Abstract:

Social media has become pervasive, impacting the social and cultural fabric of our society. It has revolutionized the way we communicate, interact and socialize. This study investigates gender differences and similarities of King Abdulaziz University (KAU) students’ perceptions of social media impact on social behavior. Data were collected using a specially designed survey during the academic year 2013/2014. The sample size was 2605 male and female students of different ages. Research outcome indicates that students are familiar with and are immersed in social media use with female students being the heavier users of social media. Findings support the advantages of social media use on students’ social behavior and do not indicate any obvious disadvantages. The findings include identification of dominant gender-based and common perceptions. Differentiating factors include the male group having interest in respecting opinions of others and the female group emphasizing understanding community public issues. Common perception on advantages include the ability to learn about people’s different thinking styles, connect to others and communities, improve open-mindedness and alleviate routineness and boredom. Common concerns include physical inactivity, exposure to negative ideas and bad company, unproductivity and distraction, introversion and mental dullness. These findings can help in providing solutions to mitigate concerns relating to the use of social media.

Keywords:

Social media, social behavior, student perception, perception differences, higher education.