Social Networking and Undergraduate Students’ Perception of Success

Abstract

This study was an attempt to examine students' views on success, and the impact of social networking in relation to success. The study involved 208 students (141 girls and 67 boys) of the 1st and 2nd year of education from Moscow State Food University and the Russian University of Transport. With the help of the questionnaire of motivation for the success of university students (Pakulina, 2009) we identified essential components of success. Students see their success as a result of personal activity (16.81), personal success (16.77), psychological comfort and feelings of emotional uplift (16.22). Students appreciate the feeling of getting a result that brings them satisfaction and well-deserved joy after overcoming difficulties. For them, the external elements of success, such as luck and strength, are not so important. Intrinsic motivation for success was more important than extrinsic. Social media is important for students, it helps to connect friends and classmates. For students with big amounts of friends and subscribers the most important are motives for material success, acclaim, power (external motives) and the wish to overcome difficulties.