Using social media and its relationship to mindfulness among new students at Shaqra University. In light of the Corona pandemic

Abstract

The study aimed to identify the relationship between using social media and mindfulness among new students at Shaqra University in light of the Corona pandemic. The study sample consisted of (180) male and female students from Shaqra University. They were chosen randomly, and the descriptive analytical Design was used in its correlative and comparative approaches. The researcher used a questionnaire Using social media prepared by the researcher and a measure of mindfulness (Abdullah,  &Al Shamsi, 2013), and the results of the study indicated a high level of mindfulness and using social media among new students at Shaqra University in light of the Corona pandemic. It also found a positive and statistically significant correlation of mindfulness with Using social media and its dimensions (acquisition of knowledge, entertainment and self-entertainment) and there were differences between the genders  (females - males) in using social media as a whole and the use of sites to form social relations, and differences in the mindfulness dimensions (attentive excellence, openness to new information ) in favor of males, and in the mindfulness dimension (attitude Towards the present) in favor of females, while there were no differences attributed to specialization (scientific - literary) in using social media as a whole and the dimensions (formation of social relationships, entertainment and self-entertainment). However, there were differences in the dimension (acquisition of knowledge) in favor of scientific specialization, and there were no differences attributed to specialization in mindfulness and its various dimensions. Also, no differences were noted in mindfulness among the research sample according to the variable number of hours of daily using social media. Using social media to acquire knowledge contributed to (29.7%) of the variance in mindfulness.  The researcher recommended the necessity of paying attention and positive guidance using social media and stimulating mindfulness among university students