Horizon of Medical Education Development

Horizon of Medical Education Development

Virtual Social Networks: The Opportunity for Academic Progress or the Threat of Procrastination of Medical Students

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Leila Safabakhsh 1
Javid Dehghan Haghighi 2
Amin Shariati 3
Afsaneh Karimi 4
1 Education Studies and Development Center, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Zahedan, Iran.
2 Department of Community Medicine, School of Medicine, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Zahedan, Iran.
3 Student Research Committee, School of Medicine, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Zahedan, Iran.
4 Pregnancy Health Research Center, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Zahedan, Iran.
10.22038/hmed.2024.80807.1387
Abstract
Introduction: Procrastination is a widespread global phenomenon among university students that interferes with academic performance and daily activities. Procrastination may be exacerbated by technologies such as social networks. This study aimed to determine the relationship between the use of virtual social networks and the academic procrastination of medical students.
Materials & Methods:  In this descriptive-analytical study, 220 medical students were studied with a convenient sampling method. Data was collected using a 3-part online questionnaire. The first part of the questionnaire was related to demographic characteristics, the second part was the academic procrastination questionnaire and the third part was the questionnaire about the use of virtual networks whose validity and reliability were confirmed in previous studies. Descriptive and analytical statistics and SPSS software were used to analyze the collected data.
Results: All students used social networks. Among social networks, all students used Telegram, while only 3.2% used Facebook. The highest and lowest average duration of using social networks were Instagram (58.31 ± 42.19 minutes per day) and Twitter (7.59 ± 9.73 minutes per day), respectively. Basic science students used WhatsApp and Instagram social networks significantly less than students of other courses (P=0.004 and P<0.001). The average score of the research community from the academic procrastination questionnaire was 69.65 ± 22.41. The average score obtained from the virtual networks usage questionnaire was 56.30 ± 21.48. There was a significant moderate positive correlation between academic procrastination and virtual networks (P<0.001, r=0.228).
Conclusion: Virtual social networks were related to students' academic procrastination, and procrastinating students spent more time using mobile phones, especially Instagram, WhatsApp, and Telegram social networks.
Keywords
Academic procrastination
Social Networks
Medical Students
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Horizon of Medical Education Development
Volume 16, Issue 3
Summer 2025
Pages 79-86