Social Media and Social Bonding in Students' Decision-Making Regarding Their Study Path

Marko Nieminen, Amir Dirin, Ari Alamäki

OAI: oai:igi-global.com:267726 • DOI: 10.4018/IJICTE.2021010106

Students are often unsure of how to select the right study path at a higher educational institution. They either lack knowledge of a proposed study path or they do not manage to learn more before making their selection. Universities often apply various approaches, such as printed or online course curricula, to facilitate the selection process. Yet these approaches are often inefficient because they do not attract students' attention, or they provide ambiguous descriptions. Moreover, these descriptions are not provided to students through the right channels. The study reveals that students use different digital channels in various contexts to perform their educational activities. The study reveals that the use of social media applications in an educational context results in social bonding among students. The results of the study can help educators select appropriate channels that match students' expectations of a reliable and trustworthy interaction medium.

Distance Education Education Educational Technologies