Students’ perspectives of social media use in economics courses

The authors survey nearly 600 economics students across four universities on social media preferences and habits. Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube are the most popular platforms. Importantly, data on the extent to which students would consider adding professors to their social media network are collected, including the type of content students would most like from professors and the kind of social media assignments they would most/least enjoy. The authors find that female and non-White students have significantly more privacy concerns about social media connections with professors. Novel data on where students turn with questions about something they are learning are also provided. The authors contextualize the survey results and offer advice to instructors looking to improve the relevance of content and inclusivity within their classroom.