Positive and negative factors of the influence of new media and the digital environment on ideal and belief education among university students in China

• Published in: The Journal of general psychology 2024-08, p.1-24
• Main Authors: Xu, Dandan, Feng, Shiqi, Huang, Zijin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0022-1309; 1940-0888; 1940-0888
• DOI: 10.1080/00221309.2024.2385105

The authors identity the relationship between the positive and negative aspects of social media and the ideal belief learning and behavior of university students. The cluster sampling method was adopted in the paper, including Guangdong, Shandong, Henan, Sichuan, and Jiangsu provinces. A total of 1014 questionnaires were distributed to a purposive sample of university students between the ages of 16 and 35. The authors applied the uses and gratifications theory to study students' social media behavior. This study identified 18 positive and negative effects of social media. Noteworthy positive outcomes attributed to social media in fostering ideals and beliefs encompass heightened awareness, enhanced communication facilitation, convenient connectivity, reduced expenses on educational materials, improved social and communication proficiencies, as well as diminished stress levels. The negative effects of new media and the Internet include a lack of critical thinking, a waste of time, dysgraphia, disrupted connection to learning, students' laziness, and health risks.