An exploratory investigation of students’ use of social networking sites and their individual and social needs: a case study of the University of Botswana undergraduates

Abstract

Globally, tertiary institutions, as it is the case with the University of Botswana, provide students with free access to social networking sites for educational purposes. However, not much research has been done on students’ individual and social needs that are gratified by using social networking sites. This study therefore sought to fill this gap by investigating the University of Botswana undergraduate students’ use of social networking sites and the individual and social needs that are gratified by using social networking sites. This exploratory study adopted an interpretivist approach and is qualitative. The study used Media Systems Dependency Theory to guide the investigation. The research data was obtained through semi-structured interviews with undergraduate students at the University of Botswana. The findings of the study show that undergraduate students depend on social networking sites to meet several individual and social needs. The findings also show that students’ culture placed a constraint on how they used media.

Keywords: Personal Mass Media Dependency Factors; Social Mass Media Dependency Factors; Social Networks Usage; Undergraduates; Cyberbullying