The relationship between mobile social media use and academic performance in university students

This study examined the relationship between social media use and academic performance.  Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to a sample of university students in Kuwait.  Results show that heavy mobile social media usage is positively related to lower GPA.  The strong linear relationship suggests the more students use social media the lower their grades will be.  Results also show participants were aware social media usage is lowering their grades, yet they continue to use them heavily regardless.  Future research should consider the context in which social media are used.  It should also explore other ways in which to measure social media use in addition to self-reports. Keywords: Social media, academic performance, Kuwait, mobile phones.

Virtual Online Communities as Powerful Secondary Groups in Multiple Social Contexts

Online and offline discussion groups can be quite different with regard to the composition and personality characteristics of their members, the goals of the group and the context in which they exist. Multiple dynamics likely affect and influence the structure and performance of any given group.  Most of these dynamics can potentially affect the group, regardless of the domain, virtual or face-to-face, and generate similar result.   There are qualities of online communication settings and qualities of face-to-face settings that can uniquely influence the dynamics of a group in those respective settings. This study explores the functioning of virtual online groups and examines potentially influential factors for the workings of groups of various types. Keywords: Virtual groups, Group Dynamics, Online communication, New Medi

An Empirical Test of the Social Media User Typology Framework

Abstract This study examined the differences between social media user types on a host of independent variables. Use

From Argentina to Zimbabwe: Global Patterns of International News Flow

Abstrac

Academic Performance and Behavioral Patterns

Identifying the factors that influence academic performance is an essential part of educational research. Previous studies have documented the importance of personality traits, class attendance, and social network structure. Because most of these analyses were based on a single behavioral aspect and/or small sample sizes, there is currently no quantification of the interplay of these factors. Here, we study the academic performance among a cohort of 538 undergraduate students forming a single, densely connected social network. Our work is based on data collected using smartphones, which the students used as their primary phones for two years. The availability of multi-channel data from a single population allows us to directly compare the explanatory power of individual and social characteristics. We find that the most informative indicators of performance are based on social ties and that network indicators result in better model performance than individual characteristics (including both personality and class attendance). We confirm earlier findings that class attendance is the most important predictor among individual characteristics. Finally, our results suggest the presence of strong homophily and/or peer effects among university students

Social networking sites and addiction: ten lessons learned

Online social networking sites (SNSs) have gained increasing popularity in the last decade, with individuals engaging in SNSs to connect with others who share similar interests. The perceived need to be online may result in compulsive use of SNSs, which in extreme cases may result in symptoms and consequences traditionally associated with substance-related addictions. In order to present new insights into online social networking and addiction, in this paper, 10 lessons learned concerning online social networking sites and addiction based on the insights derived from recent empirical research will be presented. These are: (i) social networking and social media use are not the same; (ii) social networking is eclectic; (iii) social networking is a way of being; (iv) individuals can become addicted to using social networking sites; (v) Facebook addiction is only one example of SNS addiction; (vi) fear of missing out (FOMO) may be part of SNS addiction; (vii) smartphone addiction may be part of SNS addiction; (viii) nomophobia may be part of SNS addiction; (ix) there are sociodemographic differences in SNS addiction; and (x) there are methodological problems with research to date. These are discussed in turn. Recommendations for research and clinical applications are provided

Psychometric Properties and Validation of the Arabic Social Media Addiction Scale

This study investigated the psychometric properties of the Arabic version of the SMAS. SMAS is a variant of IAT customized to measure addiction to social media instead of the Internet as a whole. Using a self-report instrument on a cross-sectional sample of undergraduate students, the results revealed the following. First, the exploratory factor analysis showed that a three-factor model fits the data well. Second, concurrent validity analysis showed the SMAS to be a valid measure of social media addiction. However, further studies and data should verify the hypothesized model. Finally, this study showed that the Arabic version of the SMAS is a valid and reliable instrument for use in measuring social media addiction in the Arab world

Psychometric Properties and Validation of the Arabic Social Media Addiction Scale

This study investigated the psychometric properties of the Arabic version of the SMAS. SMAS is a variant of IAT customized to measure addiction to social media instead of the Internet as a whole. Using a self-report instrument on a cross-sectional sample of undergraduate students, the results revealed the following. First, the exploratory factor analysis showed that a three-factor model fits the data well. Second, concurrent validity analysis showed the SMAS to be a valid measure of social media addiction. However, further studies and data should verify the hypothesized model. Finally, this study showed that the Arabic version of the SMAS is a valid and reliable instrument for use in measuring social media addiction in the Arab world

Measuring the Spiritual and Behavioral Dimensions of Religiosity in a Muslim Sample

&lt;p&gt;This study examines the dimensions of religiosity based on a sample of undergraduate students in a large state university in Kuwait. It aims to develop and test a multi-dimensional scale to measure religiosity in a Muslim sample. More specifically, the current research tests the properties of a newly developed religiosity scale designed for a Muslim sample consisting of two sub-scales, a spiritual and a behavioral one. The self-report data support the two dimensions of religiosity but, while the two dimensions are related, their statistical distributions were different indicating a possible “desirability bias” effect. Future studies should guard against this possibility by using complex survey techniques such as randomized responses and unmatched count. &lt;/p&gt;</jats:p