Communication tools and social media usage: Assessing self-perceived communication competence

Abstract

Communication skills, such as listening, open-mindedness, empathy, and confidence, are essential for personal and professional development and play a significant role in many disciplines, including education, health, and business. Social media, a widely used communication channel, has revolutionized how people interact, and its effects on education and overall social development are significant. The purpose of this study was to determine the level of communication skills possessed by university students and to determine whether these levels are affected by the social media applications that the students use. In this study, there were 407 participants in the sample, with 55.8% (227) female and 44.2% (180) male. Communication skills scale was used to assess the students’ communication skills. Exploratory statistics (mean and standard deviation) were used to determine the participants’ communication skill levels. Bayesian statistics were used to determine how well the data supported the differentiation of communication skill levels based on independent variables. The study revealed that most college students possessed moderate communication skills and disclosed disparities between academic departments, underscoring the need to assess curricula and teaching methods. It also suggested that most social media platforms have little effect on communication skills, with some gender differences observed, emphasizing the significance of addressing these differences to enhance the development of communication skills.