Comparing the extent and pattern of educational use of social networking sites by medical and non-medical students: a multi-center study (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Although the use of social networking sites (SNSs) for fun is increasing, educational use of SNSs by students is low. Additionally, there is limited data about SNSs use by students from different faculties. OBJECTIVE This study compared patterns of SNSs use among medical and non-medical university students. METHODS It is a single-stage cross-sectional study conducted at university students (n=2350) from Saudi Arabia and China. A 21-statement questionnaire was administered to medical students of Taibah and Imam Abdulrahman AlFaisal University, Saudi Arabia, and non-medical students of the Beijing Institute of Technology and the University of International Business and Economics, China. The data about nature of SNSs use and strategies for sharing knowledge were analyzed. RESULTS Comparative data regarding use of SNSs between medical and non-medical students were obtained. Of 2350 respondents; 92% students did and 8% did not use SNSs for any reason. Overall, 624 (26.6%) students used SNSs for education and found these sites to be useful (p=0.00). Usage of SNSs for education was significantly higher in medical than in non-medical students (p=0.00). Non-medical students found SNSs to be more useful for networking than medical students. The use of WhatsApp was significantly greater in medical students, while WeChat was more popular in non-medical students (p=0.00). CONCLUSIONS We report low use of SNSs for education by university students. For sharing knowledge, WhatsApp was more popular among medical students, and WeChat was more popular among non-medical students. This research suggests incorporation of SNSs into educational curricula across disciplines.