Understanding the use of social networking sites for academic learning in Bangladesh: Teachers’ and students’ perspectives

The growing use of Social Networking Sites (SNSs) has transformed communication practices and created new opportunities for academic learning in higher education. This study explores teachers’ and students’ awareness, perceptions, and challenges regarding the use of SNSs as academic learning tools in an undergraduate college in Bangladesh. Adopting a qualitative research design, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 25 teachers and five focus group discussions with 40 students across multiple subjects. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings show that, SNSs are widely used for communication, resource sharing, and collaborative learning, contributing to increased flexibility, engagement, and self-directed learning. However, their effective integration into academic practice remains limited due to challenges like distraction, privacy concerns, infrastructural constraints, and lack of institutional support. A significant gap was observed between students’ readiness to adopt SNS-based learning and teachers’ pedagogical preparedness. The study contributes to the literature by providing the understanding of SNS use in a developing country and highlighting the transitional nature of its academic adoption. The findings give practical implications for educators and policymakers, emphasizing the need for structured integration, teacher training, and improved digital infrastructure to enhance the effectiveness of SNS-based learning.