Uses and Gratifications of Social Media Platforms during COVID-19 Pandemic among Bahraini University Students

Khalifa, Hussein Khalifa Hassan; Al-Subaie, Issa Rashid

doi:10.21608/ejsc.2022.229366

Uses and Gratifications of Social Media Platforms during COVID-19 Pandemic among Bahraini University Students

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ * Instructor, Radio and Television Department, Faculty of Mass Communication, Cairo University, Egypt.

² Researcher, Department of Media and Public Relations - College of Financial and Administrative Sciences - Gulf University - Kingdom of Bahrain

10.21608/ejsc.2022.229366

Abstract

Grounded in the uses and gratifications theory, this study investigates the motives of Bahraini university students to use social networks during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to examine the gratifications achieved from this use. To achieve this, the questionnaire as a tool of data collection was applied electronically by using google forms application. A total sample of 300 Bahraini university students was selected using non-probability sampling method. The results indicated that during the Corona pandemic, social media sites witnessed heavy usage by Bahraini university students. The results revealed that social media usage rates are as follows: WhatsApp (100%), Facebook (96%), Instagram (90%), Twitter (88%), then YouTube (78%). The results also showed that the most important motives for university students to use social networks during the pandemic were as follows: communicating with colleagues and friends at home and abroad to check on them (77%), following up on what celebrities say about the pandemic through their pages (71%), identifying the most important political, artistic, sports and social news related to the pandemic (70%), entertainment and leisure time (69%), acquiring new experiences and information about the pandemic and its causes from various sources (62%). With regard to the gratifications achieved from students’ usage of social media sites, they came as follows: the desire to satisfy curiosity (76%), granting a sense of security through diverse knowledge obtained by the respondent (74%), acquiring friends in the virtual world who are not in the real world (73%), the satisfaction of the cognitive needs of the respondents in the various areas related to the pandemic away from the academic specialization (72%), as well as the feeling of self-confidence (70%).

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