Digital Media Platforms and Education: The Uses of Social Networking in the UAE and China

Authors

  • Badreya Al-Jenaibi

Keywords:

Social media, pedagogy, social networking, media literacy and education, digital media and education

Abstract

Young people today are growing up in a digitalized environment.  What challenges do they face in navigating this content-rich, symbolic environment? In this article, the researcher reviews university students' perceptions of media literacy by examining the use of social networking platforms (SN) in academic settings. The researcher distributed 1200 surveys evenly split between Chinese and UAE students and 998 were returned and analyzed. The findings reveal that while many students believe that media literacy should become a priority in modern curricula, this urgency is not felt by the majority of students.  The researcher reviews current views and methodologies in the literature related to media literacy and its status in current pedagogy.  The study draws from gravitation theory to place the use of SN tools within a broader background of communication.  The Uses and Gratification Theory is also invoked to explain how SN was made attractive to campus activists and protesters in the two countries.

Author Biography

Badreya Al-Jenaibi

Dr. Badreya Al-Jenaibi is Associate Professor in Mass Communication at the UAEU. Her research interests include international communication, public relations, as well as the uses and effects of mass media, and new media. Her research has appeared in the Journal of Applied Journalism & Media Studies, International Journals of Information Systems & Social Change, the International Journal of E-adoption, Global Media Journal, Journal for Communication and Culture, and the Journal of Cross Cultural Communication. She served in the editorial board in 18 peer-reviewed international journals, she published more than 32 peer-reviewed articles. Also, she received Khlifa Award for the best distinguished teacher and professor in the Arab world, Arab Youth and Academic Publishing Award, Arab Women Creative Award, Quality Assurance and Community Service Award, UAEU Academic and Publishing Award, Volunteering Award. She is the director of Mubadrah student community engagement center, her activities were engaged with more than 28 local organizations.

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Published

2020-05-29

Issue

Vol. 9 No. 1 (2020): The Journal of Social Media in Society

Section

Articles