Social networks in higher education: The business administration and informatics´ Students

The use of social networks among students has spread since cheaper costs, the use of cellphones and the viral effect of the Twitter and Facebook platforms worldwide. Even though, the impact of the learning processes, as well as the communication mechanisms among students, has just started to be studied. This research focuses on the second option, trying to answer the question: How do college students use social networks to improve communication and exchange knowledge? From the application of two online surveys applied to business administration (BBA - Bachelor in Business Administration) and informatics management (BIM - Bachelor in Informatics Management) students in 2010 and 2012, it was possible to observe that business administration students are the ones that use these platforms the most for sharing information and that in just a few years the use of these tools has changed among students.