Abstract:

The departure point is the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, which makes evident the uncertainty and complex problems that higher education students encounter in providing academic continuity to their education with the use of mass communication networks and educational platforms. In the media society, the role of communication technologies applied to education (whether in the face-to-face, open or distance mode) support the processes of teaching and learning and generate both qualitative and quantitative benefits to society. One of the main benefits of the use of ICTs in communication is that it does not demand great domain of digital technologies. However, the challenges that the student faces in order to adapt to the new forms of learning and living together are unknown, derived from the perception of the families that social networks are only used as a means of entertainment and fun, which adds to the economic, social and self-organization problems. The objective of the study is to analyze the difficulties of social networks into the academic continuity of higher education students. To this end, a survey was applied to 300 students who completed the semester during the month of July 2020. The results showed that they face firstly difficulties of self-organization, secondly the financial load that represents the access to broadband internet to attend the academic tasks and thirdly to assume responsibilities of the care of children and elderly people.

Keywords:

Higher education, students, social networks.