Social Media Trends among Pakistani University Students

Abstract

In this 21st century, social networking sites have evolved rapidly and universally. In Pakistan, there were times when social media were considered a deed of redundant and lazy youth. But now, social media is becoming a little more than just a sharing and communication tool; it is very influential in fact. This present quantitative inquiry aimed to uncover the popularity of different social networking sites among Pakistani university students. Also, this study explored the role of social media in students' academics. This study included 956 university students (371 male, 584 female), and recorded their perceptions through a questionnaire-developed by the researchers. The data were analysed by using ttest, Correlation, and ANOVA tests. The findings revealed the trends of social media and reasons for students using social media. The students revealed their use of social websites was not only entertainment, but also communication with classmates and teachers. The students were not sure whether social networking sites helped in improving their grades, however, their grades were neither negatively affected by the use of social networking sites.