Evaluating the Social Media Usage Pattern Among the Hearing Impaired and Visually Impaired Students at University of Tabuk.

Social Media Usage Pattern among the Hearing Impaired and Visually Impaired Students

Abstract

Social media is a modern innovation for effective communication. Researchers are investigating a useful framework to integrate social media in an educational setting of deaf and blind students. Deaf or hearing impaired and visually impaired people have poor communication skills that cause lowered social interactions and make them feel isolated. The current study aimed at evaluating the social media usage pattern among the deaf or hard of hearing and visually impaired students. The findings revealed that the majority of the students used Whatsapp for communication purposes.

Furthermore, the use of social media bolstered communication among the deaf or hearing impaired and visually impaired students with ordinary people. The study revealed that the primary motivation behind social media usage was social interaction. The social media usage pattern was found to be statistically significant with the motivation behind usage. The social media usage pattern was also statistically significant with the experienced benefits of increased communication. Moreover, the study also revealed that students had learned something from social media usage. These associations were found to be statistically significant at P≤0.05.