Relationship Between Social Media Use and Professional Identity Development Among Undergraduate Nursing Students

Abstract

Objective: To assess the relationship between social media usage by undergraduate nursing students and the development of their professional identity.

Methodology: Cross-sectional study was conducted at people’s Nursing School, LUMHS, Jamshoro during the period of May 15,2023 to June 10,2023. A questionnaire was adopted form Muna Alharbi et.al, study conducted at Saudi Arabia, was distributed to 162 students to collect data. Descriptive analysis, including frequencies, percentages, and medians, was performed, along with non-parametric tests to examine relationships in the questions.

Results: Out of 162 participants, the majority had high or very high professional identity levels (48.8% and 37.0% respectively). Those who used social media for education had higher professional identity scores (p = 0.001), and participants with more years of study also had higher scores (p = 0.028). Hours of social media use (3 to 5.5 hours) were significantly related to professional identity scores (p=0.029).

Conclusions: Social media has a positive impact on the development of professional identity among undergraduate nursing students. However, nursing education has been slow to integrate social media into curricula. Students need guidance on using social media for professional growth.