Social Networks And Social Media: A Survey On University Students

Nowdays, Social media has almost become part of our daily lives. This study consists of two main parts: In the first part, in the light of literature, the concept, properties, usage areas and growth of social media are examined. In the second part of the study, a survey is realised among the students of Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University, and it is tried to determine their usage habits, usage purposes of social media and perceptions about social media. A face to face interview method was used in this study. In general, the reliability of the questionnaire was analyzed. In the statistical evaluation of the results of the survey, frequency distribution was utilized, in the Likert-scale questions, factor analyzes were conducted, and significant differences between means were analyzed by independent-samples t-tests, One- way ANOVA tests. Primary findings can be summarized: Almost, all students use internet and visit social media sites. Two-thirds of them use internet every day. Facebook is the most visited social media site. Previous reasons of the students to use social media are music, video, and photography share and instant case transmission. Students search carefully commends and recommendations written in social media sites before deciding to buy a product and brand. As a result, it can be stated that today, social media is not means used only by individuals or groups. At the same time, it has become the most important marketing tool of companies and institutions.