Facebook's potential for personal, social, academic and career development for higher education students

Abstract

Nowadays, Facebook is not only an ideal platform for social networking, but also has great potential in supporting student guidance and counselling work. In this paper, we present findings from a small scale study exploring the potential benefits of Facebook on learning and teaching. Data were collected from surveys, interviews and the messages written by the students on the Facebook. The results indicated that both students and teachers would benefit from this new approach. The potential benefits of social networking for students are not only limited to academic development but also extended to personal/social development and career development.