IISES International Academic Conference, Prague

UNDERGRADUATE BUSINESS STUDENT SOCIAL MEDIA BEHAVIOR: AN ANALYSIS OF ACADEMIC CLASS

CARL CASE

Abstract:

Nearly two-thirds of the world population participate in social media. Because undergraduate business students will be the future users and managers of social media, this longidutinal study was undertaken to empirically examine social media participation by academic class, in particular, with regard to the Covid-19 pandemic and its aftermath. Results demonstrate that undergraduates primarily utilize six sites with total social media time increasing slightly after the end of the pandemic. Usage minutes varied by class, by year, and, within class, varied by social media site. A correlation analysis found that total minutes on social media was negatively correlated to academic class. These results suggest a new normal with increasing time spent on social media but less dependence on social media as the student’s academic years pass.

Keywords: Social Media Usage, Empirical Study, Online Behavior, Business Students, Academic Class