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Social Networking and Education pp 225–238Cite as

College Students’ Perceptions of Positive and Negative Effects of Social Networking

Part of the Lecture Notes in Social Networks book series (LNSN)

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine college students’ perceptions of social networking in the United States. A secondary purpose was to determine whether differences in gender and age were prevalent. One hundred and twenty eight (N = 128) students were surveyed online. Data showed that social networking was helpful for communication, information gathering, and that it positively influenced their academic work. However, students also reported that social networking had a negative impact on their social interactions, emotional health and work completion, with younger participants reporting greater negative effects of social networking on work completion. Students also reported that social networking can be addictive, distractive, and a threat to their privacy. Although no significant gender differences emerged in students’ perceptions, numerically females viewed social networking in more positive terms. Educational implications and future directions for research are discussed.

Keywords

  • Social networking
  • Social media
  • U.S. college students
  • Higher education
  • Web 2.0
  • Pedagogical affordances
  • Computer-Mediated communication

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  • DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-17716-8_14
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Authors and Affiliations

  1. George Mason University, Fairfax, USA

    Anastasia Kitsantas, Nada Dabbagh, David S. Chirinos & Helen Fake

Authors
  1. Anastasia Kitsantas
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  2. Nada Dabbagh
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  3. David S. Chirinos
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  4. Helen Fake
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Anastasia Kitsantas .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Curtin University, Perth, West Australia, Australia

    Tomayess Issa

  2. Universidade Aberta, Lisbon, Portugal

    Pedro Isaias

  3. Dept. of Media, Communication & Org., University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands

    Piet Kommers

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Kitsantas, A., Dabbagh, N., Chirinos, D.S., Fake, H. (2016). College Students’ Perceptions of Positive and Negative Effects of Social Networking. In: Issa, T., Isaias, P., Kommers, P. (eds) Social Networking and Education. Lecture Notes in Social Networks. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17716-8_14

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17716-8_14

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