Social media use and academic, social, and career development among college students with disabilities

Abstract

Objective

This study explores the use of social media and its impact on the college life of students with disabilities.

Participants

341 college students who identified as having disabilities were recruited from two universities in the Northeastern United.

Methods

Multivariate multiple regression models examined the relationship between social media use and academic achievement, social connectedness, and work preparedness.

Results

The findings indicate that students’ GPA was not associated with any social media use variables, but the time spent on using social media was negatively associated with the work hope and social connectedness. Social media learning was positively associated with work preparedness and social connectedness.

Conclusions

The study findings suggest that social media used for learning purposes can have a positive impact on career and social development among college students with disabilities. However, the time spent for non-learning purposes did not show positive benefits.

Keywords:

• Academic achievement
• college students with disabilities
• social connectedness
• social media
• work hope

Conflict of interest disclosure

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. 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 IRB from Rutgers University.

Additional information

Funding

This article reports partial findings of the study “Social Media Usage and Impact among College Students with Disabilities”, supported by School of Health Profession Dean’s Intramural Grant (Project ID#: 204457). The findings and interpretation of the data expressed in the article do not necessary represent the views of Rutgers, School of Health Profession, but are the sole responsibility of the authors.