THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA USE ON STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC

PERFORMANCE: A FIELD STUDY AT A MID-SOUTH UNIVERSITY

Asem A. Alomari

A Thesis presented to the faculty of Arkansas State University in partial fulfilment of the
requirements for the degree of

MASTER OF SCIENCE IN MASS COMMUNICATION

ARKANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY

December 2019

Approved by
Dr. Mary Jackson-Pitts, Thesis Advisor
Dr. Holly Kathleen Hall, Committee Member
Dr. Mike Bowman, Committee Member
 ProQuest Number: 27543641

All rights reserved

INFORMATION TO ALL USERS

The quality of this reproduction is dependent on the quality of the copy submitted.

In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript
and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed,
a note will indicate the deletion.

ProQuest 27543641

Published by ProQuest LLC ( 2020 ). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author.

All Rights Reserved.

This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code
Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC.

ProQuest LLC
789 East Eisenhower Parkway
P.O. Box 1346
Ann Arbor, MI 48106 - 1346
 © 2019
Asem A. Alomari
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

ii
 ABSTRACT

Asem A. Alomari

THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA USE ON STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC

PERFORMANCE: A FIELD STUDY AT A MID-SOUTH UNIVERSITY

The proliferation of social media dictates the need to take a profound and

scientific look at the influence of it on individuals. This study investigated if there is a

significant correlation between the purposes of use, time spent by students, motives and

gratifications, and university students’ academic performance. 971 responses were

collected through an online survey using a convenience sample technique. This study

found that participants use social media more for socialization and entertainment needs

rather than academic needs and purposes. This study suggested a statistically significant

correlation existed between time spent on social media and participants’ entertainment

purposes of use and their academic performance. A statistically significant correlation

was not found between participants’ socialization and academic purposes of use,

instrumental and ritualistic motives, and students’ GPA. The key factor that determines

the possible impact of social media use is how much time a student spends on social

media platforms.

Keywords: social media, GPA, academic performance, college students, social

sites usage.

iii
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

“Say verily that my prayer and my sacrifice, my life and my death are for Allah,

the lord of the world (162). He has no associate-partner, and of this I have been

commanded, and I am the first of the Muslims, who bow to his will (163)” [Al-Annam].

First and foremost, I would like to express my deep, special, and warm thanks to

my thesis advisor Dr. Mary Jackson-Pitts and my thesis committee members, Dr. Holly

Kathleen Hall and Dr. Mike Bowman. All of you have been more than just professors to

this student.

My dear mom: it has been 25 years since my dad passed away and I still cannot

imagine how you became a widow at 28 years old with eight children. Mom, now that I

am 29 years old, I can only imagine what you have been through during the past 25 years.

I realize that whatever I do or say will not give you justice. The effort you spent raising

me and my seven siblings is unforgettable. Mom, thank you so very much from the

bottom of my heart for your physical and mental efforts, thank you for stimulating such

ethical principles in my soul, thank you for making me able to distinguish between right

and wrong. I know that the list of what I should be thanking you for is endless, so simply,

thank you for everything. Finally, I am gifting this thesis to you mom, please accept it.

My dear wife Dr. Walaa Abdallah: we have been married for a little over three

years. The struggles and difficulties we have been through has only made our relationship

stronger. Please accept my apology for every time I wronged you. For every day that

passes from our lives, be sure that I love you more. You are everything to me. You have

ii
been always there for me and you have helped me in every possible way. I will never

forget your encouragement and support. Thank you forever.

My dear seven siblings: Hana, Safa, Sana, Mohammed, Mohanned, Ghadeer, and

Khaled, do you remember when we used to organize our mattresses and sleep in one

room? The only one who should be blamed is Dad, God forgive him, and I am not sure

what he was thinking when he got married. My mind is full of memories, unforgettable

memories. Thank you all for your consistent encouragement.

Finally, I would like to thank Professor Carl Cates and Professor Gilbert L.

Fowler. I am thankful and grateful for the opportunity you gave me to be a part of

Arkansas State University.

iii
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. vi

CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................... 1

1.1 Statement of Problem ...................................................................................... 4

1.2 Statement of Purpose ....................................................................................... 5

1.3 Justification...................................................................................................... 5

CHAPTER 2 – LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................................... 7

2.1 Facebook, Twitter, and the Use Among University Students ........................... 8

2.2 Instagram, Snapchat, and the Use Among University Students ..................... 11

2.3 Social Media Effects and Student’s Academic Performance ......................... 15

2.4 Study Variables and the Motives of Social Media Use .................................. 20

2.5 Theoretical Framework ................................................................................... 23

2.6 Research Questions and Hypotheses .............................................................. 29

CHAPTER 3 – METHODOLOGY .................................................................................. 30

3.1 Study Population ............................................................................................. 31

3.2 Study Sample .................................................................................................. 31

3.3 Study Instrument, Distribution Procedure, and the Likert Scale .................... 33

3.4 Constructed Validity and Reliability .............................................................. 34

iv
 3.5 Instrument’s Description and Connotation ..................................................... 37

3.6 Data Analysis .................................................................................................. 44

CHAPTER 4 – FINDINGS............................................................................................... 45

4.1 Participants ...................................................................................................... 45

4.2 Data Frequencies ............................................................................................. 46

4.3 Scale Reliability, Cronbach’s Alpha ............................................................... 50

4.4 Findings Based on Research Questions .......................................................... 52

4.5 Research Hypotheses Testing ......................................................................... 63

4.6 Hypotheses Examination Summary…………………....……….……………70

CHAPTER 5 – DISCUSSION .......................................................................................... 73

5.1 Descriptive Findings ....................................................................................... 73

5.2 Participants’ Purposes of Social Media Use ................................................... 75

5.3 Participants’ Motives of Social Media Use .................................................... 78

5.4 Hypotheses Examination ................................................................................ 79

5.5 Study Limitations and Recommended Future Study ...................................... 82

CHAPTER 6 – CONCLUSION ....................................................................................... 84

APPENDIX A: CONSENT FORM .................................................................................. 88

APPENDIX B: SURVEY ................................................................................................. 90

APPENDIX C: INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARD APPROVAL ............................. 97

REFERENCES ................................................................................................................. 98

v
 LIST OF TABLES

Table 4.1 Participants’ Demographics by Frequency and Percentage. ............................. 46

Table 4.2 Participants’ Eligibility and Social Media Patterns of Use by Frequency and
Percentage. ........................................................................................................................ 49

Table 4.3 Internal Consistency Reliability for Scale Items. ............................................. 50

Table 4.4 Social Media Platforms Used Among Participants........................................... 52

Table 4.5 Daily Hours Spent on Social Media by Participants......................................... 53

Table 4.6 Participants’ Use of Social Media for Socialization Needs. ............................. 55

Table 4.7 Participants’ Use of Social Media for Entertainment Needs. ........................... 57

Table 4.8 Participants’ Use of Social Media for Academic Needs................................... 58

Table 4.9 Participants’ Satisfied Instrumental Motives from Social Media Use.............. 60

Table 4.10 Participants’ Satisfied Ritualistic Motives from Social Media Use. .............. 62

Table 4.11 Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient: Participants’ GPA and Social Media Use
for Socialization Needs. .................................................................................................... 63

Table 4.12 Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient: Participants’ GPA and Social Media Use
for Entertainment Needs. .................................................................................................. 65

Table 4.13 Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient: Participants’ GPA and Social Media Use
for Academic Needs. ......................................................................................................... 66

Table 4.14 Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient: Participants’ GPA and Satisfied

Instrumental Motives from Social Media Use. ................................................................. 67

Table 4.15 Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient: Participants’ GPA and Satisfied Ritualistic
Motives from Social Media Use. ...................................................................................... 68

Table 4.16 Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient: Participants’ GPA and Time Spent Using
Social Media. .................................................................................................................... 69

vi
Table 4.17 Summary of Research Hypotheses Examination. ........................................... 70

vii
 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Media plays a significant role in our perception of national and international

events. For many years, the media utilized different platforms to deliver information,

news, opinions, and more. However, the role of media changed when the internet was

developed in the 20th century (Kung, Picard, & Towse, 2008). As a result, the information

technology revolution facilitated a technological development called “social networking

sites”. These platforms, commonly known as social media platforms, allow users to

communicate easily and instantaneously (Larson & Acheaw, 2015).

The advent of social media changed the way people consume and present

information relating to their social lives. More importantly, these sites have changed the

way people communicate, interact with others, and express their opinion towards a

variety of matters. Before the information technology revolution, society was limited to

certain types of sources such as radio and printed media. However, with the advent of

social media, society can keep up with news and events, occurring nationally and

internationally, through a variety of platforms. Hence, the media influence facilitated an

easy and interactive way for communication between the media and the audience (Ju,

Jeong, & Chyi, 2014).

Social media use has become so popular in the United States that a reported 82

percent of adults utilize it (Hitlin, 2018). Due to the features that social media platforms

allow such as the ease of accessibility, fast content dissemination, real-time interactivity,

1
and more, these platforms are considered mass media platforms. These platforms are

different from past media sources as content can be exposed to a large number of users,

sometimes exceeding the volume of viewers television, a conventional media source, is

capable of reaching (Robinson, Zeng, & Holbert, 2018). Due to its effective and

prominent capabilities, university students make up a significant portion of users in the

United States. It has been noted that these students are highly affected by social platforms

such as Facebook, Twitter, and other sites (Lin & Sackey, 2015).

As a result of the influence social media has on students, many studies have

focused on university students and their relationship with social media (Giunchiglia,

Zeni, ElisaGobbi, Bignotti, & Bison, 2018; Lin & Sackey, 2015; Mushtaq, 2018; Said,

Alshuaibi, Said, Alshuaibi, & Shamsudin, 2017). These studies have emphasized that

new technology is highly attractive and appealing to youth in any society (Lin & Sackey,

2015; Mushtaq, 2018; Said et al., 2017). In fact, university students are exposed to social

media the most and as a result, adopt many new technologies through social media

platforms. Academic environments also play a role in this interaction. Most universities

require students to utilize the internet and other technological programs used by some

instructors within academic classrooms.

According to the study, “Influence of Perceived Technology Use of University

Students on Academic and Social Performance in College”, conducted by Russo, Zhang,

and Fallon (2015), the utilization of social media sites within the academic realm may

have both positive and negative influences on students. They indicated that the use of

social media sites may decrease college students’ level of engagement and involvement

inside the classroom. Additionally, participants reported that utilization of social

2
technology as a communication pattern increases the chance of misconception and

reduces the level of student’s focus. On the other hand, the study also found that using the

social sites within the academic realm stimulates the sense of interaction and cooperation

between students and instructors and students with their peers (Russo, Zhang, & Fallon,

2015).

University students make up the greatest class of social media users compared to

any other class in society. In fact, it has been determined that 94 percent of college

students use social media in the United States (Yang, Pulido, & Kainan, 2016). However,

the purposes for using social media platforms varies according to each individual’s needs.

Since there are a variety of purposes for using social media among students, there are

numerous studies focusing on the advantages and disadvantages of social media use and

how it influences university students in particular (Al-Rahmi, Othman, & Yusuf, 2015;

Boateng & Amankwaa, 2016; Russo et al., 2015). However, the impact of social media

use on university students has not been studied from all aspects. Social media use has

different effects on people as a whole and, as a result, must have a unique influence on

university students.

The positive aspects of social media use are exemplified by facilitating the means

of communication. This ease of accessibility promotes student communication with

friends and family. Also, the use of social media helps students rapidly share ideas,

increase their knowledge, enrich their insights through real-time discussions about

various matters, and enhances their skills of learning and working with others

(Sutherland, Davis, Terton, & Visser, 2018).

3
 On the other hand, the student community is the most active in any society as they

are building their perceptions about life matters and planning their future. Therefore, that

makes them part of a community that can be easily affected by the negative aspects of

using social media. The negative aspects of social media use are exemplified by students

creating communication values that correspond with an online environment, but these

values do not apply when communicating in reality. Hence, their face-to-face interactions

and communication skills will gradually decrease as they use social media as a means to

interact with others both inside and outside of the classroom (Sutherland et al., 2018).

Also, using social media periodically can possibly affect their focus in general. Keeping

up with a variety of issues and staying connected with others through social media affects

the ability to focus on significant issues. Also, using social media sites for purposes, other

than academic, may be time consuming. This can have a serious impact on students that

access these social platforms periodically, as has been studied by many researchers

(Nagesh & Naveen, 2017).

1.1 Statement of Problem

Social media sites are widely utilized in the current century due to its main

feature, instant communication. This allows individuals to stay updated on national and

international events, communicate with others in real-time, and disseminate content

instantaneously. These traits make social media widely attractive and as a result, accepted

and heavily utilized by university students. However, depending on the purposes of use

and how often social media is used, university students may become addicted to social

media platforms. This constant and heavy use of social media can in turn affect university

students’ academic performance by possibly decreasing the time students spend studying.

4
This results in students diverting their focus from their personal and academic goals,

which may affect their future.

1.2 Statement of Purpose

The purpose of this study is to determine the most used social media platform

among university students in the mid-south region of the United States and to investigate

the purposes of use as independent variables, which can include social, entertainment,

and academic. Also, this study seeks to probe an additional independent variable, the time

university students spend on social media platforms. Furthermore, this study seeks to

investigate the motives of social media use among university students and whether there

is a correlation between these motives and students’ academic performance. In addition,

this study seeks to identify the gratifications participants seek to obtain by using social

media platforms. In summary, this study examines if there is a significant correlation

between the aforementioned independent variables, which includes the purposes of social

media use, the time spent by students on social media platforms, motives and

gratifications of social media use, and the dependent variable, which is university

students’ academic performance, GPA. The data of this study were collected through a

survey that relied on self-disclosures and the study was conducted in Jonesboro, Arkansas

in 2019.

1.3 Justification

Social media is prevalent in our everyday lives. It has changed the procedures of

consuming and presenting media materials including opinions, beliefs, current news, and

more. Social media usage by university students in particular has been increasing in the

last decade. Usage by youth between 18 and 29 years in the United States increased from

5
12 percent in 2005 to 90 percent in 2015 (Sutherland et al., 2018). Also, in 2019,

according to the infinite dial report conducted by Edison Research and Triton Digital, the

leading technology providers for global audio industry and survey research, 79 percent of

the United States population 12 years old or older use social media (Edison Research and

Triton Digital, 2019). Due to its prevalence, its impact has become so prominent that

students utilize it frequently, even in academic settings (Al-Rahmi et al., 2015).

Since university students exemplify a large portion of society and are considered

the leaders of the future, it is significant to study the possible effects of social media use

on their academic performance. According to the uses and gratification theory, the

purpose of use varies among users based on their needs. In other words, the theory

indicates that audiences lean toward specific social media platforms to satisfy particular

gratifications or needs. It points out that the audience is active and does not fully accept

media’s exposures if those exposures do not satisfy the user’s needs (Defleur, 2010; Katz,

Blumler, & Gurevitch, 1973). The significance of this is linked to the purpose, where this

study essentially aims to investigate how mid-south university students use social media,

why they use it, and the possible effects this has on their academic performance.

6
 CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

This literature review covers a variety of previous scientific studies that are

related to the main goal of this study, which is investigating the influence of social media

use on university students’ academic performance. The social media platforms analyzed

include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat, as these are the most used

platforms. In 2019, the Pew Research Center released a statistical report called “Share of

U.S. adults using social media, including Facebook, is mostly unchanged since 2018” by

authors Andrew Perrin and Monica Anderson. The study focused on American adults

between 18 and 24 years old and found that 76 percent use Facebook, 44 percent use

Twitter, 75 percent use Instagram, and 73 percent use Snapchat. This study is significant

as this age group approximately represents the age of the current study sample (Perrin &

Anderson, 2019).

This literature review consists of four essential sections. The first section includes

Facebook and Twitter, and the usage of these platforms among university students. Also,

this section discusses features, as well as the functionality, and disadvantages of the use

of Facebook and Twitter as social media platforms. Additionally, this section illustrates

the purposes of social media use by university students as an explanation of what students

hope to gain by using social media. The second section covers Instagram and Snapchat,

where a variety of aspects, such as the history of these platforms and the effect these

platforms have on university students’ academic performance, will be addressed. The

7
third section includes the influence of social media usage on university students, where

several aspects of the positive and negative influences on student academic performance

are explained based on previous scientific studies. In other words, the third section

illustrates the possible effects that can occur on students’ academic performance as a

result of social media usage. The fourth section consists of a detailed connotation of the

variables and the social media usage motives that this study seeks to investigate among

university students. Also, it briefly discusses the correlation with the previous studies and

where the present study fits in the literature review.

2.1 Facebook, Twitter, and the Use Among University Students

The nature of the process of social networking sites is that audiences can express

their satisfaction by interacting with the media and with each other. Additionally, social

platforms may influence individuals and change their viewpoint toward a multitude of

topics including societal concepts. One of the main reasons people use social networking

sites is to maintain relationships and to easily share information with a large audience

(Chan, 2016). Simply, the existence of social platforms depends on audience

interactivity, as can be seen in the most used platforms, Facebook and Twitter.

Although social media is very prevalent these days, the rapid growth of social

media was unexpected. In 2004, Facebook was developed as a small micro-blogging site

created by a college student for a class project (Ju et al., 2014). In terms of functionality,

Facebook users must have a valid email address to create a Facebook profile. This profile

reflects an individual and can be used to converse with another user, which is called

“Facebook friendship”. Users can upload photos, videos, notes, and personal status (Lin

& Sackey, 2015). Facebook also has three sophisticated and advanced features, which are

8
“like”, “comment”, and “share”. Users can use these techniques to depict their level of

satisfaction with content posted by another user. It also allows users to see the level of the

engagement they received regarding a specific post they shared (Hermida, Fletcher,

Korell, & Logan, 2012).

Facebook became a rapid success because it allows for real-time feedback. Also,

the Facebook community expanded because it is easily accessible to anyone with internet

access. In December 2007, Facebook had 845 million users that attended to their

Facebook profiles at least once a day (Ju et al., 2014). Ten years later, in 2017, Facebook

had 2 billion monthly users worldwide, making it the most used social media platform

(Kim & Hastak, 2018; Lo Coco et al., 2018).

Many people consider Facebook an important social platform for news because it

is easy to use and requires minimal effort to stay updated on news, information, and

events (Hermida et al., 2012). Also, the technology available on Facebook gives the

audience a vast space to discuss any subject. As a result, Facebook increases audience

involvement and engagement in real-time when it comes to communicating with others

and seeking information.

Another benefit of Facebook is that it allows users to decide what is important and

unimportant to them regarding information. Content that is presented through Facebook

is generally not created by a professional. A Facebook user can upload any content that in

some cases becomes so viral that it is further spread by Fox News, CNN, The New York

Times, or any other news platform who may run the story. As a result, university students

were and are still attracted by Facebook features, which gives them the opportunity to

expose materials (Allcott & Gentzkow, 2017). Since users can present any type of

9
content, this allows for different perspectives or opinions from other users toward a wide

array of topics. For instance, social media in general, and Facebook in particular, played

an essential role in encouraging Egyptian students from different universities to

participate in the Egyptian revolution in early 2011 (Tufekci & Wilson, 2012).

Shortly after the release of Facebook, another powerful social media platform was

developed, Twitter, which was launched in 2006, and attracted a vast audience making it

one of the most popular social networking platforms (Dijck, 2012). As of July 2009,

Twitter had 41 million users in the United States (Kwak, Lee, Park, & Moon, 2010). Five

years after its launch date, it reached 180 million monthly users globally and as of 2016,

had 320 million users worldwide (Dijck, 2012; Kim & Hastak, 2018).

Twitter, like Facebook, is a form of micro-blogging and allows for real-time

online dissemination of short content up to 140 characters. Posts can come from both

professional and unprofessional sources (Skogerbø & Krumsvik, 2015). The technology

used on Twitter is entirely different and, some may argue, easier than other social

platforms, including Facebook (Kwak et al., 2010). One reason for this ease is that a

relationship between Twitter users does not require acceptance from both sides. As a

user, you can be followed by any other user, but you do not have to follow them back in

order to let them view your content (Kwak et al., 2010). Some studies indicated that most

Twitter users access their profiles through mobile devices (Dijck, 2012). This ease of

access explains why the Twitter community expanded quickly compared to other social

networking sites.

The capability of Twitter in transporting content through its large community is

very sophisticated and is considered an advantage. For instance, through Twitter

10
“hashtags”, users can keep up with current events in real-time. This was seen when an

American student was jailed in Egypt; Twitter quickly spread the news while newspapers

were still editing the news to present it later (Kwak et al., 2010).

Therefore, real-time access to content and information from social media in

general, and Facebook and Twitter in particular, attracted a large portion of society,

including university students. Social media platforms enable students to participate in

current events that may result in social change. This allows for dialogue between people,

gives people the ability to edit content, and results in society gradually changing their

ways in consuming content and communicating with others.

Many studies asserted that there are three main purposes of social media use

among university students. The first is a social purpose, which includes chatting with

friends and family, sharing content such as pictures or videos, and self-disclosure where

students express themselves through status updates. The second is entertainment

purposes, where students keep up with celebrities, watch entertaining videos and movies,

and play games with other users in real-time (Lin & Sackey, 2015) The third is for an

academic purpose, which involves using social media for any work pertaining to

educational development inside and outside academic institutions. This can include work

that enhances knowledge, allows students to keep in touch with peers or work on group

projects, and any work that prevents limiting the learning environment to the classroom

(Kolan & Dzandza, 2018).

2.2 Instagram, Snapchat, and the Use Among University Students

Instagram is a social networking site that was created by Mike Krieger and Kevin

Systrom and was first launched in October 2010 (Waters, 2015). Instagram allows its

11
users to take pictures and short videos, and to apply themes or filters to their content

before they are posted on the users’ Instagram account. Also, Instagram allows its users

to share their content with other social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter

(Alhabash & Ma, 2017). Instagram can be used on both smartphones, computers, and any

device connected to the internet. Since it was launched, Instagram has been gradually

obtaining popularity among users. In 2012, the Instagram community reached 300

million people, and in the same year, Facebook bought it for 1 billion dollars (Huang &

Su, 2018).

Worldwide, Instagram is the second largest social media platform after Facebook.

In 2018, the total number of users reached 700 million, with young adults being the

majority of users (Huang & Su, 2018). Also, university students make up a large number

of Instagram users (Alhabash & Ma, 2017). In 2019, according to a report conducted by

the Pew Research Center, 75 percent of American adults between 18 and 24 years old use

Instagram (Perrin & Anderson, 2019).

In 2018, a study by Alhabash and Mengyan, “A Tale of Four Platforms:

Motivations and Uses of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat among College

Students?”, surveyed 396 college students regarding the time they spent on four different

social media platforms: Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and Twitter. Results showed that

students spend more time on Instagram compared to other platforms (Alhabash & Ma,

2017). A significant point that can be extracted is that social media technology appears

to be attractive to university students, especially Instagram. Therefore, it is mandatory to

profoundly dig through these social sites to determine their effects on university students.

12
 Several studies have indicated that the use of social media in general, and

Instagram in particular, affects university students’ academic performance (Alhabash &

Ma, 2017; Khan, Abduljabbar S, & Alsamarai, 2019; Mim, Islam, & Paul, 2018). In

2019, Sohail Khan and his colleagues in their study “Social media and its adverse effect

on academic performance of students,” surveyed 197 university students regarding their

social media and their GPA. The study found that there is a significant correlation

between social media use by students and student academic performance. Particularly,

the study found that social media use negatively affects students’ GPA (Khan et al.,

2019).

Approximately a year after Instagram was launched, Snapchat was created by

Evan Spiegel, Bobby Murphy, and Reggie Brown and was launched in 2011 (Vaterlaus,

Barnett, Roche, & Young, 2016). Snapchat, like Instagram, is one of the most popular

social networking sites that allows users to send messages to each other. However, with

Snapchat, users’ messages disappear after they are read. Also, Snapchat’s users can share

videos and images, but those videos and images also disappear after a short period of

time. Snapchat users are able to determine how long, from one to ten seconds, their

materials are allowed to be seen by other users. Also, Snapchat recently announced a new

update consisting of a tool called loop, where users can create videos or pictures that can

be viewed consistently until users close the content (McCord et al., 2016; Tracy, 2019;

Utz, Muscanell, & Khalid, 2015).

Essentially, Snapchat was developed to allow users to interact through video

messages. Additionally, due to its main feature, which allows users to participate and

contact each other by creating short video stories regarding their everyday life,

13
experiences, and any events users wish to share, Snapchat has been appealing to a large

amount of people (Vaterlaus et al., 2016). In fact, many studies have emphasized that

Snapchat is one of the most heavily used social media platforms among young adults

between 18 and 24 years old (Alhabash & Ma, 2017; McCord et al., 2016; Utz et al.,

2015; Vaterlaus et al., 2016). As of 2019, according to a report conducted by Statista, an

online generator for statistical reports based on data collected by market and research

institutes, Snapchat has 297.7 users around the world. Of these users, 190 million of them

are active daily users and 93.55 million users are in the United Stated (Statista, 2019b,

2019c, 2019a). Additionally, 73 % of American adults between 18 and 24 years old use

Snapchat (Perrin & Anderson, 2019).

The rapid growth of a social networking site like Snapchat, is due to the fact that

Snapchat is attractive to a large number of young adults, including university students in

the United States and globally (McCord et al., 2016; Utz et al., 2015). In 2016, Jasmine

Knight and her colleagues conducted the study, “What social media sites do college

students use most?”. In this study, a sample of 363 college students were surveyed

regarding which social media platform they access the most among Instagram, Snapchat,

Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Pinterest. Results showed that Snapchat was

the second most accessed and used social media platform, with Instagram being the first

(McCord et al., 2016).

Regarding Snapchat’s effects on users, especially university students, it has been

determined that Snapchat, like any other social media platform, has both positive and

negative effects on university students (Khan et al., 2019; Mim et al., 2018; Vaterlaus et

al., 2016). Advantages of this platform include its ease of accessibility, real-time content

14
dissemination, interaction between users, and much more. On the other hand, spending

too much time on a daily basis using social media platforms, particularly Snapchat, may

affect university students in terms of focusing on their studies, keeping up with class

materials, and affecting their overall academic performance (Al-Eisa et al., 2016;

Halboub et al., 2016; Mim et al., 2018). It is significant to study and discuss the use of

social media platforms and their effects on university students’ academic performance,

which is what the following section of this literature review consists of. It contains a

detailed explanation regarding the positive and negative effects that can occur on

university students as a results of social media use.

2.3 Social Media Effects and Students’ Academic Performance

Social media has generated challenges in terms of its negative influence on

students. These challenges include reducing face-to-face interaction skills, which

contributes to an increased feeling of isolation from reality (Sutherland et al., 2018). In a

recent study, students were asked to identify the benefits of using social media. They

indicated that they use social media as a means to explore their social life and keep in

touch with friends and family. This group of students did not see any benefits or

improvements to their academic skills by using social media (Boateng & Amankwaa,

2016).

It can be argued that the use of social media among student communities for the

purposes of social connection and chatting with others distracts students’ attention. It also

distracts students from focusing on improving their academic knowledge, as the

excessive time spent chatting on social media platforms may be considered unbeneficial

and insignificant. Also, there are several negative influences and outcomes that can

15
possibly occur with students as a result of criminal and illegal behaviors through social

media. These are exemplified by identity theft, where anyone can create an account on

any social media platform. By fabricating and disseminating content, this can be harmful

to society in general and to students in particular (Kolan & Dzandza, 2018).

Another negative aspect of social media is that the excessive use of social media

among students for social purposes can lead to less time spent studying. As a result,

students fail to keep up with assignment due dates, and more importantly, students can

become addicted to social media which can affect students in the real world socially and

academically (Mushtaq, 2018). Additionally, there are studies that assert that a significant

correlation exists between GPA and social media usage. Heffner and Tara (2016) pointed

out that a student’s GPA is highly affected by the use of social media. In other words, as

long as students have a social media account, there is a chance that their GPA will

decrease. The issue with the aforementioned study is that it only compared students who

have an account on one social media platform to students who do not have social media

accounts. The fact that they did not address other factors that may relate to students’

academic performance generated a deficiency. In other words, the previous study did not

specify the exact factor that causes students who use social media to see a decrease in

their GPA. By neglecting to mention this, the factors that determined the relationship

between social media use and GPA were not explained, which is the purpose of the

current study. This study will address this issue by investigating factors such as the

purpose of social media use, the time spent on social media, and the motives of social

media use. Additionally, this study will determine if the aforementioned factors affect or

correlate to students’ academic performance.

16
 In addition to negatively influencing academic performance, social media has also

been linked to poor sleeping patterns. In 2014, according to the National Sleep

Foundation, more than 35 % of American adults described their quality of sleep as “poor”

or “only fair”. This metric corresponds to six hours of sleep or less per night (Garett, Liu,

& Young, 2018, p. 163; National Sleep Foundation, 2014). As a result of this study,

Garett, Liu, and Young, from the University of California Institute for Prediction

Technology, studied sleep patterns in students. They presented a significant correlation

between social media use and sleep quality among university students in a study titled

“The Relationship Between Social Media Use and Sleep Quality Among Undergraduate

Students”. Their results suggested that students who use social media more on weekday

late nights have lower sleep quality, hence, will see an affect in their academic

performance. Also, students who use social media more on weekday evenings, have

better sleep quality. In other words, students who access their social media accounts on

workdays between 3 pm to 8 pm, reported a better sleep quality than those who access

their social media accounts late at night during the workweek (Garett et al., 2018).

Although this study will not focus on the time of day students access their accounts, it is

necessary to look at the issue scientifically from different aspects.

In addition to social purposes, studies have pointed out that social media is an

active tool used by universities to keep students informed on certain issues (Giunchiglia

et al., 2018; Russo et al., 2015; Sutherland et al., 2018). This can include information

pertaining to academic policies and information to promote the school to attract future

students to consider enrollment. This can be seen more as universities develop

applications that can be downloaded on various devices, such as smart phones and

17
tablets, to stay in contact with students and relay necessary information (Sutherland et al.,

2018). As a result, it has been determined that social media platforms are utilized both in

the classroom and outside of the classroom as a means of communication (Russo et al.,

2015).

According to the study “Use of Social Media and its Impact on Academic

Performance of Engineering Students” conducted by Naveen Nagesh in 2017, around 62

% of students see social media platforms as an opportunity to enhance their academic

activities (Nagesh & Naveen, 2017). Also, the study found that students emphasized the

fact that social media use affected their academic performance. In the 2016 study, “The

Impact of Social Media on Student Academic Life in Higher Education” by Afua and

Raymond, ten university students were asked if they believe that social media use

enhances their learning. Most of the sample answered yes and indicated that social media

platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp are used in their classes including in their

schedules, discussions, and assignments. They also stated that they use these platforms to

receive and send information to both instructors and peers. This interaction is thought to

increase retention. Specifically, one of the students pointed out that they cannot retain

class content unless this content is discussed with others, which is primarily achieved

through social media. In other words, some students do not have the ability to retain

classroom information unless these students discuss this information with other students

through social media. As a result, social media sites are considered a tool to improve

learning capabilities (Boateng & Amankwaa, 2016).

Furthermore, Al-Rahmi, Othman, and Yusuf (2015) indicated that the role of

social media among students is not only a crossroads to transfer or pass information, but

18
it also creates a learning environment. This enables students to cooperate through

discussions with peers, share knowledge, and enhance their learning skills (Al-Rahmi et

al., 2015). They also determined that the capability of social media to contribute to

academic environments is more effective than other programs. This can be seen in

internet web programs that are used in collaborative academic learning among university

students. For instance, evidence was found that using social media in integrative

assignments leads to higher levels of acquiring knowledge. Although this fact is integral

to the study topic, it is out of the scope of this study’s instrument (Al-Rahmi et al., 2015).

Social media use in the academic field has been prominent since it was first

initiated. There are numerous studies that emphasize the variety of benefits university

students gain when using social media (Mushtaq, 2018; Nagesh & Naveen, 2017; Russo

et al., 2015). It has been determined that scientific discussions with others and peers

enriches their insights academically and is an effective opportunity to broaden

vocabulary. Additionally, using social media as a means of communication in the student

community helps enhance writing skills, decreases spelling and grammatical mistakes,

and enhances knowledge by increasing exposure to a variety of content (Mushtaq, 2018).

Additionally, social media use by students makes the learning process continuous and not

limited to a specific time of day. It also does not limit the sources of learning nor does it

specify the nature of how students learn. In other words, social media in the academic

environment expands the traditional set of learning (Kolan & Dzandza, 2018). Another

advantage of using of social media is that it can overcome students’ academic frustration.

For instance, students that have academic issues can meet over social media and discuss

any academic matter (Mushtaq, 2018).

19
 Using social media for academic purposes, including disseminating knowledge to

student’s peers, is a common reason for use. However, there appeared to be different

purposes depending on the student and their needs (Kolan & Dzandza, 2018). The main

factor that plays a role on the influence of social media is time management. It has been

reported that students who manage their time and use social media reasonably most likely

have a higher average GPA than those who do not (Mushtaq, 2018).

2.4 Study Variables and the Motives of Social Media Use

Although previous studies determined the correlation between social media and

GPA, they concluded that social media affects students’ academic performance based on

whether the students have a social media account and the time spent on social media

(Nagesh & Naveen, 2017). Some studies even measured the difference between a

student’s GPA before a social media account existed and after the student created an

account on social media platforms (Larson & Acheaw, 2015; Lin & Sackey, 2015;

Sutherland et al., 2018). While all of these variables are important, they neglected the fact

that there are many other variables which this study addresses. These variables play a

significant role in terms of determining whether there is a correlation between social

media use and academic performance. Particularly, this study has determined three major

independent variables that are the daily time spent on social media, motives of social

media use, and the purposes of social media use among university students. Furthermore,

the purpose of use, as an independent variable, consists of three categories that will be

investigated in this study using a Likert scale. The first category includes social purpose,

where students use social media to improve their social life and maintain relationships

with friends and family. The second category is for entertainment purposes, where

20
students play online games or watch movies to keep themselves entertained. The third

category is for academic purposes, where students engage in class discussions with peers

and instructors through social media. More concepts regarding these three categories will

be described in more detail in the methodology chapter of this study.

Regarding the motives as independent variables, It has been pointed out that in

addition to the purposes of social media use, there are motives and gratifications that

social media users may obtain when utilizing social media platforms (Ismail, 2003; Shatli

& Marahi, 2015; West & Turner, 2014). These motives can be sorted into two essential

categories. The first category consists of motives called instrumental motives, where

social media users utilize social sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat

to obtain beneficial outcomes from their social media use. The second category consists

of motives called ritualized motives, where social media users utilize a variety of social

media platforms merely because they have been exposed to social media. In other words,

social media utilization has become a part of their routine. In fact, users that use social

media for ritualized motives essentially do not benefit (Ismail, 2003; Shatli & Marahi,

2015; West & Turner, 2014). From this standpoint, the present study measures the

aforementioned social media use motives among university students to investigate

whether there is a correlation between motives of social media use and students’

academic performance.

It has been determined that there is a correlation between the aforementioned

motives and university students’ use of social media. Particularly, studies have shown

that using social media for different motives forecasts which social media platform

students tend to use (Kircaburun, Alhabash, Tosuntaş, & Griffiths, 2018). The

21
significance of this study in the current work is to emphasize that there is a correlation

between instrumental and ritualized motives and the usage of social media. The present

study furthers the scope by examining whether there is a correlation between students’

academic performance and the motives behind students use of social media as

independent variables.

Generally, students’ academic performance plays a significant role in determining

a student’s future. It can also provide a reasonable reflection of the extent of a student’s

understanding of acquired knowledge throughout their university years. Therefore, many

students are at some point concerned about their academic performance. As a result, this

study is significant as it can provide an understanding of the elements that can affect

academic performance. As previously mentioned, studies have emphasized one aspect of

the relationship that exists between social media use and university students’ academic

performance (Nagesh & Naveen, 2017).

The primary goal of this study is to determine which social media platform is

accessed the most by Arkansas State University students, how students use social media,

why students use social media, and what are the possible effects on students’ academic

performance. As was previously covered in the literature review, there are three main

reasons students use social media: social, entertainment, and academic (Mugahed &

Shahizan, 2016; Sutherland et al., 2018). These three main purposes were then aligned

with the uses and gratification theory where it indicates that audiences use social media to

meet certain needs. There are a number of variables introduced in this study including:

time spent on social media platforms and the purposes of use by students as independent

variables. How the aforementioned independent variables correlate with or affect

22
students’ GPA, the dependent variable, is the essential goal of this study. As well as, this

study seeks to measure the instrumental and ritualized motives that students have behind

their use of social media as was mentioned in the literature review. These motives are

explained within the following section of this paper which is the theoretical framework.

2.5 Theoretical Framework

A well-established theory that has been utilized in the research field of

communication and mass communication studies is the uses and gratification theory

(Weiyan, 2015). The theory was introduced in 1973 by Bulmer and Katz, communication

scholars, who sometimes referred to their theory as “U&G” (Katz et al., 1973). The uses

and gratification theory’s fundamental aim was to understand why and how mass media

platforms are commonly used by societal members in their everyday lives. In other

words, the theory describes the relationship between mass media platforms and their

audience to determine how they influence each other (Weiyan, 2015; West & Turner,

2014). These platforms can include traditional platforms such as television, radio,

newspaper, and magazine. However, this study focuses on advanced technology, which is

the foundation for numerous social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter,

Snapchat, and Instagram (Al-Jabri, Sohail, & Ndubisi, 2015).

The uses and gratification theory has five essential assumptions. The first is that

the audience is active in the process of mass communication, which means that

individuals utilize social media platforms to meet their needs. In other words, the

audience’s activeness can affect social media content because the audience seeks to

satisfy needs and specific goals from the use of media.

23
 Second, the desire of satisfying specific needs and choosing specific media

platforms is determined by personal differences between individuals. Simply, an

individual’s decision of which media platform they use is selective and is strongly linked

to their motivations and needs. Additionally, their use of media might embody their

extant perspectives and goals. Third, the audience is capable of determining its needs and

motivations, hence, it exposes the media that satisfies its needs. Clearly, this assumption

indicates that the audience’s existing motivations are central pillar that directs their use of

social media, which makes the audience’s preference predetermined.

Fourth, individuals determine and use media platforms; media platforms do not

determine the audience. This idea determined the relationship between media influence

on audience and vice versa. In the current technological age, this means that the audience

is capable of preventing exposure to media that does not correspond with their interests.

Fifth, the cultural values in a society can be extracted from the audience’s usage of

media; they cannot be extracted from the messages introduced by media. In other words,

the audience provides a coherent understanding of the differences between individuals

based on their use of certain media. For instance, individuals’ activeness on social media

platforms varies from one to another based on several factors, such as the time and the

type of media content (Ismail, 2003; Katz et al., 1973; Shatli & Marahi, 2015; Weiyan,

2015; West & Turner, 2014).

By applying the aforementioned assumptions on social media technology, the

theory provides a significant interpretation of why individuals tend to prefer a specific

platform at the expense of others. In other words, the uses and gratification theory claims

that people use social media to acquire particular materials to meet certain needs. Those

24
needs can be categorized into five categories. The first is cognitive needs, where users are

able to acquire information and knowledge. Second is affective needs, which includes the

emotions, pleasure, and the feelings that social media users seek to satisfy. The third is

personal integrative needs, where the audience aims to enhance credibility and self-status.

The fourth is social interactive needs, which is concerned with users’ social life,

particularly their interactions with family and friends. The fifth is tension release needs,

which includes escapism and diversion. In fact, all the previous mentioned categories of

needs can vary from one person to another or between societies. The uses and

gratification theory also states that when users decide another platform suits their needs

better, they will readily change their platform of use (Basilisco & Cha, 2015; Ismail,

2003; Ruggiero, 2000; Shatli & Marahi, 2015; West & Turner, 2014).

Previous studies have been trying to define audience needs in terms of why they

use social media. Some studies claim that people use social media for social reasons

including connecting with friends and family, building new friendships with others, and

initiating conversations about specific matters. Others also use social media for

entertainment purposes such as playing online games, watching videos, and keeping up

with new technologies (Basilisco & Cha, 2015; Shirazi, 2013). Also, social media can be

used to meet educational needs. This is found particularly among university students.

These students may use social media platforms for a variety of reasons from seeking

information to academic growth.

Focusing primarily on university students, studies have found that students utilize

social media for three main purposes: social, entertainment, and academic (Boateng &

Amankwaa, 2016; Giunchiglia et al., 2018; Kolan & Dzandza, 2018; Mushtaq, 2018;

25
Shatli & Marahi, 2015). Social purposes include maintaining relationships with friends

and family, chatting on social networking sites, following other users’ posts, and much

more. Students that fall into this category want to explore and expand their social life

outside of the academic realm (Boateng & Amankwaa, 2016). Sometimes this is due to

students wanting to promote themselves for personal gain. As was previously mentioned

in the literature review, students who utilize social media merely for social purposes tend

to suffer academically. Studies have found that the more time spent on social media for

non-academic work, the more a student suffers in terms of time management and overall

academic performance (Heffner, 2016; Mushtaq, 2018). The second category is

university students who utilize social media for entertainment purposes. This includes

following celebrities, watching random short videos about a variety of subjects, watching

entertaining movies and shows, and playing games (Lin & Sackey, 2015), which

exemplifies the reason for conducting this study (Turney, 2016).

The third category of university students who use social media use it mainly for

academic purposes. This group of students tends to benefit from social media when it

comes to academic performance. Within this purpose, students use social media to seek

information and as a result, they broaden their insights more than those who do not seek

additional knowledge. Also, these students may use social media to discuss challenging

class-related topics. Students may also use social media to stay connected with instructors

for class related concerns or questions. Researching specific academic articles and

keeping up with current and breaking research can also be achieved over social media. It

can also provide a means to interact with scholars in the same research area. According to

numerous studies, there is a positive correlation between using social media for academic

26
purposes and student academic performance (Boateng & Amankwaa, 2016; Kolan &

Dzandza, 2018).

This makes the uses and gratification theory’s explanation significant as it

provides a sense of why students utilize social media. Furthermore, there are two

essential forms of motivations and gratifications that users seek to obtain. The first is

instrumental motives, where audiences get exposed to media or use social media

platforms for self-seeking purposes. This can include acquiring general knowledge and

experiences, seeking news and information, socializing with others, affiliating with

groups that correspond with the users’ point of view, and any beneficial motive that

audiences obtain from media. The second type of motivation is ritualized motives, where

audiences aim to fulfill their free time as a way to avoid being bored, to relax, and for

entertainment purposes. Audiences also use media as part of a daily routine, for escapism,

and any other unbeneficial motive that audiences obtain from using media (Ismail, 2003;

Shatli & Marahi, 2015). In other words, ritualized motives are the opposite of

instrumental motives. Particularly, in the case of ritualized motives, the audience does not

obtain knowledge or experiences when using social media, but rather they use it as part of

the daily routine.

All the aforementioned purposes were included within the uses and gratifications’

explanation of the needs. However, the uses and gratification theory does not describe the

impact of social media use on the aforementioned categories of students. Simply, the

theory states that students use social media for specific needs, however the effect of

serving those needs was not covered in the theory’s assumptions

27
 Additionally, although several previous studies have focused on different aspects

pertaining to social media traits, features, nature of use, and the possible obtained

gratifications, a significant aspect that they did not specify includes the factors that might

play a significant role in affecting the academic performance of students. These can

include the time spent on social media, motives of use, and purposes of use and whether

these factors have a direct correlation with students’ academic performance (Al-Rahmi et

al., 2015; Kolan & Dzandza, 2018; Mugahed & Shahizan, 2016; Nagesh & Naveen,

2017; Said et al., 2017; Sutherland et al., 2018). However, these previous studies helped

the researcher to determine the problem of the study, the inquiries that should be asked to

measure the objectives of the study and provided a base in formulating and creating the

research questions and hypotheses.

An important point can be extracted from the literature, which is that the daily

time social media platforms are accessed is a significant independent variable that

influences students and can affect their academic performance. An extraction appears to

be that the negative effects that occur as a result of social media use are due to the

purpose and time of social media being accessed. In this study, the investigation focuses

on this relationship by concentrating on several factors and variables, where student

academic performance, the dependent variable, is defined as student GPA. Also, the

variables to study social media use consist of a variety of independent variables such as

the time spent on social media, the motives of social media use, and the purposes of use,

where the concepts of social, entertainment, and academic are measured using the Likert

scale as it will be explained in the methodology of this study.

28
2.6 Research Questions and Hypotheses

The research questions, as well as the hypotheses, were extracted, determined,

and formulated based on the literature review and the theoretical framework, which

covered what other scientific studies have determined on this matter. The main objective

is to determine how social media usage affects student academic performance. Research

question is symbolized by (RQ). Hypothesis is symbolized by (H).

RQ1: What social media platforms are accessed the most among students at
Arkansas State University- Jonesboro campus?

RQ2: How much time is spent by students daily on social media?

RQ3: What are the students’ purposes when using social media platforms?

RQ4: What motives are satisfied when using social media by students at
Arkansas State University- Jonesboro campus?

Hypotheses

H1: There is a significant correlation between students who use social media for
socialization purposes and students’ GPA.

H2: There is a significant correlation between students who use social media for
entertainment purposes and students’ GPA.

H3: There is a significant correlation between students who use social media for
academic purposes and students’ GPA.

H4: There is a significant correlation between students who use social media to
satisfy instrumental motives and students’ GPA.

H5: There is a significant correlation between students who use social media to
satisfy ritualized motives and students’ GPA.

H6: There is a significant correlation between students’ time spent using social
media and students’ G

29
 CHAPTER 3

METHODOLOGY

This study seeks to determine the most used social media platform among

university students in the mid-south region of the United States and to investigate the

purposes of use as independent variables that include social, entertainment, and academic

purposes. Also, this study seeks to probe an additional independent variable, the time

university students spend on social media platforms. Furthermore, this study seeks to

investigate the motives of social media use among university students and whether there

is a correlation between these motives and students’ academic performance. In addition,

this study seeks to identify the obtained gratifications by participants when using social

media platforms. In summary, this study examines if there is a significant correlation

between the aforementioned independent variables, which includes the concepts related

to the purposes of social media use, the time spent by students on social media platforms,

motives and gratifications of social media use, and the dependent variable, which is

university students’ academic performance, GPA. This chapter consists of a detailed

explanation of the general study population, study sample, instrument distribution

procedure, and an explanation of the study survey. The data of this study were collected

through a survey that relied on self-disclosures and the study was conducted in

Jonesboro, Arkansas in 2019.

30
 3.1 Study Population

The study population consists of students at a mid-south university in the United

States of America, Arkansas State University. According to the 2019 Factbook report

produced by the Office of Institutional Effectiveness, the mid-south university has a

total of 22,547 enrolled students including both part-time and full-time undergraduate

and graduate students. The total number of enrolled students is distributed differently

across five campuses in five different cities in the centrally located state. The main

campus has 13,709 undergraduate and graduate students, the highest number of enrolled

students among the remaining campuses is 3,446 students, 1,345 students, 2,275

students, and 1,423 students (Arkansas State University, 2019).

According to the same report, among the 13,709 including online, undergraduate,

and graduate students at the main campus, 5,175 students are male, while 8,534 students

are female. Additionally, 8,405 students are under the age of 25, while the remainder are

25 years old or older (Arkansas State University, 2019). This includes all class standings,

which are freshman, sophomore, junior, senior, and graduate. However, this current study

has not extracted the sample based on the student’s gender or class standing, therefore,

the gender or class standing diversity within the sample has not been controlled for.

3.2 Study Sample

The inability to survey every eligible student in all the five campuses of Arkansas

State University, is the reasoning behind using the convenience sampling technique to

collect this study’s data. Since the Jonesboro campus has the highest number of enrolled

students, this study selected students from Arkansas State University-Jonesboro campus

as the study sample. This study surveyed 971 who are enrolled in campus classes

31
regardless of their gender and academic class standing. Additionally, due to the

availability of participants in the main campus, the sample was selected utilizing the

convenience sampling technique. This technique is also known as availability sampling,

haphazard sampling or accidental sampling (Etikan, Musa, & Alkassim, 2016; Zhou &

Sloan, 2015).

As previously mentioned, the data of this study were collected using the

convenience sampling technique. This technique is a type of nonrandom or

nonprobability technique that is used in the process of collecting data in scientific studies.

Participants in this technique are selected due to variety of reasons including the

accessibility of reaching the participants, the availability of participants at a specific time,

and the participants’ desire to participate and be a part of the study’s data (Etikan et al.,

2016). This technique is also known as the accidental sampling technique because, in

some cases, participants can be selected because they happen to be available at a specific

time and place (Etikan et al., 2016; Zhou & Sloan, 2015).

There are various limitations in every type of sampling technique regardless if it

belongs in the category of nonrandom or random sampling. The major limitation of the

convenience sampling technique is that there is a high probability that the collected data

is not objective. The cause of having a non-objective sample might be due to the research

determination of participants. Another disadvantage of using the convenience sampling

technique is that the selected sample does not represent the general population of the

study. In other words, the results of any study that uses a convenience sampling

technique, or any technique in the category of nonrandom sampling techniques, cannot be

32
 a generalizable representation or referred to as the general population (Etikan et al., 2016;

Zhou & Sloan, 2015).

3.3 Study Instrument, Distribution Procedure, and the Likert Scale

A quantitative research tool to collect data was used in this study. An online

survey was created through Survey Monkey Software, a software program for creating

surveys. The online survey has the potential to reach a large number of respondents

above the age of 18 at one time, hence, it has saved the researcher effort, costs, and time.

Also, the data were gathered technologically to readily utilize in analytical programs (see

appendix B for questionnaire). This saved labor costs in terms of data entry (Zhou &

Sloan, 2015). The questionnaire consisted of eighteen questions divided into three

categories. The first is descriptive, where the questions are exploratory in nature, and the

second is analytical, where the questions are explanatory in nature. (Zhou & Sloan,

2015). The third category of questions is demographic. Overall, the questions exemplify

the objectives, which is what the researcher aims to answer at the end of this study.

In terms of the instrument distribution, after getting approval from the

Institutional Review Board (IRB), (see appendix C for IRB approval), the researcher

obtained a census of all students’ names and their university email address at a mid-south

university, Arkansas State University-Jonesboro campus. This census of students’ email

address consisted of (8958). This study’s instrument, survey, was distributed to all

enrolled students through their university email address in specific period of time, which

is from August 29, 2019 to September 9, 2019.

Additionally, the researcher utilized his insights and any possible and affordable

tools, such as e-mail and social media sites, to reach targeted and eligible participants.

33
Particularly, an online link to the questionnaire was distributed to all qualifying

participants through students’ university e-mail and social media platform accounts.

Overall, the data of this study were collected within a specific time and place, which is

the mid-south university’s main campus.

A five-point Likert scale was used to measure the extent of participants’ social

media usage in three specific areas including social, entertainment, and academic. These

concepts are measured to determine the purposes of social media use among participants.

The Likert scale was adopted and modified from a variety of previous scientific studies to

correspond with this study’s objectives (Al-Jabri et al., 2015; Hsiag, Chang, & Lin, 2015;

Ifinedo, 2015; Shatli & Marahi, 2015).

Additionally, a different Likert scale was used to measure participants’ responses

to a set of fact statements. These statements pertain to questions that measure the

obtained gratifications and motives by participants when utilizing social media (Shatli &

Marahi, 2015). These Likert scale statements were created and formulated based on the

literature review. The obtained gratifications and motives have been divided into two

essential concepts of motives including instrumental and ritualized, as explained within

the uses and gratification theory section in this study (Ismail, 2003; Shatli & Marahi,

2015). The Likert scale was adopted from a previous study (Shatli & Marahi, 2015).

3.4 Constructed Validity and Reliability

Regarding the instrument’s validity, the present study has used several methods to

ensure a significant percentage of validity. These methods include ensuring that the

instrument is valid, meaning it measures what it is supposed to measure, which was

conducted by randomly selecting ten eligible participants of the study’s sample before the

34
essential instrument distribution. Those participants were asked to fill out the instrument

and give feedback about their understanding towards each question of the instrument.

The results indicated that the instrument’s questions were understandable to the ten

participants and, more importantly, the instrument is valid. This means that it measures

what it has been designed to measure, which is what the researcher aims to answer at the

end of this study.

The second method to test validity was done by exposing the study’s instrument

to an expert, who was not familiar with the study objectives, in the field of media and

mass communication studies. The expert, Dr. Mahmoud Mostafa, a researcher and an

associate professor at Yarmouk University in Jordan, was introduced to the study’s topic

and asked to give feedback regarding the study instrument’s validity. After judging the

instrument, he suggested that the instrument is understandable and valid.

Third, to ensure the validity of participation, the instrument consisted of questions

concerned with the validity of participants’ responses. These questions are the third

question of the instrument, “Do you use social media platforms?” and the fourth question,

“When do you access your social media account (you can select more than one

answer)?”. The third and fourth questions test the instrument’s internal consistency and

the validity of participants’ responses. If a participant answered “Yes” to the third

question, the same participant should not choose the last option of the fourth question,

which is “I do not have a social media account”. In other words, a participant cannot

answer “Yes I do use social media platforms” to the third instrument question and at the

same time choose the last option of question four, “I do not have a social media account”.

35
If so, this participant’s responses will not be valid, hence, they will be excluded from the

study sample (see appendix B for questionnaire).

Likewise, the sixth instrument question, “By scrolling the pointer forward, please

indicate how many hours do you spend using your social media accounts on a daily

basis?” and the thirteenth question, “Please type in the box below the number of hours

you spend on social media on a daily basis”, will test validity of participants’ responses.

Both of these questions measure how many hours participants spend using social media

on a daily basis, but they were phrased in two different ways to ensure the internal

consistency of the instrument and the consistency of participants’ responses. Each

participant’s responses to these questions, the sixth and thirteenth, must be the same,

which is the time spent using social media by participants. In other words, if a participant

responded with two different numbers of hours, then the responses will be considered not

valid, hence, they will be excluded from the study sample (see appendix B for

questionnaire).

Regarding the internal consistency reliability for the scale, the present study has a

scale that consisted of 40 items, (statements). These items measure five different

concepts: socialization, entertainment, and academic and two concepts measure the

motives of social media use such as instrumental and ritualistic motives. Among all five

concepts, each concept has 8 items (see appendix B for scale). A Cronbach’s Alpha test

was conducted, after collecting the data, on all 40 items to measure the internal

consistency reliability of the items. The value of the Cronbach’s Alpha for those 40 items

was 92.6%, which is an indication of the high level of the internal consistency reliability

for all items.

36
3.5 Instrument’s Description and Connotations

The questionnaire of this study begins with a consent form, where the researcher

introduces the topic of the study to the participants. Additionally, the consent form

contains a precise explanation of the variables that participants will be asked about. It

also indicates that the participants’ responses will be kept confidential and will only be

used for academic purposes. Also, it asserts that participation is optional, participants can

opt out at any time as there are no consequences for not participating. Additionally,

participants who completed the questionnaire and wish to be entered in a random drawing

for winning one of four $25 gift cards, as an encouragement to complete the

questionnaire, were asked in the eighteenth question to provide their email address as a

way to contact them. Furthermore, it provides the researcher’s and the Institutional

Review Board’s formal e-mail address in the event that participants have any questions or

concerns about the study. Within the consent form, the approval of Institutional Review

Board (IRB) was stated and more importantly, the first question of the questionnaire was

introduced regarding participants’ age eligibility. In order to fill out the survey,

participants must be 18 years or older (see appendix A for consent form).

The second question of the instrument is concerned with participant’s eligibility,

which is done by determining whether they are students at Arkansas State University.

The third question of the instrument determines whether the participant uses any social

media platform. These second and third questions assure participants’ eligibility, which

means the second and the third questions examine only the valid and eligible participant,

who is both a student at Arkansas State University and uses social media platforms. The

fourth question of the instrument is concerned with when participants access social media

37
platforms during the day. This question assures the internal consistency of participants’

responses. In other words, if a participant answered “Yes” to the third question, the same

participant should not choose the last option of the fourth question. If they do so, this

particular participant will not be valid, hence, it will be excluded from the data (see

appendix B for questionnaire).

Additionally, the demographic questions including the fourteenth, fifteenth,

sixteenth, and seventeenth instrument questions pertain to participants’ gender, age, class

standing, and work status. Those questions were included within the instrument for the

purposes of data frequencies.

The remaining questions were used to address the research questions and

hypotheses. To address the first research question, “What social media platforms are

accessed the most among students at Arkansas State University-Jonesboro campus?”, the

fifth instrument question was posed. The fifth instrument question asks which social

media platform participants use among Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat. To

address the second research question, “How much time is spent daily by students on

social media?”, the sixth instrument question asks participants to scroll a pointer to

indicate daily time they spend on social media platforms.

To address the third research question, “What are the student’s purposes when

using social media platforms?”, participants were asked questions seven to nine on the

instrument. These questions allowed participants to express their level of agreement

regarding three concepts measured through five-point Likert statements related to the

purposes of social media use, including social, entertainment, and academic purposes. To

address the fourth research question, “What motives are satisfied when using social

38
media by students at Arkansas State University- Jonesboro campus?”, participants were

asked questions ten and eleven on the instrument to express their level of ritualized and

instrumental motives of social media use. These motives were measured by using five-

point Likert statements (see appendix B for questionnaire).

In terms of investigating and examining the six research hypotheses, several

questions were stated within the instrument. To address the first research hypothesis,

“There is a significant correlation between students who use social media for

socialization purposes and students’ GPA”, a five-point Likert scale, where 1= strongly

disagree, 2= disagree, 3= neutral, 4= agree, and 5= strongly agree, was used in the

seventh instrument question. In this question, participants were asked to express their

level of agreement pertaining to their reasons for using social media for social purposes,

the independent variable. The Likert scale consisted of eight statements that measure

participants’ concept of social purposes of social media use. These statements were the

following: “I use social media to keep in touch with friends and family”, “I use social

media to explore new social relationships with others”, “Social media helps me make my

friendships stronger”, “Social media is an appealing platform for social interaction”, “I

use social media because it enables me to build strong relationships with others”, “I use

social media to improve my social life”, “Social media allows me to keep up with my

friends’ posts”, and “Social media allows me to be part of others’ social life.” Regarding

the dependent variable, which is participants’ GPA, in the twelfth instrument question,

participants were asked to type their exact GPA on a 4.0 scale in a box. All participants’

responses to the above scale’s statements will be computed to determine the average of

participants’ level of agreement regarding the use of social media for social purposes

39
along with participants’ overall GPA, the researcher will be able to investigate whether

there is a statistically significant correlation between the independent and dependent

variables.

To address the second research hypothesis, “There is a significant correlation

between students who use social media for entertainment purposes and students’ GPA”, a

five-point Likert scale, where 1= strongly disagree, 2= disagree, 3= neutral, 4= agree, and

5= strongly agree, was used in the eighth instrument question, where participants were

asked to express their level of agreement pertaining to their use of social media for

entertainment purposes as the independent variable. The Likert scale consisted of eight

statements that measure participants’ concept of entertainment purposes of social media

use. These statements were the following: “I use social media because it is enjoyable”, “I

use social media because it makes me have fun”, “I use social media to entertain myself

by online shopping”, “I use social media to entertain myself”, “I use social media to

watch movies and shows” , “I use social media to listen to music”, “I use social media to

play online games”, and “I use social media to watch videos skits about celebrities.”

Regarding the dependent variable, which is participants’ GPA, participants were asked in

the twelfth instrument question to type their exact GPA on a 4.0 scale in a box. All

participants’ responses to the above scale’s statements will be computed to determine the

average participants’ level of agreement regarding the use of social media for

entertainment purposes along with participants’ overall GPA average, the researcher will

be able to investigate whether there is a statistically significant correlation between the

independent and dependent variables.

40
 To address the third research hypothesis, “There is a significant correlation

between students who use social media for academic purposes and students’ GPA”, a

five-point Likert scale, where 1= strongly disagree, 2= disagree, 3= neutral, 4= agree, and

5= strongly agree, was used in the ninth instrument question, where participants were

asked to express their level of agreement pertaining to their use of social media for

academic purposes as the independent variable. The Likert scale consisted of eight

statements that measure participants’ concept of academic purposes of social media use.

These statements were the following: “I use social media to discuss academic topics with

my university peers”, “I use social media to gain information that helps me in my class

discussions”, “I use social media to seek knowledge about specific academic topics”, “I

use social media because it allows me to exchange knowledge with my peers”, “I use

social media because it enhances my academic writing skills”, “I use social media to

discuss class matters with professors”, “I use social media to post materials about my

academic classes”, and “I use social media to read my peers’ posts about a class

material.” Regarding the dependent variable, which is participants’ GPA, in the twelfth

instrument question, participants were asked to type their exact GPA on a 4.0 scale in a

box. All participants’ responses to the above scale’s statements will be computed to

determine the average participants’ level of agreement regarding the use of social media

for academic purposes along with participants’ overall GPA average, the researcher will

be able to investigate whether there is a statistically significant correlation between the

independent and dependent variables.

To address the fourth research hypothesis, “There is a significant correlation

between students who use social media to satisfy instrumental motives and students’

41
GPA”, a five-point Likert scale, where 1= strongly disagree, 2= disagree, 3= neutral, 4=

agree, and 5= strongly agree, was used in the tenth instrument question. Here,

participants were asked to express the level of their involvement in social media for

instrumental motives, the independent variable. The Likert scale consisted of eight

statements that measure participants’ concept of instrumental motives from social media

use. These statements were the following: “Social media helps me to be informed about

variety of events”, “Social media helps me to be generally educated and knowledgeable”,

“Social media helps me improve my social interaction with others”, “Social media helps

me to keep up with news and technology”, “Social media helps me contact my friends

and family easily”, “Social media helps me keep in contact with my classmates”, “Social

media helps me reach out to my professors easily”, “Social media allows me to discuss

academic topics with my professors and peers.” Regarding the dependent variable, which

is participants’ GPA, in the twelfth instrument question, participants were asked to type

their exact GPA on a 4.0 scale in a box. All participants’ responses to the above scale’s

statements will be computed to determine the average participants’ level of involvement

regarding using social media for instrumental motives, along with participants’ overall

GPA average, the researcher will be able to investigate whether there is a statistically

significant correlation between the independent and dependent variables.

To address the fifth research hypothesis, “There is a significant correlation

between students who use social media to satisfy ritualized motives and students’ GPA”,

a five-point Likert scale, where 1= strongly disagree, 2= disagree, 3= neutral, 4= agree,

and 5= strongly agree, was used in the eleventh instrument question, where participants

were asked to express their level of involvement pertaining to using social media for

42
ritualized motives, the independent variable. The Likert scale consisted of eight

statements that measure participants’ concept of the ritualized motives from social media

use. These statements were the following: “I use social media to pass time”, “I use social

media to be entertained”, “I use social media to escape from reality”, “I use social media

because I got used to it”, “I use social media because my friends use it”, “I use social

media because it is an essential part of my daily routine”, “I use social media for fun”, “I

use social media to watch entertaining videos.” Regarding the dependent variable, which

is participants’ GPA, participants were asked in the twelfth instrument question to type

their exact GPA on a 4.0 scale in a box. All participants’ responses to the above scale’s

statements will be computed to determine the average participants’ level of involvement

regarding using social media for ritualized motives, along with participants’ overall GPA.

The researcher will be able to investigate whether there is a statistically significant

correlation between the independent and dependent variables.

To address the sixth research hypothesis, “There is a significant correlation

between students’ time spent using social media and students’ GPA”, in the sixth

instrument question and by scrolling a pointer forward, participants were asked to

determine the daily time they spend on social media. The time spent on social media

within this hypothesis is an independent variable. Regarding the dependent variable,

which is participants’ GPA, participants were asked in the twelfth instrument question to

type their exact GPA on a 4.0 scale in a box. All participants’ responses to the above

scale’s statements will be computed to determine the average time spent on social media

by participants, in conjunction with the average participants’ GPA. The researcher will be

43
 able to investigate whether there is a statistically significant correlation between the

independent and dependent variables.

3.6 Data Analysis

Data will be measured using frequencies, percentages, correlation, and chi-square.

The test of significance is set at p < 0.05.

44
 CHAPTER 4

FINDINGS

This study sought to examine social media use among students at a mid-south

university and its correlation to their academic performance. This study investigated if

there is a significant correlation between several independent variables, which includes

purposes of social media use, time spent by students on social media platforms, motives

and gratifications of social media use, and the dependent variable, which is university

students’ academic performance, GPA. The data of this study were collected through a

survey that relied on self-disclosures and the study was conducted in Jonesboro, Arkansas

in 2019. The findings of this research are displayed as data frequencies, participants’

demographics, and their social media use patterns. Additionally, the findings of the

present research are organized accordingly based on the research questions and

hypotheses.

4.1 Participants

An online survey was sent to 8,958 Arkansas State University-Jonesboro campus

students’ university email and they had the opportunity to respond between August 29 to

September 9, 2019. Although the number of students who participated in the survey was

1,507, not all of these responses were included in this research data analysis for a variety

of reasons. The eliminated participants included the following: 16 participants who were

under 18 years of age, 8 participants who reported that they do not use social media, 26

45
participants who had contradicting answers to the questions that pertained to constructed

validity and reliability, 64 participants who were considered outliers due to extreme and

illogical responses, 386 participants who did not fully complete the survey and skipped

more than half of the survey’s questions, and 36 participants who did not answer a major

question, which is the scale that pertains to participants’ use of social media. Therefore,

the total number of participants that is included within the research data analysis is 971.

These participants are all 18 years or older, are students at Arkansas State University, use

social media, and fully completed all the survey’s questions.

4.2 Data Frequencies

Table 4.1 Participants’ Demographics by Frequency and Percentage.

Variable Gender Frequency Valid Percentage

Gender Female 689 71.0%

Male 276 28.4%
Other 6 0.6%
Total 971 100.0%

Variable Age Frequency Valid Percentage

Age 18 196 20.2%

19 123 12.7%
20 118 12.2%
21 139 14.3%
22 68 7.0%
Above 22 327 33.6%
Total 971 100.0%

46
 Variable Academic Class Frequency Valid Percentage
Standing

Academic Class Freshman (less 210 21.6%

Standing than 30 credits
completed)
Sophomore (30
to 59 credits) 148 15.2%
Junior (60 to 90
credits 172 17.7%
completed)
Senior (90
credits or more) 243 25.0%
Graduate
(Master's or 198 20.4%
Ph.D. degree)
Total 971 100.0%

Variable Work Status Frequency Valid Percentage

I do not have a 342 35.2%

Please determine your job
work status I work part time 437 45.0%

I work full time 156 16.1%

Other
36 3.7%
Total 971 100.0%

The above table (Table 4.1), shows the demographics of all 971 participants.

Regarding participants’ gender, 689 participants were females which comprises 71.0% of

the participants, making females the largest gender type among all participants. The

second largest group were males at 28.4% (276 participants) and the remaining 6

47
participants, (0.6%), identified their gender type as “other”, without further specifying.

Additionally in terms of participants age, 196 participants (20.2%), were 18 years of age,

123 participants (12.7%), were 19 years of age, 118 participants, (12.2%) were 20 years

of age, 139 participants (14.3%), were 21 years of age, 68 participant, (7.0%), were 22

years of age, and 327 participants, (33.6%), were above 22 years of age, which makes

them the largest among participants (Table 4.1).

In terms of participants’ academic class standing, 210 participants (21.6%) were

freshman, 148 participants, (15.2%) were sophomore, 172 participants, (17.7%) were

juniors, 243 participants, (25.0%) were seniors, and 189 participants, (20.4%) were

graduate students pursuing a Master’s or Ph.D. (Table 4.1). The order of participants’

academic class standing from the smallest to largest number of participants is as follows:

sophomore, junior, graduate, freshman, and senior. Regarding participants’ work status,

based on Table 4.1, 437 participants (45.0%) have a part time job, 342 participants

(35.2%) do not have a job, 156 participants, (16.1%) have a full-time job, and 36

participants (3.7%), answered “other” where they mentioned working a few hours weekly

or preferred not to answer.

Table 4.2 illustrates participants’ responses to questions regarding their eligibility

of participation and their patterns of social media use. Once again, the total number of

participants is 971. All participants, which constitutes 100%, were at least 18 years old,

students at Arkansas State University, and use social media platforms. Regarding social

media access by participants during the day, among all 971 participants, 789 participants

(81.3%) access social media in the morning, 771 participants (79.4%) access social media

in the afternoon, and 902 participants (92.9%) access social media at night (Table 4.2).

48
 In terms of the number of daily hours spent on social media, 502 participants

(51.7%) spend 1 to 3 hours, 378 participants (39.0%) spend 3 to 6 hours, and 91

participants (9.3%) spend 6 to 9 hours. Therefore, the average number of daily hours

spent on social media is 3.69 with a standard deviation of 1.92. Among all 971

participants, the Mean (Average) of their GPA is 3.52, with a value of Standard

Deviation of 0.445. Also, the lowest GPA value was 1.96, and the highest was 4.00. As

well as, Median of Participants’ GPA was 3.60, and Mode was 4.00 across all

participants.

Table 4.2 Participants’ Eligibility and Social Media Patterns of Use by Frequency
and Percentage.

Question Yes / No Frequency Valid Percentage

Are you 18 years of age? Yes 971 100.0%

Are you a student at

Arkansas State University? Yes 971 100.0%
Do you use social media
platforms? Yes 971 100.0%

When do you access your Variable Frequency Valid Percent

social media account?
Morning 789 32.0%
81.3% of all
participants

Afternoon 771 31.3%

79.4% of all
participants

Night 902 36.6%

92.9% of all
participants
Total 2462 100.0%

49
 How many hours do you Range of Hours Frequency Valid Percent
spend using your social 1-3 502 51.7%
media accounts on a daily 3-6 378 39.0%
basis? 6-9 91 9.3%
Mean = 3.69
SD = 1.92
Total 971 100.0%
Statistics Values
Mean 3.52
Students’ GPA across Median 3.60
participants Mode 4.00
Std. Deviation .445
Minimum 1.96
Maximum 4.00

4.3 Scale Reliability, Cronbach’s Alpha

Cronbach’s Alpha is a statistical test of internal consistency reliability for a scale

with several items. This test combines the extant items within a scale that measures one

particular concept. Specifically, Cronbach’s Alpha determines the level of variance

between all items that measure the same concept. However, it does not tell if these items

measure the appropriate concept, but it tells how reliable these items are based on the

variances between them (Cronk, 2018). In this study, 40 items were used in a design scale

to measure five different concepts, each concept has 8 items (see appendix B for

instrument). The following table (Table 4.3), illustrates how the internal consistency

reliability for each concept was tested by conducting a Cronbach’s Alpha test.

Table 4.3 Internal Consistency Reliability for Scale Items.

Scale Number of
Cronbach’s Alpha
Items

50
 Value

Social media use for socialization 0.844 8

purposes
(84.4%)

Social media use for 0.798 8

entertainment purposes (79.8%)
Social media use for
academic purposes 0.891 8
(89.1%)
Motives when using social media
(instrumental) 0.771 8
(77.1%)
Motives when using social media
(ritualistic) 0.789 8
(78.9%)
Cronbach’s Alpha test on all 40 scale
items 0.926 40
(92.6%)

The table above (Table 4.3) consists of Cronbach’s Alpha value for each concept

that was measured by the scale regarding participants’ use of social media for several

purposes and motives. The first three concepts, socialization, entertainment, and

academic, measure the purposes of social media use by participants. Each concept

consists of eight statements that measure that concept. To measure each concept’s

internal consistency reliability, a Cronbach’s Alpha test was conducted on each concepts’

eight statements. The Cronbach’s Alpha value for the eight statements pertaining to using

social media for socialization purposes was 84.4%, which means that the scale for the

socialization concept has a high percentage of internal consistency reliability. Regarding

the eight statements related to the concept of entertainment purposes of social media use

51
by participants, the Cronbach’s Alpha value was 78.8%. This value is an indication of a

high level of the internal consistency reliability. The Cronbach’s Alpha value for the

eight statements of academic concepts related to social media purposes of use was 89.1%,

which indicates a high level of internal consistency reliability. The Cronbach’s Alpha

value for the eight statements pertaining to the instrumental motives of social media use

was 77.1%, which is also an indication of a high level of internal reliability. Additionally,

the Cronbach’s Alpha value for the eight statements regarding the ritualistic motives of

social media use was 78.9%, which is a strong indication that the internal consistency

reliability is high. Overall, and as shown in Table 4.3, the Cronbach’s Alpha for all 40

items in the scale was 92.6%, which is an indication of the high level of the internal

consistency reliability for all items.

4.4 Findings Based on Research Questions

RQ1: “What social media platforms are accessed the most among students at

Arkansas State University- Jonesboro campus?”

Table 4.4 Social Media Platforms Used Among Participants.

Social Media Platform Frequency Percentage

Facebook 742 26.3%

(76.4% of study
sample)

Twitter 433 15.4%

(44.6% of study
sample)

52
 Instagram 790 28.0%
(81.4% of study
sample)

Snapchat 730 25.9%

(75.2% of study
sample)
Other 124 4.4%
(YouTube, A-State app, iFunny, (12.8% of study
Group me, Discord, Tumblr, sample)
Reddit, Pinterest, TikTok)
Total 2819 100.0%

The above table (Table 4.4), shows that among all social media platforms listed in

the table, Instagram was the most used platform with 790 participants (81.4%) of all

participants using Instagram on a daily basis. Facebook is the second most used platform

on a daily basis with 742 participants (76.4%). Snapchat is the third most used platform

with 730 participants (75.2%) using it on a daily basis. Twitter is the fourth most used

platform among participants with 433 participants, (44.6%). Finally, 12.4% of

participants (124 participants) use different platforms such as YouTube, iFunny,

GroupMe, Discord, and Pinterest.

RQ2: “How much time is spent by students daily on social media?”

Table 4.5 Daily Hours Spent on Social Media by Participants.

Daily Hours Frequency Valid Percentage

1.00 99 10.2%

2.00 205 21.1%

3.00 198 20.4%

53
 4.00 183 18.8%

5.00 121 12.5%

6.00 74 7.6%

7.00 38 3.9%

8.00 36 3.7%

9.00 17 1.8%

Total 971 100.0%

Statistics for daily hours spent on social media by participants

Mean 3.69

Median 3.00

Mode 2.00

Standard Deviation 1.92

Minimum 1.00

Maximum 9.00

The table above (Table 4.5) illustrates the number of daily hours spent on social

media by each participant. The majority of the participants, 51.7% (502 participants),

spend 1 to 3 hours daily using social media. The second largest group of participants, 378

participants, (39.0%), spend 3 to 6 hours daily on social media. The remaining 9.3% (91

participants), spend 6 to 9 hours daily on social media. Overall, the data indicates that

mean number of hours spent on social media is 3.69 with a standard deviation of 1.92.

RQ3: “What are the student’s purposes when using social media platforms?”

The Chi-square goodness of fit test was performed to determine whether there is a

statistically significant difference between the hypothetically expected values for a

54
specific inquiry and the actual collected values for the same inquiry (Cronk, 2018).

Therefore, after computing all Likert statements for each concept, (socialization,

entertainment, academic, instrumental motives, and ritualistic motive), a chi-square test

was conducted to compare all statements’ expected frequency values of occurrence with

the actual values of all statements based on participants’ responses. It was assumed that

the frequency value of occurrence for all statements (from strongly disagree to strongly

agree) would be an equal number of occurrences. The Chi-square goodness of fit test

would determine if this was the case. The minimum expected cell frequency for each

statement (from strongly disagree to strongly agree) was 242.8. In other words, if each

statement received the same number of responses, each level of agreement would have at

least 242.8 participants selecting that choice. Additionally, a p value of less than 0.01 was

considered statistically significant.

Table 4.6 Participants’ Use of Social Media for Socialization Needs.

Likert Statements Strongly Disagree Agree Strongly Chi-Square

Disagree Agree Test
1- I use social media to 32/ 3.3% 63/ 6.5% 428/ 448/
keep in touch with 44.1% 46.1% (X2= 630.981)
friends and family. ** **
2- I use social media to 109/ 305/ 432/ 125/
explore new social 11.2% 31.4% 44.5% 12.9% (X2= 294.314)
relationships with ** **
others.
3- Social media helps me 66/ 6.8% 302/ 467/ 136/
make my friendships 31.1% 48.1% 14.0% (X2= 397.260)
stronger. ** **
4- Social media is an 39/ 4.0% 136/ 594/ 202/
appealing platform for 14.0% 61.2% 20.8% (X2=733.450)
social interaction. **
5- I use social media 98/ 416/ 368/ 89/ 9.2%
because it enables me to 10.1% 42.8% 37.9% (X2=371.966)
build strong ** **

55
 relationships with
others.
6- I use social media to 114/ 377/ 368/ 112/
improve my social life. 11.7% 38.8% 37.9% 11.5% (X2=277.581)
** **

7- Social media allows me 24/ 2.5% 40/ 4.1% 512/ 395/

to keep up with my 52.7% 40.7% (X2=760.596)
friends’ posts. ** **
8- Social media allows me 44/ 4.5% 185/ 520/ 222/
to be part of others’ 19.1% 53.6% 22.9% (X2=494.891)
social life. **

Sum of All Statements Chi-square value is (X2= 550.401)

DF= 31
Sig. (one tailed) = 0.000**

The minimum expected cell frequency is 242.8. and sum items is 30.3. The significance level is
p < 0.01**.

Table 4.6 indicates participants’ level of agreement towards eight statements that

measure their use of social media for socialization needs and purposes. The above table

also shows the results of a Chi-square goodness of fit test after computing all statements

that pertain to social media use for socialization purposes, a Chi-square test was

conducted comparing all statements’ expected frequency values of occurrence with the

actual values of all statements, participants’ responses. It was assumed that the frequency

value of occurrence for all statements would be an equal number of occurrences. A

statistically significant difference from assumed values was found (X2(31) = 550.401, p <

0.01). Hence, results suggest that participants tended to agree in terms of using social

media for a variety of reasons within the concept of socialization needs. Particularly, the

majority of participants tended to agree that social media is an appealing platform for

social interaction.

56
 Table 4.7 Participants’ Use of Social Media for Entertainment Needs.

Likert Statements Strongly Disagree Agree Strongly Chi-Square

Disagree Agree Test
1- I use social media 12/ 1.2% 50/ 5.1% 612/ 297/
because it is 63.0% 30.6% (X2= 946.186)
enjoyable. ** **
2- I use social media 30/ 3.1% 300/ 483/ 158/
because it makes 30.9% 49.7% 16.3% (X2= 467.323)
me have fun. ** **
3- I use social media 136/ 328/ 356/ 151/
to entertain myself 14.0% 33.8% 36.7% 15.6% (X2= 164.394)
by online shopping. ** **
4- I use social media 16/ 1.6% 47/ 4.8% 575/ 333/
to entertain myself. 59.2% 34.3% (X2= 857.956)
** **
5- I use social media 120/ 286/ 318/ 247/
to watch movies 12.4% 29.5% 32.7% 25.4% (X2= 93.177)
and shows. ** **

6- I use social media 115/ 271/ 340/ 245/

to listen to music. 11.8% 27.9% 35.0% 25.2% (X2= 109.498)
** **
7- I use social media 221/ 425/ 213/ 112/
to play online 22.8% 43.8% 21.9% 11.5% (X2= 212.848)
games. **
8- I use social media 193/ 335/ 333/ 110/
to watch videos 19.9% 34.5% 34.3% 11.3% (X2= 151.402)
skits about ** **
celebrities.

Chi-square value is (X2= 611.743)

Sum of All Statements DF= 31
Sig. (one tailed) = 0.000**

The minimum expected cell frequency is 242.8 and sum items is 29.4. The significance
level is p < 0.01**.

57
 Table 4.7 indicates participants’ level of agreement towards eight statements that

measure their use of social media for entertainment needs and purposes. The above table

also shows the results of a Chi-square goodness of fit test after computing all statements

that pertain to social media use for entertainment. A Chi-square test was conducted

comparing all statements’ expected frequency values of occurrence with the actual values

of all statements, participants’ responses. It was assumed that the frequency value of

occurrence for all statements would be an equal number of occurrences. As shown above,

a statistically significant difference from assumed values was found (X2(31) = 611.743, p

< 0.01). Hence, results suggest that participants tended to agree that they use social media

for a variety of reasons within the concept of entertainment needs. Particularly, the

majority of participants tended to agree that they use social media because it is enjoyable.

Overall, among all 971 participants, most responses emphasized the use of social media

for entertainment purposes.

Table 4.8 Participants’ Use of Social Media for Academic Needs.

Likert Statements Strongly Disagree Agree Strongly Chi-Square

Disagree Agree Test
9- I use social media to 163/ 365/ 371/ 72/
discuss academic topics 16.8% 37.6% 38.2% 7.4% (X2=
with my university ** ** 275.628)
peers.
10- I use social media to 133/ 312/ 419/ 107/
gain information that 13.7% 32.1% 43.2% 11.0% (X2=
helps me in my class ** ** 273.255)
discussions.
11- I use social media to 126/ 308/ 411/ 126/
seek knowledge about 13.0% 31.7% 42.3% 13.0% (X2=
specific academic ** ** 246.454)

58
 topics.
12- I use social media 101/ 269/ 471/ 130/
because it allows me to 10.4% 27.7% 48.5% 13.4% (X2=
exchange knowledge ** 352.596)
with my peers.
13- I use social media 292/ 474/ 164/ 41/
because it enhances my 30.1% 48.8% 16.9% 4.2% (X2=
academic writing skills. ** 423.509)
**
14- I use social media to 358/ 423/ 149/ 41/
discuss class matters 36.9% 43.6% 15.3% 4.2% (X2=
with professors. ** 392.440)
**
15- I use social media to 321/ 426/ 189/ 35/
post materials about my 33.1% 43.9% 19.5% 3.6% (X2=
academic classes. ** 353.255)
**
16- I use social media to 271/ 403/ 249/ 45/
read my peers’ posts 27.9% 41.8% 25.6% 4.6% (X2=
about a class material ** 274.326)
**

Sum of All Statements Chi-square value is (X2= 661.294)

DF= 31
Sig. (one tailed) = 0.000**

The minimum expected cell frequency is 242.8 and sum items is 29.4. The
significance level is p< 0.01**.

Table 4.8 includes participants’ responses regarding their level of agreement

towards eight statements that measure their use of social media for academic needs and

purposes. The above table also shows the results of a Chi-square goodness of fit test after

computing all statements that pertain to social media use for academic purposes, a Chi-

square test was conducted comparing all statements’ expected frequency values of

occurrence with the actual values of all statements, participants’ responses. It was

assumed that the frequency value of occurrence for all statements would be an equal

59
number of occurrences. As shown above, a statistically significant difference from

assumed values was found (X2(31) = 661.294, p <0 .01). Hence, results suggest that more

participants tended to disagree than agree that they use social media for a variety of

reasons within the concept of academic needs. Particularly, those participants tended to

agree that they use social media to gain helpful information, seek specific knowledge, and

exchange knowledge with peers. On the other hand, more participants tended to disagree

with the statements regarding the use of social media for academic needs. Their

disagreement, in particular, was to statements regarding social media as a tool to enhance

writing skills, discuss class matters with professors, a place to post academic materials,

and a domain to read peers’ class materials. Overall, participants tended to disagree

regarding the use of social media for academic needs and purposes.

RQ4: “What motives are satisfied when using social media by students at Arkansas

State University- Jonesboro campus?”

Table 4.9 Participants’ Satisfied Instrumental Motives from Social Media Use.

Likert Statements Strongly Disagree Agree Strongly Chi-Square

Disagree Agree Test
17- Social media helps 9/ 0.9% 29/ 3.0% 492/ 441/
me to be informed 50.7% 45.4% (X2=
about variety of ** ** 831.130)
events.
18- Social media helps 36/ 3.7% 213/ 546/ 176/
me to be generally 21.9% 56.2% 18.1% (X2=
educated and ** 576.918)
knowledgeable.
19- Social media helps 85/ 8.8% 293/ 453/ 140/
me improve my 30.2% 46.7% 14.4% (X2=
social interaction ** ** 338.508)
with others.
20- Social media helps 18/ 1.9% 40/ 4.1% 570/ 343/
me to keep up with 58.7% 35.3% (X2=

60
 news and ** ** 859.991)
technology.
21- Social media helps 19/ 2.0% 62/ 6.4% 480/ 410/
me contact my 49.4% 42.2% (X2=
friends and family ** ** 687.929)
easily.
22- Social media helps 39/ 4.0% 139/ 518/ 275/
me keep in contact 14.3% 53.3% 28.3% (X2=
with my ** 531.744)
classmates.
23- Social media helps 258/ 438/ 199/ 76/
me reach out to my 26.6% 45.1% 20.5% 7.8% (X2=
professors easily. ** 280.432)
24- Social media 230/ 404/ 266/ 71/
allows me to 23.7% 41.6% 27.4% 7.3% (X2=
discuss academic ** 231.525)
topics with my
professors and
peers.

Chi-square value is (X2= 804.237)

Sum of All Statements DF= 31
Sig. (one tailed) = 0.000**

The minimum expected cell frequency is 242.8 and sum items is 31.3. The significance
level is p < 0.01**.

Table 4.9 shows participants’ level of agreement towards eight statements that

measure their use of social media to satisfy instrumental motives. The above table also

illustrates the results of a Chi-square goodness of fit test after computing all statements

that pertain to social media use to satisfy instrumental motives, a Chi-square test was

conducted comparing all statements’ expected frequency values of occurrence with the

actual values of all statements, participants’ responses. It was assumed that the frequency

value of occurrence for all statements would be an equal number of occurrences. As

shown above, a statistically significant difference from assumed values was found

(X2(31) = 804.237, p < 0.01). Hence, results suggest that more participants tended to

61
agree on the use of social media to satisfy a variety of motives within the concept of

instrumental motives. Particularly, those participants tended to agree that they use social

media to satisfy the motive of keeping up with news and technology through social media

use. Overall, participants who agreed on using social media to satisfy instrumental

motives exceeded the number of participants who disagreed on the use of social media to

satisfy instrumental motives.

Table 4.10 Participants’ Satisfied Ritualistic Motives from Social Media Use.

Likert Statements Strongly Disagree Agree Strongly Chi-Square

Disagree Agree Test
25- I use social media to 10/ 36/ 407/ 518/
pass time. 1.0% 3.7% 41.9% 53.3% (X2=
** ** 822.487)
26- I use social media to 10/ 36/ 483/ 442/
be entertained. 1.0% 3.7% 49.7% 45.5% (X2=
** ** 800.572)
27- I use social media to 95/ 332/ 333/ 211/
escape from reality. 9.8% 34.2% 34.3% 21.7% (X2=
** ** 160.448)
28- I use social media 34/ 124/ 512/ 301/
because I got used to 3.5% 12.8% 52.7% 31.0% (X2=
it. ** ** 550.223)

29- I use social media 80/ 264/ 452/ 175/

because my friends 8.2% 27.2% 46.5% 18.0% (X2=
use it. ** 310.256)
30- I use social media 110/ 346/ 361/ 154/
because it is essential 11.3% 35.6% 37.2% 15.9% (X2=
part of my daily ** ** 206.561)
routine.
31- I use social media for 19/ 67/ 590/ 295/
fun. 2.0% 6.9% 60.8% 30.4% (X2=
** ** 841.461)
32- I use social media to 36/ 101/ 492/ 342/
watch entertaining 3.7% 10.4% 50.7% 35.2% (X2=
videos. ** ** 555.365)

62
 Chi-square value is (X2= 716.167)
Sum of All Statements DF= 31
Sig. (one tailed) = 0.000**

The minimum expected cell frequency is 242.8 and sum items is 33.5. The
significance level is p < 0.01**.

Table 4.10 demonstrates participants’ level of agreement towards eight statements

that measure their use of social media to satisfy ritualistic motives. The above table also

illustrates the results of a Chi-square goodness of fit test after computing all statements

that pertain to social media use to satisfy ritualistic motives. A Chi-square test was

conducted comparing all statements’ expected frequency values of occurrence with the

actual values of all statements, participants’ responses. It was assumed that the frequency

value of occurrence for all statements would be an equal number of occurrences. As

shown above, a statistically significant difference from assumed values was found

(X2(31) = 716.167, p < 0.01). Hence, results suggest that more participants tended to

agree than disagree on the use of social media to satisfy a variety of motives within the

concept of ritualistic motives. The majority of participants reported that they use social

media for fun. Furthermore, many participants tended to agree and strongly agree that

they use social media to satisfy ritualistic motives, such as using social media to pass

time, for entertainment, out of habit, for fun, and to watch videos.

4.5 Research Hypotheses Testing

RH1: “There is a significant correlation between students who use social media for

socialization purposes and students’ GPA.”

Table 4.11 Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient: Participants’ GPA and Social Media
Use for Socialization Needs.

63
 Variables Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient Test GPA Socializatio
n
Pearson Correlation 1 -.031

GPA Sig. (2-tailed) .331

N 971 971

Pearson Correlation -.031 1

Socializatio
n Sig. (2-tailed) .331
Purposes of
Use
N 971 971

The table above (Table 4.11) shows the result of Pearson’s correlation coefficient

test. This test determines the strength of the linear relationship between participants’

GPA as the dependent variable and using social media for socialization purposes as the

independent variable. A Pearson correlation coefficient test was conducted to examine

the correlation strength between participants’ GPA and their social media use for

socialization purposes. However, this correlation was not statistically significant (r (969)

= -.031, p >0.05). This suggests that participants’ use of social media for socialization

purposes, the independent variable, is not related to participants’ GPA, therefore, the

dependent variable, GPA, cannot be predicted based on the independent variable,

participants’ use of social media for socialization purposes. Based on the aforementioned

results, the first research hypothesis was not statistically supported.

64
RH2: “There is a significant correlation between students who use social media for

entertainment purposes and students’ GPA.”

Table 4.12 Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient: Participants’ GPA and Social

Media Use for Entertainment Needs.

Variables Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient Test GPA Entertainme

nt
Pearson Correlation 1 -.089**
GPA
Sig. (2-tailed) .005

N 971 971

Pearson Correlation -.089** 1

Entertainme
nt Sig. (2-tailed) .005
Purposes of
Use
N 971 971

**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

Table 4.12 shows the result of the Pearson’s correlation coefficient test. This test

determines the strength of the linear relationship between participants’ GPA as dependent

variable and using social media for entertainment purposes as independent variable. A

Pearson correlation coefficient test was conducted to examine the correlation between

participants’ GPA and their social media use for entertainment purposes. Results

indicated (Table 4.12) that a significant negative correlation exists between the two

variables (r (969) = -.089, p <.001). Participants’ use of social media for entertainment

purposes is significantly related to participants’ GPA, however, the dependent variable,

GPA, cannot be predicted based on the independent variable, participants’ use of social

65
media for entertainment purposes. A strong correlation, where variables can be predicted,

would show a Pearson’s r value of 0.75 or higher. Based on the aforementioned results,

the second research hypothesis was statistically supported, but the two variables cannot

be predicted.

H3: “There is a significant correlation between students who use social media for

academic purposes and students’ GPA.”

Table 4.13 Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient: Participants’ GPA and Social

Media Use for Academic Needs.

Variables Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient Test GPA Academic

Pearson Correlation 1 -0.046

GPA Sig. (2-tailed) 0.148

N 971 971

Pearson Correlation -0.046 1

Academic
Purposes Sig. (2-tailed) 0.148
of Use
N 971 971

The table above (Table 4.13), shows the result of the Pearson’s correlation

coefficient test. This test determines the strength of the linear relationship between

participants’ GPA as the dependent variable and using social media for academic

purposes as the independent variable. A Pearson correlation coefficient test was

conducted to examine the correlation strength between participants’ GPA and their social

media use for academic purposes. The results shown in Table 4.13 indicate a weak,

66
statistically insignificant negative correlation between the two variables (r (969) = -.046,

p > 0.05). Participants’ use of social media for academic purposes is not related to

participants’ GPA, Therefore, the dependent variable, GPA, cannot be predicted based on

the independent variable, participants’ use of social media for academic purposes and the

two variables are not related. Based on the aforementioned results, the third research

hypothesis was not statistically supported.

H4: “There is a significant correlation between students who use social media to

satisfy instrumental motives and students’ GPA.”

Table 4.14 Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient: Participants’ GPA and Satisfied

Instrumental Motives from Social Media Use.

Variables Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient Test GPA Academic

Pearson Correlation 1 -0.045

GPA Sig. (2-tailed) 0.162

N 971 971

Pearson Correlation -0.045 1

Satisfied
Instrumental Sig. (2-tailed) 0.162
Motives
from Use
N 971 971

Table 4.14 shows the result of the Pearson’s correlation coefficient test. This test

determines the strength of the linear relationship between participants’ GPA as dependent

variable and using social media to satisfy instrumental motives as independent variable.

A Pearson correlation coefficient test was conducted to examine the correlation strength

67
between participants’ GPA and their social media use to satisfy instrumental motives.

Results indicated (Table 4.14) that a weak, statistically insignificant negative correlation

exists between the two variables (r (969) = -.045, p > 0.05). Participants’ use of social

media to satisfy instrumental motives is not related to participants’ GPA, therefore, the

dependent variable, GPA, cannot be predicted based on the independent variable,

participants’ use of social media to satisfy instrumental motives and the two variables are

not related. Based on the aforementioned results, the fourth research hypothesis was not

statistically supported.

H5: “There is a significant correlation between students who use social media to

satisfy ritualized motives and students’ GPA.”

Table 4.15 Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient: Participants’ GPA and Satisfied

Ritualistic Motives from Social Media Use.

Variables Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient GPA Academic

Pearson Correlation 1 -.008

GPA Sig. (2-tailed) .800

N 971 971

Pearson Correlation -.008 1

Satisfied
Ritualistic Sig. (2-tailed) .800
Motives
from Use
N 971 971

The table above, (Table 4.15), shows the result of Pearson’s correlation

coefficient test. This test determines the strength of the linear relationship between

68
participants’ GPA as dependent variable and using social media to satisfy ritualistic

motives as independent variable. A Pearson correlation coefficient test was conducted to

examine the correlation strength between participants’ GPA and their social media use to

satisfy ritualistic motives. Results indicated (Table 4.15) that a weak and statistically

insignificant negative correlation exists between the two variables (r (969) = -.008, p >

0.05). Therefore, participants’ use of social media to satisfy ritualistic motives is not

related to participants’ GPA, therefore, the dependent variable, GPA, cannot be predicted

based on the independent variable, participants’ use of social media to satisfy ritualistic

motives. Based on the aforementioned results, the fifth research hypothesis was not

statistically supported.

H6: “There is a significant correlation between students’ time spent using social

media and students’ GPA.”

Table 4.16 Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient: Participants’ GPA and Time Spent
Using Social Media.

Variables Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient Test GPA Entertainment

Pearson Correlation 1 -0.144**
GPA
Sig. (2-tailed) 0.000

N 971 971

Pearson Correlation -0.144** 1

Time Spent
Using Social Sig. (2-tailed) 0.000
Media
N 971 971

69
** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

The table above (Table 4.16) shows the result of Pearson’s correlation coefficient

test. This test determines the strength of the linear relationship between participants’

GPA as dependent variable and time spent using social media as independent variable. A

Pearson correlation coefficient test was conducted to examine the correlation strength

between participants’ GPA and time spent using social media. Results indicated (Table

4.16) that a significant negative correlation exists between the two variables (r (969) = -

0.144, p < 0.001). Participants’ time spent using social media is significantly related to

participants’ GPA, however, the dependent variable, GPA, cannot be predicted based on

the independent variable, participants’ time spent using social media. In order to predict

variables, a Pearson’s r value of 0.75 or higher is required. Based on the aforementioned

results, the sixth research hypothesis was statistically supported, but the two variables

cannot be predicted.

4.6 Hypotheses Examination Summary

Table 4.17 Summary of Research Hypotheses Examination.

Pearson p Value Examination

Research Hypotheses Correlation Decision
Value
RH1: There is a significant correlation
Not
between students who use social media for
-0.031 0.331 Supported
socialization purposes and students’ GPA.
RH2: There is a significant correlation
between students who use social media for
-0.089** 0.005 Supported
entertainment purposes and students’

70
 GPA.
RH3: There is a significant correlation
Not
between students who use social media for
-0.046 0.148 Supported
academic purposes and students’ GPA.
RH4: There is a significant correlation
Not
between students who use social media to
-0.045 0.162 Supported
satisfy instrumental motives and students’
GPA.
RH5: There is a significant correlation
Not
between students who use social media to
-0.008 0.800 Supported
satisfy ritualized motives and students’
GPA.
RH6: There is a significant correlation
-0.144** 0.000 Supported
between students’ time spent using social
media and students’ GPA.
**Correlation is significant, p < 0.01 level (2-tailed).

Table 4.17 is a summary of the research hypotheses examination. A Pearson

Correlation Coefficient was conducted on each hypothesis. Two hypotheses were

supported by finding a statistically significant correlation between the two variables that

each hypothesis consisted of. The supported hypotheses that were supported are research

hypotheses two and six. Hypothesis two was hypothesizing a correlation between social

media use for entertainment needs as the independent variable and students’ GPA as the

dependent variable. Hypothesis six was hypothesizing a correlation between the time

spent on social media by students as the independent variable and students’ GPA as the

dependent variable. Regarding the rest of the hypotheses, which were not supported,

students’ GPA was the dependent variable and the independent variables were the

following: students’ use of social media for socialization purposes (RH1), students’ use

71
of social media for academic purposes (RH3), students’ use of social media to satisfy

instrumental motives (RH4), and students’ use of social media to satisfy ritualistic

motives (RH5).

72
 CHAPTER 5

DISCUSSION

The fundamental reason of the present study was to investigate social media use

among students at a mid-south university and its correlation to students’ academic

performance. Particularly, this study probed why students use a variety of social media

platforms, the time they spend using social media, and what motives students satisfy

when utilizing social media. Mainly, this study examined the correlation between

students’ patterns of social media use and their academic performance, GPA.

5.1 Descriptive Findings

This study’s descriptive findings indicated that all participants are familiar with

and utilize social media platforms. However, since this study used a non-random

sampling technique, convenience sampling, it can be argued that if all participants are

familiar with and use social media, it cannot be generalized and does not refer to the

whole population of this study. Also, findings reported that participants access their

social media accounts on a daily basis at all times of the day including in the morning,

afternoon, and at night. In fact, most participants reported that they access their social site

accounts at night. The previous finding of when respondents access social media during

the day is significant because it can lead to an understanding of respondents’ nature of

their social media use and any patterns that may be present. The results can be considered

a starting point for another study that examines if there is a correlation between students

who access social media at night and their GPA.

73
 Similar to numerous studies (Kolan & Dzandza, 2018; Larson & Acheaw, 2015;

Nagesh & Naveen, 2017), the present study’s findings found that among all respondents,

most spent around two hours on social media. However, the majority spent between one

to four hours with an approximate average time of 3.5 hours. This suggests that social

media may be time consuming from students’ daily time and that social media use is

relatively attractive to university students. Additionally, a major finding of the current

study is participants’ GPA; across all participants, the average GPA was 3.52, which is

relatively high. This specific finding is significant for examining the hypothesis of this

study which will be discussed later in this chapter.

Previous studies had similar demographics, compared to this study, in terms of

participants’ gender, age, and academic class standing (Al-Rahmi et al., 2015; Larson &

Acheaw, 2015; Lin & Sackey, 2015; Nagesh & Naveen, 2017). Findings showed that the

number of female participants exceeded male participants, which indicates that females

are more willing to fill out the survey. Furthermore, participants between 18 to 21 years

old exemplified the largest portion of responses compared to participants 21 years or

older. A significant point that can be extracted from this data is that participants who are

younger than 21 years of age are more attracted to social media. Likewise, regarding

participants’ academic class standing, seniors who earned ninety academic credits or

more were the largest group of respondents compared. This points out another significant

indication, which is the relationship between respondents’ use of social media and their

academic class standings. Age and class standing may be significant as different

demographics may lead to different patterns in terms social media usage, which can in

turn affect academic performance.

74
 Respondents within the current study reported their work status as a part of the

demographic findings. Results showed that the majority of participants have a part-time

or a full-time job along with being students. It can be argued that their academic

performance may get affected due to their work status. However, this correlation was not

examined as it was outside the scope of this study; this question was added for frequency

purposes.

Unlike the statistical report released by the Pew Research Center in 2019, this

study found that Facebook is not the most used social media platform (Perrin &

Anderson, 2019). The Pew Research Center found that American adults between 18 to 24

years of age use Facebook more than any other social media platform followed by

Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter, in that order. This current study’s findings regarding

the most use platform among participants was slightly different than what was reported

by the Pew Research Center. Particularly, this study found that the majority of the study

sample uses Instagram followed by Facebook, Snapchat, and Twitter, in that order.

Therefore, the only difference between the two studies is the order of the two most used

social media platforms. This may be due to the fact that Instagram and Facebook have

different tools on their platforms and some populations may find one platform more

appealing than the other.

5.2 Participants’ Purposes of Social Media Use

Regarding participants’ needs and purposes of social media use, findings of this

study suggested that students use social media for different purposes and to satisfy a

variety of needs. This study, similar to many studies, found the needs and purposes

behind the use of social media among college students is primarily due to their needs of

75
socializing and interacting with others, followed by their need for entertainment and

possibly for academic enhancement (Al-Jabri et al., 2015; Hsiag et al., 2015; Ifinedo,

2015; Raacke & Bonds-Raacke, 2008; Said et al., 2017). In terms of socialization needs

and purposes, the current study found that participants appear to be using social media

mostly for socially interacting with others. The fact that the majority of participants find

social media appealing and use it to meet social interaction needs emphasizes the

significance nature of social media major feature, which is real-time social interaction. It

also can explain the attractiveness of social media to young users including university

students. In other words, the tendency of using social media mostly for social interaction

with others can illustrate the proliferation of social media use among participants. A

common reason for using social media for social interaction with others was found in a

study conducted by Larson and Acheaw, where the majority of their study’s participants

answered “chatting” as a response to the question of why students use social media

(Larson & Acheaw, 2015).

In terms of using social media for entertainment purposes and needs, participants

responded to eight different statements that measure their level of agreement regarding

their use of social media for entertainment needs. It appears to be that participants agreed

that they use social media not only to meet socialization needs, but also for entertainment.

The majority of the sample say they perceive and use social media because it is

enjoyable. This finding was similar to previous studies’ findings, which were presented

in the literature review of this study (Al-Jabri et al., 2015; Hsiag et al., 2015; Ifinedo,

2015; Raacke & Bonds-Raacke, 2008). This particular finding of the current study is

considered an explanation for students’ purposes and needs when using social media.

76
 Unexpectedly, findings suggested that the majority of participants expressed their

disagreement regarding the use of social media for academic purposes and needs. This is

similar to other studies, such as the study conducted by Acheaw and Larson in 2015,

where they found that the minority of participants stated that they use social media to

meet their academic needs. This disagreement with using social media for academic

needs is a common finding between the current study and Larson’s study in 2015. Social

media functionality and the way it has been introduced might explain students’

disagreement for perceiving and utilizing social media as a tool for academic needs.

Additionally, the paucity of social media use in the field of academia, and the fact that

social media platforms have been introduced mainly as tools for social interaction and

human interactivity, might also clarify participants’ disagreement regarding the use of

social media for academic needs and purposes.

Overall, among all the aforementioned participants’ needs and purposes of social

media use including socialization, entertainment, and academic, it appears to be that

participants primarily agreed on the use of social media for socialization needs and

purposes. Participants also agreed on using social media for entertainment needs and

disagreed in terms of using social media use for academic needs and purposes. The

findings regarding the investigation of students’ needs and purposes of social media use

indicated that participants tend to use social media for a variety of purposes based on

each participants' needs. This emphasizes and supports several significant assumptions of

the Uses and Gratification Theory. These assumptions include the fact that the audience

is active in the process of communication, in other words, this assumption indicates that

audiences use social media to meet certain needs and the activeness of the audience can

77
in turn affect the platform’s functionality and contents. Additionally, the theory’s second

assumption that has been emphasized by the findings of the current study is that the

audience is capable of determining its needs and purposes. Participants of the present

study reported that their preference of social media use is connected to a variety of

purposes and to meet certain needs, which is what the uses and gratification theory has

proposed and explained with its assumptions as was illustrated within the theoretical

framework of this study (Ismail, 2003; Katz et al., 1973; Shatli & Marahi, 2015; Weiyan,

2015; West & Turner, 2014).

5.3 Participants’ Motives of Social Media Use

Another significant finding of this study are the findings pertaining to

participants’ motives of social media utilization. A large portion of participants expressed

their agreement regarding instrumental motives when using social media, however, a

larger portion of participants reported they use social media for ritualistic motives. In

other words, participants who use social media for ritualistic motives, where participants

use social media for escapism, relaxing, entertainment, as part of their daily routine, to

fulfill their free time, or simply for any other unbeneficial motives that participants can

obtain from using social media, were statistically larger than participants who agreed to

social media use for instrumental motives. These motives include social media for self-

seeking, news and information seeking, socializing with others, knowledge seeking, or

any other beneficial motives that participants obtain from their use of social media. A

significant fact related to participants’ motives of social media use is that most

participants use social media for ritualistic motives, which means they do not gain any

benefits from their social media utilization. In other words, it can be argued that

78
participants’ social media use is reckless and the time spent using social media by

students is a waste of time, or time consuming, as has been pointed out in the study “Use

of social media and its impact on academic performance of engineering students”

conducted by Nagesh and Naveen in 2017 (Nagesh & Naveen, 2017).

5.4 Hypotheses Examination

The fundamental and most significant findings of the present study is the research

hypotheses examination results. This study hypothesized that there would be a significant

predictable correlation between social media use for socialization, entertainment, and

academic purposes and students’ GPA. Additionally, this study postulated that there

would be a significant predictable correlation between students’ social media use motives

and their academic performance (GPA). Unexpectedly, the findings in this study

suggested that a predictable correlation between the aforementioned variables was not

found across all six research hypotheses. However, a statistically negative significant

correlation was found between the independent variables, entertainment purposes of

social media use and the time spent using social media by students, and the dependent

variable, students’ GPA.

Although the significant correlation that was found in the two hypotheses was not

a predictable linear correlation, where the dependent variable can be predicted based on

the independent variable, there is still a significant relationship between participants’

social media use and their academic performance. This finding exemplifies a central

point of why the remainder of the hypotheses were not supported statistically. In other

words, because the correlation between participants’ time spent on social media and GPA

was not linear, or not strong enough to show a linear relationship, the other four

79
hypotheses were not supported. There could be many explanations or factors that might

play a significant role in these unexpected results.

Practically, due to the variety of means that have been constructed to assure and

establish a relatively high level of validity and internal consistency reliability (see

constructed validity and reliability section) of this study’s instrument, as well as the scale

that was used to measure participants’ level of agreement regarding the purposes and

motives of social media use, the chances of an error within the instrument are low.

Therefore, this suggests that the four research hypotheses that were not supported was not

due to instrument error. In fact, all the constructed validity and reliability methods that

were used in this study, as well as the high Cronbach’s Alpha score, suggest that the

instrument of this study is understandable and reliable.

Based on the review of literature, and according to the knowledge gained from

this study, the major interpretation and explanation for reaching such unexpected results

and not supporting four of the research hypotheses might revolve around participants’

responses in terms of the time spent on social media on a daily basis. In other words, by

taking a close look at the following instrument question, “by scrolling the pointer

forward, please indicate how many hours you spend using your social media accounts on

a daily basis”, it has been found that the majority of this study sample spends

approximately one to four hours daily using social media platforms. Particularly, the

findings suggested that among all participants, the average number of hours spent on

social media by students was a little above three and a half hours on a daily basis and the

most frequent response was two hours.

80
 The fact that participants spend approximately three and a half hours on average

using social media leads to an argument where it can be suggested or considered that the

average time spent on social media by participants is a considerably reasonable amount

of time and does not lead to an excessive or heavy use of social media to a level where

students’ academic performance is affected. In other words, it can be argued that since

the time spent on social media by participants is a reasonable amount of time and is

considered a key point as to whether there is an impact on students’ academic

performance, no major effect was found regardless of participants’ purposes of use or the

obtained motives from social media use.

Simply, many studies have pointed out that the time spent using social media is

the key factor to the occurrence of an impact regardless of the needs, purposes, or

motives behind social media use by participants (Al-Jabri et al., 2015; Larson & Acheaw,

2015; Mugahed & Shahizan, 2016; Nagesh & Naveen, 2017; Said et al., 2017).

Therefore, it can be extracted that as long as participants spend a reasonable time using

social media, participants’ needs, purposes, and motives do not matter because the impact

or a correlation cannot be determined. According to what has been stated, the most

plausible reason for not supporting the four hypotheses regarding participants’ purposes

and motives of social media use and their academic performance is because the average

daily time spent using social media is reasonable and inconsistent during the day. This

prevents the determination of a significant correlation between the variables listed in the

hypotheses. This can be supported by the low percentages of the Pearson’s correlation

value that have been found within the supported two hypotheses, which indicates that a

81
relationship between the independent and dependent variables exists, however, the

relationship is not linear.

5.5 Study Limitations and Recommended Future Study

This study essentially investigated whether there is a significant correlation

between the following independent variables: the purposes of social media use, the time

spent by students on social media platforms, motives and gratifications of social media

use, and the dependent variable, university students’ academic performance (GPA). The

data of this study were collected through a survey that relied on self-disclosures and the

study was conducted in Jonesboro, Arkansas in 2019.

Due to the short time frame and the inability to survey every eligible student in all

mid-south universities, which was the study population, this study was not able to select a

random sample to be investigated, preventing the results from qualifying as a

generalizable representation. Therefore, this study exclusively focused on the main

campus of a mid-south university, Arkansas State University-Jonesboro campus, and it

utilized the convenience sampling technique, a non-random sample. As a result, the

findings of this study are not qualified to be a generalizable representation.

This study recommends that a significant future study be conducted. The future

study would investigate when social media is accessed, how long students use social

media without interruptions, the way social media is perceived, and the way social media

is utilized among university students who have a media communication and journalism

background and students who are from other disciplines. A future study can consist of an

essential research question which is: what are the differences between communication

82
and journalism students and other students regarding social media use and its effects on

university students?

83
 CHAPTER 6

CONCLUSION

Whether it corresponds with our desires or not, the information technology

revolution has altered all substances of life, including the way we communicate. Social

media as a part of this advanced technology has caused a major change in the way

individuals perceive and produce content including information, news, opinions, and

more. More importantly, social media has modified individuals’ way of communicating

and interacting one another. Therefore, social media use among individuals has become

popular, especially among young individuals, specifically, university students. As a

result, it was postulated that there is a significant impact on university students who use

social media. Due to the prevalence and the rapid proliferation of social media use among

university students, this present study was conducted to better understand the pattern and

nature of students’ utilization of social media.

Fundamentally, the current study was conducted to explore the most used social

media platform among students at a mid-south university. Findings revealed that

Instagram, a social media platform, was the most accessed platform by students among

other social media platforms including Facebook, Snapchat, and Twitter. Regarding this

study’s investigation of students’ needs and purposes of social media use, findings

emphasized that students mostly use social media for socialization purposes and to satisfy

social needs. Also, less participants use social media for entertainment purposes and to

84
satisfy entertainment needs. Unexpectedly, students appeared to disagree regarding the

use of social media for academic purposes.

Additionally, this study sought to probe the time spent using social media

platforms by students at a mid-south university. Findings discovered that the majority of

the study sample usually spends between one to four hours, with an approximate average

of three and a half hours. In terms of the current study’s investigation regarding

participants obtained gratifications motives, the findings suggested that more participants

use social media for obtaining ritualistic motives, where users satisfy unbeneficial

motives from use, than instrumental motives, where participants satisfy beneficial

motives.

There were six hypotheses in this study. The first three hypotheses examined

whether there is a correlation between students’ academic performance, GPA, and

students’ needs and purposes of social media use including socialization, entertainment,

and academic purposes. Findings suggested that there was not an inferential statistically

significant correlation between socialization and academic purposes of social media use

and students’ academic performance. However, findings suggested that there is an

inferential statistically significant correlation between students’ who use social media for

entertainment purposes and their academic performance (GPA).

Regarding the hypotheses that examine the correlation between students obtained

instrumental and ritualistic motives and gratifications, and their academic performance

(GPA), findings suggested the there is no statistically significant correlation. However,

findings suggested that there is a statistically significant negative correlation in terms of

the last hypothesis, which examined if there is a significant correlation between the time

85
spent on social media by students and their academic performance (GPA). Overall, the

correlation that was found in the two supported hypotheses was not capable of predicting

the dependent variable based on the independent variable.

Based on the aforementioned findings, suggestions, connotations, and indications,

this study concludes a couple of major points. First, among all 971 participants, females

exemplify the majority of the study sample. Second, participants between 18 to 21

embodied the largest age class among all participants. Third, in terms of participants’

academic class standing, seniors were the largest group. Fourth, approximately half of the

study sample has a part-time job and approximately the other half either does not have a

job or has a full-time job. Fifth, all participants have at least one social media account and

most access their accounts at night.

Sixth, the most frequent number of hours of social media use is two hours a day,

with the majority of participants spending one to four hours daily. Seventh, this study

also concludes that the most appealing and accessed social media platform by students is

Instagram. Eighth, most students have a 4.0 GPA with the majority of students having a

GPA of 3.0 or above. Ninth, the majority of participants use social media for

socialization purposes and the greatest number of participants agreed that they use social

media for social interaction. Tenth, the second major purpose that participants use social

media for is entertainment, with the greatest number of participants agreeing that they use

social media because it is enjoyable.

Eleventh, unexpectedly, most participants expressed their disagreement on using

social media for academic purposes and particularly disagreed with the claim that social

media enhances students’ academic writing skills. Twelfth, social media was mostly used

86
for ritualistic gratifications and motives as the majority of participants expressed that they

use social media for fun. On the other hand, fewer participants use social media for

instrumental motives and gratifications. Thirteenth, a significant correlation was not

found between social media use for socialization and academic purposes, and

participants’ GPA. Also, a significant correlation was not found between participants’

instrumental and ritualistic motives and gratifications, and students’ GPA. Fourteenth, a

statistically significant correlation was found between the time spent and the

entertainment purposes of social media use and participants’ GPA.

In conclusion, the key factor that determines the possible impact of social media

use is how much time a student spends on social media platforms. In other words, this

study concludes that as long as students spend more hours of her or his daily time using

social media platforms, there will be a significant correlation between the time spent on

social media and students’ academic performance. Fundamentally, the determination of

social media impact on students’ academic performance is highly connected to the time

spent utilizing social media by students regardless of the purpose of use. Finally, the use

of social media platforms has an impact on students’ academic performance. This impact

can be determined by investigating the time spent accessing social media, presuming that

the time spent is significant enough to result in a linear relationship between time and

academic performance. Also, to determine the nature of that impact, negative or positive,

it is necessary to investigate the purposes, needs, motives, and gratifications behind the

use of social media platforms.

87
 APPENDIX A: CONSENT FORM

Consent to participate in: The Impact of Social Media Use on Students’ Academic

Performance: A Field Study at a Mid-South University.

This study focuses on social media usage among mid-south university students. This

study essentially seeks to investigate the time spent on social media platforms, the

purposes of social media use, the obtained gratifications from social media use, and

whether there is a significant correlation between the aforementioned variables and

students’ academic performance, GPA. If you have a social media account and is a

student at Arkansas State University, please fill out the questionnaire. You will be asked

to answer some questions pertaining to your opinion regarding your usage of social

media, your academic performance, and your demographic information. Also, if you

complete the questionnaire, provide your email address in the last question, and press the

button “Done” at the end of the questionnaire, you will be entered in a random drawing to

get one of four $25 gift cards. The survey will take you approximately 10-15 minutes to

complete.

Your answers to the survey questions are confidential and will only be available to the

researchers. Your participation is optional, and there is no consequence for not

participating. If you do not wish to complete the survey once you have started, feel free to

stop. The researcher wants this survey to be an objective survey.

If you have any questions about this study, please contact the researcher at

[email protected] or the researcher’s faculty advisor Professor Mary

Jackson-Pitts at ([email protected])

88
This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) at Arkansas State

University. If you have any questions about your rights as a research participant, please

contact the Director of Research Compliance at [email protected].

* By selecting “yes "you indicate that you are at least 18 years old, you have read the

information above, and wish to start the survey. If you are not 18 years old, please select

“No” and do not complete the following questions.

o Yes

o No

Asem Alomari

Graduate Student

E-mail: [email protected]

Phone: (914) 803-2575

89
 APPENDIX B: SURVEY

2) Are you a Student at Arkansas State University?

o Yes
o No

3) Do you use social media platforms?

o Yes
o No

4) When do you access your social media account (you can select more than one
answer)?
o In the morning
o In the afternoon
o At night
o I do not have a social media account

5) What social media platform do you use (you can select more than one
answer)?
o Facebook
o Twitter
o Instagram
o Snapchat
o Other_____

6) By scrolling the pointer forward, please indicate how many hours do you
spend using your social media accounts on a daily basis?

90
 7) Please determine your level of agreement with the statements below which
pertain to your usage of social media for socialization purposes.
Likert Statements Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly
disagree agree
9- I use social media to Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly
keep in touch with disagree agree
friends and family.

10- I use social media to Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly

explore new social disagree agree
relationships with others.
11- Social media helps me Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly
make my friendships disagree agree
stronger.
12- Social media is an Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly
appealing platform for disagree agree
social interaction.
13- I use social media Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly
because it enables me to disagree agree
build strong relationships
with others.
14- I use social media to Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly
improve my social life. disagree agree

15- Social media allows me Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly

to keep up with my disagree agree
friends’ posts.
16- Social media allows me Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly
to be part of others’ disagree agree
social life.

91
 8) Please determine your level of agreement with the statements below which
pertain to your usage of social media for entertainment purposes.
Likert Statements Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly
disagree agree
17- I use social media because Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly
it is enjoyable. disagree agree

18- I use social media because Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly
it makes me have fun. disagree agree

19- I use social media to Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly

entertain myself by online disagree agree
shopping.

20- I use social media to Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly

entertain myself. disagree agree

21- I use social media to watch Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly
movies and shows. disagree agree

22- I use social media to listen Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly
to music. disagree agree
23- I use social media to play Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly
online games. disagree agree

24- I use social media to watch Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly
videos skits about disagree agree
celebrities.

92
 9) Please determine your level of agreement with the statements below which
pertain to your usage of social media for academic purposes.
Likert Statements Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly agree
disagree
25- I use social media to Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly agree
discuss academic topics disagree
with my university peers.

26- I use social media to gain Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly agree
information that helps me disagree
in my class discussions.

27- I use social media to seek Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly agree
knowledge about specific disagree
academic topics.
28- I use social media because Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly agree
it allows me to exchange disagree
knowledge with my peers.
29- I use social media because Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly agree
it enhances my academic disagree
writing skills.
30- I use social media to Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly agree
discuss class matters with disagree
professors.
31- I use social media to post Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly agree
materials about my disagree
academic classes.
32- I use social media to read Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly agree
my peers’ posts about a disagree
class material

93
 10) Please determine your level of agreement with the statements below which
pertain to the instrumental motives of your social media usage.
Likert Statements Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly
disagree agree
33- Social media helps me to be Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly
informed about variety of disagree agree
events.

34- Social media helps me to be Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly

generally educated and disagree agree
knowledgeable.

35- Social media helps me Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly

improve my social interaction disagree agree
with others.

36- Social media helps me to keep Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly
up with news and technology disagree agree

37- Social media helps me contact Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly
my friends and family easily. disagree agree

38- Social media helps me keep in Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly
contact with my classmates. disagree agree

39- Social media helps me reach Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly
out to my professors easily. disagree agree

40- Social media allows me to Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly

discuss academic topics with disagree agree
my professors and peers.

94
 11) Please determine your level of agreement with the statements below which
pertain to the ritualistic motives of your social media usage.
Likert Statements Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly
disagree agree
41- I use social media to pass Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly
time. disagree agree

42- I use social media to be Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly

entertained. disagree agree

43- I use social media to Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly

escape from reality. disagree agree

44- I use social media Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly

because I got used to it. disagree agree

45- I use social media Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly

because my friends use disagree agree
it.
46- I use social media Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly
because it is essential disagree agree
part of my daily routine.

47- I use social media for Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly
fun. disagree agree
48- I use social media to Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly
watch entertaining disagree agree
videos.

95
Demographics

12) Please type your exact academic GPA with the decimal in the box below.

13) Please type in the box below the number of hours you spend on social media
on a daily basis.

14) Please indicate your gender.

o Female
o Male
o Other _______________

15) Please indicate your age by typing it in the box below.

16) Please indicate your academic class standing.

o Freshman (Less than 30 credits completed)
o Sophomore (30 to 59 credits completed)
o Junior (60 to 90 credits completed)
o Senior (90 credits or more)
o Graduate (Master or PhD degree)

17) Please determine your work status?

o I do not have a job
o I work part time
o I work full time
o Other, please determine working hours per week _________

18) Please provide your email address in the box below if you would like to be
entered in a random drawing for a $25 gift card after completing this survey.

96
APPENDIX C: INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARD APPROVAL

97
 REFERENCES

Al-Eisa, E., Al-Rushud, A., Alghadir, A., Anwer, S., Al-Harbi, B., Al-Sughaier, N., …
IAl-Muhaysin, H. A. (2016). Effect of Motivation by (Instagram) on Adherence to
Physical Activity among Female College Students. BioMedResearchInternational,
131.

Al-Jabri, I. M., Sohail, M. S., & Ndubisi, N. O. (2015). Understanding the usage of
global social networking sites by Arabs through the lens of uses and gratifications
theory. Journal of Service Management, 26(4), 662–680.

Al-Rahmi, W. M., Othman, M. S., & Yusuf, L. M. (2015). The role of social media for
collaborative learning to improve academic performance of students and researchers
in Malaysian higher Education. International Review of Research in Open and
Distributed Learning, 16(4), 177–205.

Alhabash, S., & Ma, M. (2017). A Tale of Four Platforms: Motivations and Uses of
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat Among College Students? Social Media
and Society, 3(1).

Allcott, H., & Gentzkow, M. (2017). Social media and fake news in the 2016 election.
Journal of Economic Perspectives, 31(2), 211–236.
https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.31.2.211

Arkansas State University. (2019). System Factbook 2018-2019 The Arkansas State
University System 2018-2019 Factbook. Retrieved from
file:///C:/Users/asema/Desktop/The Thesis 2019 Asem/Thesis/Fact book of
Arkansas State Universiy .pdf

Basilisco, R., & Cha, K. J. (2015). Uses and gratification motivation for using Facebook
and the impact of Facebook usage on social capital and life satisfaction among
Filipino users. Information Technology and People, 9(4), 181–194.

Boateng, R. O., & Amankwaa, A. (2016). The impact of social media on student
academic life in higher education. Global Journal of Human-Social Science: G
Linguistics & Education, 16(4).

Chan, M. (2016). Social network sites and political engagement: Exploring the impact of
Facebook connections and uses on political protest and participation. Mass
Communication and Society, 19(4), 430–451.
https://doi.org/10.1080/15205436.2016.1161803

Cronk, B. C. (2018). How to use SPSS: A step_by_step guide to analysis and

interpretation (10th ed.). New York, NY: Routledge Taylor and Francis Group.

Defleur, M. L. (2010). Mass communication theories: Explaining origins, processes, and

effects. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

98
Dijck, J. (2012). Tracing Twitter: The rise of a microblogging platform. International
Journal of Media and Cultural Politics, 7(3), 333–348.
https://doi.org/10.1386/macp.7.3.333

Edison Research and Triton Digital. (2019). The Infinite Dial. Retrieved from
https://www.edisonresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Infinite-Dial-2019-
PDF-1.pdf

Etikan, I., Musa, S. A., & Alkassim, R. S. (2016). A comparison of convenience

sampling and purposive sampling. American Journal of Theoretical and Applied
Statistics, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.6224/JN.61.3.105

Garett, R., Liu, S., & Young, S. D. (2018). The relationship between social media use and
sleep quality among undergraduate students. Information, Communication &
Society, 21(2), 163–173. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2016.1266374

Giunchiglia, F., Zeni, M., ElisaGobbi, Bignotti, E., & Bison, I. (2018). Mobile social
media usage and academic performance. Computers in Human Behavior, 82(5),
177–185.

Halboub, E., Othathi, F., Mutawwam, F., Madkhali, S., Somaili, D., & Alahmar, N.
(2016). Effect of social networking on academic achievement of dental students,
Jazan University, Saudi Arabia. Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal, 22(12),
865–871.

Heffner, T. (2016). The effects of social media use in undergraduate students. Rowan
University. Retrieved from https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/1440/

Hermida, A., Fletcher, F., Korell, D., & Logan, D. (2012). Share, like, recommend:
Decoding the social media news consumer. Journalism Studies, 13(5–6), 815–824.
https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2012.664430

Hitlin, P. (2018). Internet, social media use and device ownership in U.S. have plateaued
after years of growth. Retrieved from http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-
tank/2018/09/28/internet-social-media-use-and-device-ownership-in-u-s-have-
plateaued-after-years-of-growth/

Hsiag, M., Chang, C., & Lin, Y. (2015). Determining of continued use of social media:
The perspectives of uses and gratifications theory and perceived interactivity.
Information Research, 20(2). Retrieved from file:///C:/Users/asema/Desktop/The
Thesis 2019 Asem/Thesis/Important studies for the scale of the thesis/The Scale of
uses and gratifications .pdf

Huang, Y.-T., & Su, S.-F. (2018). Motives for Instagram Use and Topics of Interest
among Young Adults. Future Internet, 10(8), 77.

99
Ifinedo, P. (2015). Applying uses and gratifications theory and social influence processes
to understand students’ pervasive adoption of social networking sites: Perspective
from the Americas. International Journal of Information Management, 36, 206.

Ismail, M. (2003). Principles of Communication Science and Theories of Effect. Cairo:

Publisher and Distributor. Retrieved from file:///C:/Users/asema/Desktop/theory and
communication Books/Book of theories of effects .pdf

Ju, A., Jeong, S. H., & Chyi, H. I. (2014). Will social media save newspapers?
Journalism Practice, 8(1), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2013.794022

Katz, E., Blumler, J. G., & Gurevitch, M. (1973). Uses and Gratifications Research.
Public Opinion Quarterly, 37(4), 509. https://doi.org/10.1086/268109

Khan, S., Abduljabbar S, A., & Alsamarai, S. (2019). Social media and its adverse effect
on academic performance of students. Bulletin of Social Informatics Theory and
Application, 3(1), 38–44.

Kim, J., & Hastak, M. (2018). Social network analysis: Characteristics of online social
networks after a disaster. International Journal of Information Management, 38(1),
86–96. https://doi.org/org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2017.08.003

Kircaburun, K., Alhabash, S., Tosuntaş, Ş. B., & Griffiths, M. D. (2018). Uses and
Gratifications of Problematic Social Media Use Among University Students: a
Simultaneous Examination of the Big Five of Personality Traits, Social Media
Platforms, and Social Media Use Motives. International Journal of Mental Health
and Addiction, 4(2), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-018-9940-6

Kolan, B. J., & Dzandza, P. E. (2018). Effect of social media on academic performance
of students in ghanaian universities : A case study of University of Ghana , Legon.
Library Philosophy and Practice (e-Journal), (2).

Kung, L., Picard, R. G., & Towse, R. (2008). The internet and the mass media. ECIY
ISP, London: SAGE Publications, Ltd.

Kwak, H., Lee, C., Park, H., & Moon, S. (2010). What is Twitter, a social network or a
news media? The 19th International Conference on World Wide Web, 591–600.
https://doi.org/10.1145/1772690.1772751

Larson, A. G., & Acheaw, O. M. (2015). Use of Social Media and its impact on academic
performance of Tertiary Institution students : A study of students of Koforidua
Polytechnic , Ghana. Journal of Education and Practice, 6(6), 94–102.

Lin, Y., & Sackey, E. (2015). Use of Facebook : A comparative study of U . S . American
and Ghanaian college students. Communication Research Report, 32(3), 281–286.
https://doi.org/10.1080/08824096.2015.1052899

100
Lo Coco, G., Maiorana, A., Mirisola, A., Salerno, L., Boca, S., & Profita, G. (2018).
Empirically derived subgroups of Facebook users and their association with
personality characteristics: A latent class analysis. Computers in Human Behavior,
86, 190–198. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2018.04.044

McCord, J. K., Cleary, D., Grant, N., Herron, A., Jumbo, S., Lacey, T., … Emanuel, R.
(2016). What Social media sites do the college students use most? Journal of
Undergraduate Ethnic Minority Psychology – 2016 Spring, 2(21), 22–26.

Mim, F. N., Islam, M. A., & Paul, G. K. (2018). Impact of the use of social media on
students ’ academic performance and behavior change. International Journal of
Statistics and Applied Mathematics, 3(1), 299–302.

Mugahed, W., & Shahizan, M. (2016). The impact of social media use on academic
performance among university students. Journal of Information System Research
and Innovation, 30(8).

Mushtaq, A. J. (2018). The effects of social media on the undergraduate students’

academic performances. Library Philosophy and Practice (e-Journal), (4).

Nagesh, R., & Naveen, L. C. (2017). Use of social media and its impact on academic
performance of engineering students. Library Progress (International)., 37(2), 154–
163. https://doi.org/10.5958/2320-317X.2017.00016.2

National Sleep Foundation. (2014). Sleep Health Index2014 – highlights. Retrieved from
https://www.sleepfoundation.org/sleep-health-index-2014-highlights#overlay-
context=sleep-polls

Perrin, A., & Anderson, M. (2019). Share of U.S. adults using social media, including
Facebook, is mostly unchanged since 2018. Retrieved from
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/04/10/share-of-u-s-adults-using-social-
media-including-facebook-is-mostly-unchanged-since-2018/

Raacke, J., & Bonds-Raacke, J. (2008). MySpace and facebook: Applying the uses and
gratifications theory to exploring friend-networking sites. Cyberpsychology and
Behavior, 11(2), 169–174. https://doi.org/10.1089/cpb.2007.0056

Robinson, N. W., Zeng, C., & Holbert, R. L. (2018). The stubborn pervasiveness of
television news in the digital age and the field’s attention to the medium, 2010–
2014. Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, 62(2), 287–301.
https://doi.org/10.1080/08838151.2018.1451857

Ruggiero, T. E. (2000). Uses and gratifications theory in the 21st century. Mass
Communication & Society, 3(1), 3–37.

101
Russo, T., Zhang, J., & Fallon, M. (2015). Influence of perceived technology use of
University Students on academic and social performance in college. The
International Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in Communication, 10(2).

Said, M., Alshuaibi, I., Said, A., Alshuaibi, I., & Shamsudin, F. M. (2017). Use of social
media, student engagement, and academic performance of business students in
Malaysi. International Journal of Educational Management, 32(4), 625–640.

Shatli, M., & Marahi, H. (2015). Usage of Social Networks and Its Impact on Political
Participation in the 2014 Egyptian Presidential Election: A field study on a sample
of Egyptian university students. Midle Estern Media, 12.

Shirazi, F. (2013). Social media and the social movements in the Middle East and North
Africa. Information Technology & People, 26(1), 28–49.
https://doi.org/10.1108/09593841311307123

Skogerbø, E., & Krumsvik, A. H. (2015). Newspapers, Facebook and Twitter: Intermedia
agenda setting in local election campaigns. Journalism Practice, 9(3), 350–366.
https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2014.950471

Statista. (2019a). Leading countries based on number of Snapchat users as of April 2019
(in millions). Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/statistics/315405/snapchat-
user-region-distribution/

Statista. (2019b). Number of daily active Snapchat users from 1st quarter 2014 to 1st
quarter 2019 (in millions). Retrieved from
https://www.statista.com/statistics/545967/snapchat-app-dau/

Statista. (2019c). Number of Snapchat users worldwide from 2018 to 2022 (in millions).
Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/statistics/626835/number-of-monthly-
active-snapchat-users/

Sutherland, K., Davis, C., Terton, U., & Visser, I. (2018). University student social media
use and its influence on offline engagement in higher educational communities.
Studenct Success, 9(2), 13–24. https://doi.org/10.5204/ssj.v9i2.400

Tracy, P. (2019). Here is how to use Snapchat’s video Loop tool. The Daily Dot.
Retrieved from https://www.dailydot.com/debug/how-to-use-snapchat-loop/

Tufekci, Z., & Wilson, C. (2012). Social media and the decision to participate in political
protest: Observations from Tahrir Square. Journal of Communication, 62(2), 363–
379. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.2012.01629.

Turney, S. (2016). Uses and gratifications theory. Encyclopedia of Children, Adolescents,

and the Media, 473(2), 25–32.

102
Utz, S., Muscanell, N., & Khalid, C. (2015). Snapchat Elicits More Jealousy than
Facebook: A Comparison of Snapchat and Facebook Use. Cyberpsychology,
Behavior, and Social Networking, 18(3), 141–146.

Vaterlaus, J. M., Barnett, K., Roche, C., & Young, J. A. (2016). “snapchat is more
personal”: An exploratory study on Snapchat behaviors and young adult
interpersonal relationships. Computers in Human Behavior, 62(1), 594–601.

Waters, R. (2015). Experience Is Living. In Instagram®: How Kevin Systrom & Mike
Krieger Changed the Way We Take and Share Photos. Broomall, PA: Mason Crest,
an imprint of National Highlights, Inc.

Weiyan, L. (2015). A Historical Overview of Uses and Gratifications Theory. Cross-

Cultural Communication, 11(9), 71–78. https://doi.org/10.3968/7415

West, R., & Turner, L. H. (2014). Introducing Communication Theory: Analysis and
Application (5th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.

Yang, K. C. C., Pulido, A., & Kainan, Y. K. (2016). Exploring the relationship between
privacy concerns and Social Media use among college students: A communication
privacy management perspective. Intercultural Communication Studies, 2(47).

Zhou, S., & Sloan, D. W. (2015). Research methods in communication (3rd ed.).
Northport, AL: Vision Press.

103