The impact of using social media and internet on academic performance case study Bahrain Universities

Abstract

The internet and social media provide students with a range of academic benefits and opportunities to enhance their learning process. The main goal of this research is to examine the impact of using the social media on the academic performance. The new social networks, such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc., can affect the behavior and academic performance of the universities' students; therefore the selected universities were Ahlia University, Applied Science University and University of Bahrain. The sample was (150) students distributed equally among the three universities. The research questions will answer (1) what is the evolution of ICTs and the Internet in the World; (2) what is the impact caused by ICT in education; (3) what are the effects of social media on the academic performance of students at Bahrain Universities; (4) what are the social networking sites that are more popular among students at Bahrain Universities. The results show that the social media has a positive impact on academic performance and 57% of students prefer the mobile application WhatsApp as a social media for their academic purpose.