The Influence of Social Network Use on Students' Academic Performance

Abstract

Social Network Sites (SNSs) are widely used by university students these days. The underlying reasons behind this use vary between academic and nonacademic purposes. The question is whether this use influences the students' academic performance or not. The aim of this study is to answer this question by examining the impact of five potential variables on the use of SNS, and the influence of this usage on the students' academic performance at Palestine Technical University-Kadoorie (PTUK). Five variables are included: the gender, age, faculty, duration of use, and computer self-efficacy. Stratified sampling technique was used to gather the required data, 369 valid survey items were retrieved and analyzed using SPSS 20.0. The findings revealed that among the five variables, only students' faculty and computer self-efficacy have positive influence on SNS use, and SNS use has positive influence on students' academic performance. The researchers recommend that PTUK should adopt strategies that direct students' use of SNS in beneficial ways.