| Background: Nowadays, virtual social networks are among the most essential communication
tools in the exchange of science, knowledge, and technology and are very popular among different
peoples of the society, especially nursing students. They can also influence academic success.
The present study was aimed to investigate the use of social networks among nursing students of
Tabriz University of Medical Sciences. Materials and Methods: This study adopts a descriptive
cross‑sectional design and employed 406 nursing students in 2018 by means of the convenience
sampling method. For data collection, a researcher‑made questionnaire consisting of demographic
characteristics and social network usage was used. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to
analyze the data. Results: The mean (SD) of social networking usage was 116.81 (17.20) out of the
achievable score range of 38 to 190, where the highest and lowest scores were related to dimensions
of content sharing (73.56%) and unconventional issues (51.00%), respectively. There was a significant
statistical relationship between total score of social networking usage which included the variables of
grade point average (r = ‑0.17, p = 0.000), average daily study hours in non‑exam periods (r = ‑0.10
and p < 0.04), family income (F2,375 = 6.28, p < 0.001), number of siblings (F4,350 = 4.98, p < 0.001),
and academic semester (F6,376 = 2.12, p < 0.05). Conclusions: Given the high percentage of students
enrolled and the aim of using these networks, proper planning for the management of cyberspace is
necessary to take advantage of the benefits of social networks and reduce their disadvantages |