Social Media Usage among University Students in Palestine: Motivation, Prospects and Challenges

Mohammed A. A. Farrah, Nimer Ali Abuzahra, Rana Ali Badarin

Abstract


Students’ perceptions, motives and challenges for utilizing social media platforms at Hebron University, Palestine will be the focus of this study. The study is conducted during the first semester of 2018/2019 academic year with a sample of 186 students (62 males and 124 females) from eight colleges of the university. The researchers structured a questionnaire from previous studies and distributed it to the participants. The results revealed that Facebook is the most popular platform among students (87.6 % of the sample have a Facebook account). Furthermore, the results indicated that knowledge-sharing is a beneficial aspect of social media as shown by students’ perceptions (62.4% of the sample are involved in groups dedicated to academic objectives). Students stressed that discussing and connecting with friends is an important motive for using social media platforms. While social media is widely used among students at Hebron University, they highlighted slow internet connection as the central challenge for a more effective exploitation of online platforms. The study underlines the significance of the social media platforms for learning purposes and subsequently recommends further development and integration of these platforms in the education system.


استخدام وسائل التواصل الاجتماعي بين طلاب جامعة الخليل في فلسطين: الدوافع والتوقعات والتحديات

ملخص
تهدف هذه الدراسة إلى معرفة منظور الطلاب ودوافعهم والتحديات التي تواجههم في استخدام منصات وسائل التواصل الاجتماعية في جامعة الخليل، فلسطين. اشتملت على عينة تكونت من 186 طالب (62 من الذكور و 124 من الإناث) من ثماني كليات في الجامعة. قام الباحثون ببناء استبانة وتوزيعها على المشاركين خلال الفصل الدراسي الأول من عام 2018/2019. أوضحت النتائج أن الفيسبوك هو المنصة الأكثر شعبية بين الطلاب (87.6٪ من العينة لديهم حساب فيسبوك). وعلاوة على ذلك، أشارت النتائج إلى أن تبادل المعرفة هو جانب مفيد للغاية لوسائل التواصل الاجتماعية. كما أظهرت الدراسة أن 62.4٪ من العينة يشاركون في مجموعات مخصصة للأهداف الأكاديمية. أكد الطلاب أن المناقشة والتواصل مع الأصدقاء هو دافع مهم لاستخدام منصات التواصل الاجتماعية. مع أن وسائل الاتصال الاجتماعية على نطاق واسع بين الطلاب في جامعة الخليل، إلا أنهم سلطوا الضوء على بعض التحديات التي تواجههم مثل الاتصال البطيء بالإنترنت الذي بدوره يمنع الاستخدام الأكثر فعالية لمنصات الإنترنت. وفي الختام أكدت الدراسة على أهمية منصات وسائل الاتصال الاجتماعية لأغراض التعلم، وأخيراً خلصت الدراسة إلى جملة من التوصيات لأحداث مزيد من التطوير والتكامل لمنصات التواصل الاجتماعية في نظام التعليم.
الكلمات المفتاحية: شبكات التواصل الاجتماعي، طلبة جامعة الخليل، الدوافع.

Keywords


Social media, Hebron University students, motivation, attitudes شبكات التواصل الاجتماعي، طلبة جامعة الخليل، الدوافع.

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References


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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.35682/999

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