Incorporating social media into self-directed learning to enhance student resilience, well-being, and peer collaboration in the rural context

Globally, social media has become an indispensable communication platform that not only reshapes personal interactions and organisational practices but also enables Open Distance eLearning (ODeL) students to navigate limited connectivity and resource constraints by providing accessible network spaces for teaching and learning. Thus, this study explores how rural ODeL students use social media to maintain Self-directed learning (SDL) and foster collaboration, thereby influencing their resilience and well-being. Drawing on the diffusion of Innovations theory and connectivism theory, the study employs a qualitative content analysis of publicly available posts and interactions from social media platforms such as Facebook and TikTok to investigate the lived experience of rural ODeL students who use social media for SDL and moral support. Moreover, a reflexive thematic analysis was used to develop themes and analyse the selected social media data. Findings reveal that despite technostress and information overload, there are relative advantages and compatibility in using social media to supplement learning management systems, while enhancing student networking, collaborative troubleshooting, empowerment, a sense of belonging, and fostering student resilience.