A Study On Social Media Usage Among Private University Students in Klang Valley

Abstract

The usage of social media has made everyone’s life easier in connecting to the world. One can check Twitter, log onto Facebook or use Instagram anytime without limitation. The purpose of this study is to examine the usage and effects of social media daily; explain the perception on social media; and explain the importance of social media to self-esteem. The study employed a cross-sectional survey using self-administered questionnaire which was distributed online to a total of 240 respondents from Monash University, Taylor’s University and Asia Pacific University (APU) who use social media via wired and mobile devices. In terms of the usage and effect of social media, results found that a significant number of university students owned more than three social media accounts and spent between three to five hours (37.1%) on social media daily. This shows that the university students have high usage on social media. The study further found that majority of the university students accessed and look through their peer’s social media account for comparison. Majority of the respondents perceive social media as somewhat important and important in their lives. This indicates that the university students perceived the importance of social media to their social life. The findings for importance of social media to self- esteem showed the respondents agreed social media have helped them to boost self- esteem. The study demonstrated that the students have high self-esteem when they spend more time on social media due to high exposure to social media content and frequently exposed to favorable pictures of others. However the students who feel satisfied with themselves and declined to feel as a failure indicates of high self-esteem.