Medical Students’ Perceptions of Social Media (Sample of Hacettepe University)

Abstract

The main purpose of this research is to analyze systematically the metaphors related to the social media concept, used by 1st term students of Hacettepe University, Faculty of Medicine. Study group includes the students (N = 336) of the Faculty of Medicine of Hacettepe University in the 2013-2014 academic year. Research data was collected both via questionnaire. All data gathered during the research process were analyzed with frequency (f) and percentage (%) values related to metaphors and acquired conceptual categories. According to the findings gathered in the research, 202 metaphors related to “social media” were read and analyzed using the content analysis technique. In the process of creating conceptual categories, related literature was examined by three researchers; and taking into consideration the studies containing social media descriptions, the metaphors created by first term medical students were separated into four categories. Of these categories (i) communication tool; the use of social media by individuals as a tool to interact with people they want, (ii) source of information; the use of social media by individuals as a tool to get information about any people or event, (iii) a threat; misuse of the social media and its possible harms and (iv) stirrer; the fact that social media has both beneficial and harmful features.