Social Media Use among University Students in Malaysia during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Social media tools for communication, such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube, have become important with the development of information and communication technology. In the field of higher education, university students are increasingly using social media to study and live. Consequently, university students and social media use have become a research topic of practical significance. Scholars in Malaysia have investigated this issue, and the results abound. However, few scholars have reviewed the research results of social media use among university students in Malaysia. By using the literature research method, this study reviews the latest research findings on social media use among students, especially during the COVID-19 outbreak. This study summarizes the collected literature into three themes: first, the relationship between social media use and academic performance of university students; second, the social media addiction of university students; and third, the relationship between social media use and mental health of university students. Simultaneously, this study presents the ways of thinking and contributions of scholars to address the aforementioned issues. Finally, this study critically examines the research limitations and blind spots, as they need further exploration by scholars and can serve as innovative points of this topic.