face interview with twenty college students from two urban colleges who reported the multiple strategies in learning and communicative activities and experiences received from SNS. The randomly sampled data were transcribed and thematically analysed.The results of the qualitative study showed that despite some limitations, college students use SNS for social and academic purposes. Unpleasant experiences like restlessness, low self-esteem, anxiety, physical threats, cyberbullying, online harassment, and prejudice were also noted by the participants. This study examined encouraging signs of interacting with others, sharing, and working together to learn, and building self-efficacy to use technology competently and the impact of social media on their communication and academic activities was recognized. However, SNS dependence appears to be growing and putting students' academic, social, and physical wellbeing at threat. SNS platforms have been suggested as a community center for college students. This study serves as a foundation for further investigation into the effects of social media on the welfare of high school and college students.