Social Media Usage among University Students during Exams: Distraction or Academic Support?

Social media are known as facilitation methods when it comes to the way students learn in university. The purpose of this study is to identify the nature of social media usage and their influence on stress levels during exams. A survey directed towards students (n = 179) was shared on social media, evaluating the use of social media during exams. About 84.8% of the participants used social media for educational purposes. The social media employed the most for educational purposes were YouTube (71.5%) and Facebook (68.2%). Generally, the use of these platforms decreased student stress, particularly Skype, which was mostly used for personal communication. This study validates that social media has a great educational potential and is used by the majority of students. Students have similar yet different needs when using technology during exams and their variability should be considered when creating educational initiatives.