Organised by Mersin District National Education Directorate and Eastern Mediterranean University, a workshop on social media took place at Mersin Yenişehir Culture Center between 13 and 14 April 2015.
Mersin District National Education Director Adem Koca, EMU Vice Rector for Promotion Prof. Dr. Hasan Amca and a crowded group of educators attended the event which commenced with a panel entitled “Social Media’. EMU was represented in the event by EMU Social Media Coordinator Sen. Inst. Raziye Nevzat, Communication and Media Studies Faculty members Assist. Prof. Dr. Metin Ersoy, Assist. Prof. Dr. Aysu Arsoy, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bahire Özad and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Agah Gümüş, Psychology Department academic staff member Assist. Prof. Dr. Fatih Bayraktar and EMU graduate Fatih Tüylüoğlu. Prior to the panel in his opening address, Vice Rector Hasan Amca stated that the event aims to create a platform for highlighting and, at the same time, discussing the effect of the social media on the society. Prof. Dr. Amca added that majority of the society has some idea about social media’s possible effects but it is also essential to listen to the specialists’ views regarding the social media.
Providing information about EMU during the workshop, Prof. Dr. Amca stated that having been established in 1979, EMU has taken its well-deserved place among prominent institutions of higher education. Prof. Dr. Amca put forth that “EMU is the first state university of the TRNC and boasts around 19,000 students from 98 different countries. The university’s biggest mission is to offer study opportunities to students from all countries registered under the United Nations.” In this respect, 220 countries are still within our targets. Our diploma is recognised in every country. The student flow to our university increases year by year, thanks to the high employment possibilities offered to our graduates. All of the programs offered by EMU have been accredited by prominent international accrediting bodies. We rank 1276th among 30,000 universities worldwide but this is not enough for us. Our aim is to rank within the first 1000 institutions of higher education worldwide.” Prof. Dr. Amca thanked Mersin District National Education Directorate for providing the opportunity for the workshop.
One of the panel speakers, Raziye Nevzat talked about the role of the social networks in enriching the learning and teaching experience of the students, academics and institutions in the higher education sector. Nevzat said that “70% of the total social media users and 75% of the employees actively use the social media in their careers. 79% of the employment related contacts are established through social media. 50% of the companies allow the employees to use the social media without any type of moderation. According to the findings of a research conducted by Microsoft, 70% of the employers in the USA analyse the social media use of the applicants. 95% of the recruitment takes place over LinkedIN in the USA. Social network sites are extensively integrated to educational processes for students. In this way, when students graduate from universities, they have the opportunity to re-access or re-analyse the information.”
EMU Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Psychology Department academic staff member Assist. Prof. Dr. Fatih Bayraktar talked about “The Use of Social Media in Adolescents”. Assist. Prof. Dr. Bayraktar put forth that while communicating with real friends through social media may increase self-esteem, communicating with strangers may create a reverse effect.” However, this may not be the issue for adolescents who have social anxiety. Sharings in social media may usually increase self-esteem due to positive feedback. According to Assist. Prof. Dr. Bayraktar, as an “Identity Experience Laboratory”, social media has been constructed upon identity as well as acquired or played social roles. Assist. Prof. Dr. Bayraktar also put forth that social media gives the adolescents the opportunity to experience on different identitities over the internet. Bayraktar also talked about the opportunities and risks provided by the social media.
Assist. Prof. Dr. Metin Ersoy’s presentation entitled ‘Social Media Literacy’ focused on the the role of the social media on establishing communication, socialising, sharing and establishing one’s own media content. Assist. Prof. Dr. Metin Ersoy said that “Unlike the past, individuals have transformed to active producers of social media content. Along with these positive issues, we also observe that individuals encounter inaccurate information and manipulated messages more frequently. In this respect, social media literate individuals will protect themselves from these negative effects.”
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bahire Özad talked about ‘Social Media Use of the University Students’. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bahire Özad stated that the percentage of internet use in Turkey is 45 and there are over 35 million internet users throughout the country. Talking about the existence of 36 million active Facebook accounts (including fake ones), Özad put forth that we spend an average of 5 hours on the internet through personal computers and 2 hours through mobile devices. Finally, Özad stated that “In Turkey, people spend an average of 2 hours 32 minutes on social media in Turkey.”
During the panel, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Agah Gümüş talked about “Domestic Communication”and successful EMU graduate Tüylüoğlu provided information on “Career Opportunities in the World of Internet, Advertising and Social Media”. On 14 April 2015, academics from EMU and EMU graduate Tüylüoğlu organised small group workshops on social media, addiction and internet use.
