The social media use of college students: Exploring identity development, learning support, and parallel use

Social media has a strong influence on the everyday lives of college students. A particular question of advanced research interest is whether social media also play a role when attending class. This exploratory study was aimed at designing a theoretical model that embraces such concepts. First, we identified that identity development, learning support, and parallel use are general concepts that are relevant when attending class. Next, using a survey with 230 students, we examined whether these general concepts could be empirically validated with factor and correlation analyses. We then applied a literature review to identify and subordinate more specific concepts to these general concepts. The resulting model of social media use when attending class includes active and passive elements related to designing and registering personal information, giving and getting support for learning, as well as posting and browsing during parallel use. We offer three conclusions: (1) identity development is based on impression management, social comparison, and self-concept clarifying, (2) learning support consists of collaborative learning, supporting intrinsic motivation, and promoting self-efficacy, and (3) parallel use during learning is based on entertainment, escapism, and relaxation. Finally, we discuss limitations, especially missing model tests, future research activities, and practical implications of our conceptual model.