Social - networking site (snss) use and popularity across the undergraduate years: socialization via snss approaching graduation

The purpose of this study is to examine socialization via Social Network Site (SNS) use in university undergraduate students as they approach graduation. It provides a description of undergraduate students’ SNS socialization from a mixed-methods approach. The main research questions include: (1) Is there a significant relationship between percent of undergraduate program completed and minutes of SNS use? and (2) What are the differences in the uses and perceptions of SNSs as students approach the end of their undergraduate programs? Student academic information (i.e., years of undergraduate program completed) was used to determine how progress across undergraduate years is linked to SNS use (i.e., minutes/day on SNSs) in a cross-sectional design. Data (n = 356) have been collected online from a survey-hosting website from multiple universities in Africa. The results show that as a student’s undergraduate program nears completion, SNS use increases as well, controlling for other variables.