Social Media – Its Academic Use and Cultural Impact among Students of South Indian Universities

Abstract

                Human beings devise strategies to coexist and sustain relationships for their survival. Technology which has become part and parcel of human existence develops and transforms relationships by aiding and enabling them. Commercial interest is concomitant to the rapid growth of technology especially after the advent of internet. A steady expansion and sophistication of purposes, and usage pattern are evident across many different social-networking sites and enables both positive and negative growths in different spheres of social interaction. Among the multiple benefits that youth often derive while interacting online, the educational benefit assumes importance and relevance. In this study, a battery of structured questionnaire was administered among South Indian University students to study the popularity, usage, and the academic impact of social media. The parameters measured included the academic activity, preference of academic content and its influence, participation and the users' performance in the class room activity. A total of 500 users were selected from across five universities. The results revealed that majority of students spent upto three hours per day on the internet and that they visited more than six different types of social media, like WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube etc., It was learnt that they primarily used social media for their leisure and personal socialization.