The Role of Social Media Networks (Facebook) in Acquiring Scientific Culture Among Students of the Faculty of Arts, University of Misurata

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the role of social media networks (Facebook) in acquiring scientific culture among students of the Faculty of Arts, University of Misurata.

The study population consisted of 2,123 students from the scientific departments of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Misurata during the Fall semester of 2016/2017. The researcher employed a descriptive analytical approach and used a questionnaire designed for this purpose.

The study sample, selected through stratified random sampling, included 187 students—47 male and 140 female.

The results indicated that the role of social media networks (Facebook) in acquiring scientific culture among the students of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Misurata, across all dimensions of the study tool, was moderate. The degree of acquiring scientific culture ranged from 76% to 50.8%. This suggests that students of the Faculty of Arts show a relatively consistent level of interest in the type of scientific culture they engage with on social media platforms.

The study also found no statistically significant differences across the study’s dimensions attributed to variables such as gender, the number of days per week spent using Facebook, the number of hours of use, or the number of friends on the network.

In light of these findings, the study recommended fostering the integration of electronic technologies within the Faculty, encouraging the development of educational software to serve the students’ learning needs, and leveraging the widespread use of Facebook among students. This could be achieved by creating pages dedicated to sharing research and scientific contributions from students, as well as providing access to books relevant to their fields of study, in collaboration with the Faculty Library and specialists.

Additionally, the study recommended updating curricula and teaching strategies in line with students' tendencies to use social media for learning, and enhancing their motivation through the inclusion of scientific resources and links on the network.