The purpose of the study is to explore the use of social media by international students during classes and discern the pros and cons of their use of social media. An explanatory sequential mixed methods design is used to give evidence about the research problem starting with a quantitative method (questionnaire) and then a qualitative method (semi-structured interviews). The study shows that 64.4% of international students used social media during classes while 35.6% did not. In terms level of satisfaction, the study result shows that males and females were not significant different in this regard. Additionally, most of the participants 57.4% used social media for 1-10 minutes, while 27.7% used them for 11 to 30 minutes of class time. Some international students used social media for coping with the weakness of their knowledge during class time, whereas the majority of them indicated that they used social media for surviving the transition of relocating form their own countries to United State as sojourners by stating that they used social media to stay connected with and informed about their family, friends, and country news and events. The use of social media during classes should be integrated with the learning environment, especially regarding the motivation of use, which can potentially provide success in overcoming most reasons for frustration and home sickness.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of social media use on both empathy and well-being through using a five-factor model (FFM) of personality in the context of Saudi Arabia. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from the 13 regions in Saudi Arabia. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to measure the reliability and validity of the study’s constructs and a structural equation modeling technique was applied to test the study hypotheses. Findings With a sample of 450 users, the regression results indicate a less significant relationship between personality and social media use, as well as between personality and affective empathy, while a more significant relationship between personality and cognitive empathy. Also, individuals’ well-being are influenced directly by the heavy use of social media. Research limitations/implications The cross-sectional design used in this research may not be able to provide the true essence of the hypothesized relationships compared to the cause-effect design. This study furthers the understanding of the role of personality on empathy and well-being in social media among Saudis from one side and provides insights to professionals for better improvement of social media and so better individuals’ well-being from the other side. Originality/value This paper fills an untapped gap in a developing country context by exploring the relationship between the usage of social media and the two dimensions of empathy, which, in turn, influence well-being under the theoretical lens of an FFM personality.