The Impact of YouTube on the Choice of Academic Majors for First-Year Students at the College of Sociology Sciences and Media at the University of Jeddah

Abstract

The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the impact of YouTube on first-year students’ choice of academic majors at the College of Media and Communication of the University of Jeddah. The study used the quantitative research design and stratified random sampling to analyze and interpret the data gathered with the help of a questionnaire. The responses to the questions were studied with descriptive and inferential tools of the statistics. The results indicated that the attitude toward YouTube was significant, as most students agreed that this social network had influenced their academic and career choices. The current research also discusses the role of media literacy and social networks in students’ behaviors and the perspectives and implications for the perception of YouTube as one of the tools to improve educational accessibility. Thus, the results indicate to the necessity to include media literacy into the curricula to develop students’ abilities to analyze the information and make better choices regarding their majors. The use of YouTube is also analyzed in the context of the development and implementation of policies and strategies aimed at increasing student enrollment. Overall, the research indicates the role YouTube plays in the education field and the changes that can be related to the peculiarities of the further development of this social network and the availability of alternative educational resources.