Assessing the Virtual Social Networks Usage among Nursing Students: A Cross-Sectional Descriptive Study

BACKGROUND: Nowadays, virtual social networks are among the most essential communication tools in the exchange of science, knowledge, and technology and are very popular among different peoples of the society, especially nursing students. They can also influence academic success. The present study was aimed to investigate the use of social networks among nursing students of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study adopts a descriptive cross-sectional design and employed 406 nursing students in 2018 by means of the convenience sampling method. For data collection, a researcher-made questionnaire consisting of demographic characteristics and social network usage was used. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: The mean (SD) of social networking usage was 116.81 (17.20) out of the achievable score range of 38 to 190, where the highest and lowest scores were related to dimensions of content sharing (73.56%) and unconventional issues (51.00%), respectively. There was a significant statistical relationship between total score of social networking usage which included the variables of grade point average (r = -0.17, p = 0.000), average daily study hours in non-exam periods (r = -0.10 and p < 0.04), family income (F(2,375) = 6.28, p < 0.001), number of siblings (F(4,350) = 4.98, p < 0.001), and academic semester (F(6,376) = 2.12, p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Given the high percentage of students enrolled and the aim of using these networks, proper planning for the management of cyberspace is necessary to take advantage of the benefits of social networks and reduce their disadvantages.