A one-year follow-up study of changes in social media addiction and career networking among college students with disabilities

Abstract

Objective

This one-year follow-up study examined the changes of impact of using social media among college students with disabilities from the initial survey.

Participants

193 students completed the follow-up survey of the 341 who agreed to participate.

Methods

Paired t-test compared the changes in social media usage between the two surveys. Multiple linear regressions examined the relationship of social media use variables and social media addiction, career networking, disability subtypes between the two surveys.

Results

The daily average time spent on social media remained similar over one year. However, the level of social media addiction increased, especially among male students. One positive change was that students spent more time using social media for career networking purposes.

Conclusion

Public awareness and education of social media addiction should be raised. Additionally, students could benefit from being guided and encouraged to use social media for positive activities such as career networking.

Keywords:

• Career networking
• college students with disabilities
• social media addiction
• social media use

Conflict of interest disclosure

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. The findings and interpretations of the data expressed in the article do not necessarily represent the views of Rutgers, School of Health Profession, but are the sole responsibility of the authors. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of United States of America and received approval from the Institutional Review Boards of Rutgers University, and the State University of New Jersey.

Additional information

Funding

This article reports partial findings of the study “Social Media Usage and Impact among College Students with Disabilities”, supported by the School of Health Profession Dean’s Intramural Grant (Project ID#: 204457).