Social media have become increasingly popular among different user groups. Although used for social purposes, some social media platforms (such as Wikipedia) have been emerging as important information sources. Focusing on undergraduate students, a survey was conducted to investigate the following: (1) which social media platforms are used as information sources; (2) what are the main reasons for using these social media platforms for information seeking; and (3) what kinds of actions are taken to evaluate the quality of the information gained from such sources. The study provides a snapshot of current trends in terms of the use of social media as information sources. It also sheds lights on the actions that the undergraduate students took to evaluate information from social media, including social networking and video sharing sites that have rarely been studied previously. Based on the findings, suggestions are made for information literacy programs and roles of librarians and educators.oday, users can access information through a wide range of channels and sources. Research shows that some social media platforms, such as Wikipedia and YouTube, have emerged as important information sources.1 It has also been found that more than 50 percent of online teens, and more than 80 percent of college students, use social media for their academic as well as their everyday-life information-seeking purposes.
2Unlike traditional information sources, the information available through social media is created and shared by interested users. Because it undergoes little scrutiny, the quality of the information gained from social media varies widely. The prevalent use of social media, despite quality concerns, has triggered a debate over whether or not the critical evaluation of social media sources should form an important part of information literacy (IL).
3As social media are becoming increasingly popular information sources, it is important to understand which social media platforms are being used to meet various kinds of information needs, and to understand what actions are being taken to evaluate the crl13-455
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