A gender lens perspective of the use of social network in higher education in Malaysia and Australia

Abstract

The use of social network sites (SNS) such as Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Pinterest, Google Plus+, Tumblr, and Instagram, among others, has increased at a very fast pace in the last few years. In tandem with its rising popularity, especially among teenagers, many academics in higher education have been experimenting with its use in formal and less formal ways, in classroom teaching. Studies on the use of SNS in higher education indicate mixed results. While some academics found that SNS only distracts students from actual study and do not improve academic performance, others discovered that it improves communication and teacher-student relationships. Most however, agree that SNS's popularity with students makes it a very useful tool to exploit for classroom teaching and management. There are very few studies which look into the effect of gender on the use of SNS in education. While studies have concluded that men and women approach and use SNS in slightly different ways, there is little in existing literature which tells us about how the use of SNS in higher education differs between men and women. This paper discusses research on the use of SNS in higher education by both genders. It details the results of a survey conducted in Malaysia and Australia and highlights how men and women perceive SNS use in higher education based on a framework built on Push Pull and Mooring theory.