Investigation of social studies teachers ' intended uses of social networks in terms of various variables

The aim of this research is to determine Social Studies teacher candidates' intended uses of social networks in terms of various variables. The research was carried out by using screening model of quantitative research methods. In the study, "The Social Network Intended Use Scale" was used as a data collection tool. As a result of the research, it was observed that students used social networks mostly for research, maintaining communication and communicating and following these, they used social networks for collaboration, entertainment, content sharing and starting communication. In the sub-dimensions of cooperation, starting communication and content sharing of students' intended uses of the social network, a significant difference in favor of male students was observed. It was observed that there was a significant difference only in the dimensions of entertainment from students' intended uses of a social network according to grade level. When analyzing the sub-dimensions of cooperation, starting communication, communicating and entertainment in terms of frequency of students' internet use, it was observed that there was a significant difference between groups in favor of students who used the internet more often. In the sub-dimensions of cooperation, starting communication, content sharing, and entertainment in terms of the frequency of social network use of the students who participated in the research, a significant difference was observed in favor of the students who used social network more often. Also, it was observed that the students who connected to the internet via mobile connections used social networks more in the sub-dimensions of collaboration, maintaining communication and content sharing.


INTRODUCTION
Communication instruments changing in parallel with the development of science and technology are constantly being renewed; the social media which makes it easier to reach the masses comes into prominence in our age in which computer and internet technologies are rapidly spreading.Today, the social media that have become a meeting and organizing tool in preparing the ground for many social phenomena which has become the starting point for people who have gathered around the same thoughts.
Knowledge communities generated by information technologies can interact with each other independently from time and space.In this way, people live in a digital environment where remote places become closer, and where knowledge generation and sharing are redefined, the role of science and technology in the relevant experiences is changing at any moment.Consequently, it is observed that a speed revolution is being experienced at the level causing to forget its beginning (Odabaşı et al., 2012).Communication, technology and media have undergone quite a great change during the time elapsed since the Persian Empire had initiated the postal service in 550 BC.In the last 15 years, communication has completely changed its shape and taken a digital and massive form.In addition to being massive, the fact that communication brings internal interacting chains with it forms the basis of social networks (Büyükşener, 2009).
Today, one of the most common intended uses of the internet is to communicate via social networking sites and make sharing.Social networking sites are now wide communications networks used by millions of people.Social networking sites are member-based communities allowing their users to edit profile information such as username, password, and photos, to send public or private online messages and to communicate by sharing sound, photographs, video, etc. (Pempek et al., 2009;Barış and Tosun, 2013).Social networking sites are webbased systems allowing users to create fully or semiopen individual profile pages, to express themselves to those with links to social networks, and to have a talk with these people (Body and Ellison, 2007).Social networking services are online services that reflect the relationships of people with common interests and which allow them to communicate.Via these services, people can maintain their existing relationships in real life, and at the same time, they can make contact with people with common interests (İşman, 1998).
In this context, the aim of this study is to determine the purposes of using social networks that are used very widely for the last years by prospective teachers.And accordingly, the answer to the question, whether the purposes of prospective teachers to use social networks vary according to gender, the frequency of using the ınternet, the frequency of using social networks and the way to access social networks, has also been sought.

METHODOLOGY
The study was carried out by using screening model of quantitative research methods.Screening model is a research approach that aims to describe a situation that is in the past or is existing as it is.In the screening model, the event, person or object that is subject to research is tried to be described as it is in its conditions, and no effort is made to change or affect them in any way (Karasar, 2007)."The Social Network Intended Use Scale" developed by Usluel et al. (2014) was used as a data collection tool within the scope of the research.The reliability coefficient of 26 items used in the scale that was calculated with Cronbach's alpha was found to be 0.92.The scale was composed of a total of 7 sub-dimensions including research, collaboration, starting communication, communication, maintaining communication, content sharing and entertainment.
The population of the research was composed of social studies teacher candidates studying at the Faculty of Education in Adıyaman University.The sample of the research was composed of a total of 183 students consisting of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th grade students who study in social studies teacher department at the same faculty in the academic year 2014 to 2015.The demographic information of the students who participated in the research is given in Table 1.

Analysis of the data
Statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) 21 packaged software was used in the analysis of the data.In the analysis phase, frequency, average, t-test in independent groups, ANOVA test and Scheffe test to determine significantly different groups were used.

Findings related to the social studies teacher candidates' intended uses of social network
Findings related to the frequency and percentage calculations of intended uses of the social network of the students who participated in the research are given in Table 2.When looking at Table 2, it was observed that students who participated in the research used social networks "to search for information about an issue that they wonder or they care" at the most ( X =4.22) in the sub-dimension of "research" among the intended uses of social network, and they used it "to find solutions to any problem" ( X =3,77 ) at the least.
In the sub-dimension of cooperation, it was observed that they used it "to be informed about events" at the most ( X =4,19), and they used it "to organize sociocultural events" at the least ( X =3,18).In the subdimension of starting communication, it was observed that they used it "to make new friends" at the most ( X = 2,85), and they used it "to communicate with friends with whom they are not intimate" at the least ( X = 2.27).In the sub-dimension of communicating, it was observed that they used it "to exchange messages with their friends" at the most ( X =3,98), and they used it "to chat with friends (instant communication, voice and video communication)" at the least ( X = 3,38).In the subdimension of maintaining communication, it was observed that they used it "to continue the communication with the friends" at the most ( X =4.07), and they used it "reach my friends whose contact details are not known" at the least ( X =3,51).
In the sub-dimension of content sharing, it was observed that they used it "to share images (pictures and videos and so on.)created to support their views" at the most ( X = 3.77), and they used it "to create a personal activity log" at the least ( X = 2.49).In the sub-dimension of entertainment, it was observed that they used it "to look at funny sharings (word and cartoons, etc.)" at the most ( X =3.63), and they used it "to get rid of factors that make them unhappy when they feel unhappy" at the least ( X =3,19).When analyzing the students' intended uses of social networks in total, it was observed that they used it for research ( X =3.99), maintaining communication ( X =3.81) and communicating ( X =3.68) at the most.The other intended uses were cooperation ( X = 3.58), entertainment ( X = 3.35), content sharing ( X = 3.10) and starting communication ( X = 2.53) respectively.

Findings related to social studies teacher candidates' intended uses of social network according to the variable of gender
Findings related to the t-test results of intended uses of the social network of the students participated in the research according to the variable of gender are given in Table 3.When analyzing Table 3, it was observed that there was a significant difference in favor of male students in the sub-dimensions of cooperation (t=.811; p= .039<.05), starting communication (t= -3,512; p= .001<.05) and content sharing (t=-2.01,p= .046<.05) of the intended use of social networks of the students participated in the research.It was observed that there was no significant difference in the sub-dimensions of research, communicating, maintaining communication and entertainment between genders.

Findings related to social studies teacher candidates' intended uses of social network according to the variable of grade
Findings related to ANOVA test results of intended uses of the social network of the students participated in the research according to the variable of class-grade are given in Table 4.According to ANOVA test result when analyzing Table 4, a significant difference (F=3.47;p= .033)was observed only in the sub-dimension of entertainment according to the grade of the students' intended uses of the social network.Using the Dunnett-C test that was carried out to determine the difference between multiple comparisons, it was observed that there was a significant difference between the 2nd and 4th grades.

Findings related to social studies teacher candidates' intended uses of social network according to the frequency of the internet use
Findings related to ANOVA test results of intended uses of the social network of the students participated in the research according to the frequency of the internet use are given in Table 5.When analyzing Table 5, it was observed that there was a significant difference in favor of students who used the internet more often between groups in the sub-dimensions of cooperation (F=6.107,p= .001),starting communication (F=5.78,p= .001),communicating (F=4.78,p=.003) and entertainment

DISCUSSION
When analyzing the findings obtained as a result of the research, it was observed that the weekly average students' frequency of the internet use are: 29.5% of them used it for 0 to 3 h, 24.6% of them for 3 to 6 h, 12% of them for 6 to 9 h and 33.9% of them for 9+ h.In the research carried out by Vural and Bat (2010), it was observed that 67.4% of the students used the internet every day.(1: 1-3 hours, 2: 3-6 hours, 3: 6-9 hours, 4: 9+ hours).According to these results, the ratio of computer use is 53.5%, and the ratio of the internet use is 53.8% among individuals in the age group of 16 to 74 in Turkey.Similarly, males' ratio of computer use is 62.7%; the Internet use is 63.5%.Among females, the ratio of computer use is 44.3%, the internet use is 44.1%.When analyzing the frequency of the social network use of the students who participated in the research, it was observed that 33.9% of them used it for 0 to 3 h, 24% of them used it for 3 to 6 h, 15.8% of them used it for 6 to 9 h, 26.2% of them used it for 9+ h.It can be said according to these results that university students frequently use social networking sites.
This finding is supported by the findings of the researches carried out by various researchers in the literature.In the research carried out by Öztürk and Akgün (2012), it was observed that the vast majority of the students used social networking sites at least once a week.When analyzing the results of Household Information Technology Use Research carried out by TÜİK (2014), 78.8% of individuals using the internet in Turkey in the first three months of 2014 stated that they used the internet to join social networking sites.78.02% of the students who participated in the research connected to the internet via mobile connection and 21.97% of them connected to the internet via a wired connection.In the research carried out by Özbay (2015), it was observed that students connected to social networks via mobile devices at the ratio of 85%.
When analyzing the students' intended uses of the social network, research ( X =3.99), maintaining communication ( X =3.81) and communicating ( X =3.68) were at the most, and then cooperation ( X =3.58), entertainment ( X =3.35), content sharing ( X =3.10) and starting communication ( X =2.53) respectively.When analyzing the students' intended uses of the social network, it was observed that they used it for the purpose of communicating at the most.\However, they did not prefer to use it for the purpose of making new friends.When analyzing the literature, this result shows similarity with the studies carried out.In the research carried out by Erdem (2013), it was observed that social networks were used to maintain existing relationships rather than establishing new relations.In the research carried out by Karakoç and Avcı (2015), it was observed that the level of the use of social media for the purpose of establishing new friendships was low.Likewise, in the research carried out by Özbay (2015), it was observed that students used social networks to find their old friends and communicate with them rather than to make new friends.In the research carried out by Karakuş and Varol (2012), it could be seen that students used social networks to find their old friends ( X =4.0400) and to get in touch with them again.It was seen that the ratio of using social networks to find new friends (x=2.2533) was low.
In one of the results of the research, it was observed that students highly used social networks for the purpose of obtaining information, researching, entertainment and content sharing.When analyzing the literature, the findings obtained from the research show parallelism with the studies carried out.In the research carried out by Özbay (2015), it was observed that students preferred to use social networks to make entertainment content sharings.It could be said that the vast majority of them used the social networks to follow the developments in school and to be informed about social activities via these networks.
In the research carried out by Şener (2009), users stated that they used it, as the most important purpose of using Facebook in the first place, to communicate with their friends (66.2%), to find friends/acquaintances with whom they lost communication (37.7%) and to share videos/ photos they liked (20.6%).Again, 84.4% of users thought that "they made a group of friends different from the real life via Facebook."Facebook stands out as a site where acquaintances come together in daily life, rather than a dating site.In the research carried out by Vural and Bat (2010), among students who used social networks; 6.9% of them used them to find new friends, 2.8% of them used them to play interactive games, 0.3% of them used them to play non-interactive games, 18.5% of them used them to chat online, 9.7% of them used them to follow what their friends do, 13.2% of them used them to update the profile, 31.0% of them used them to spend time and 3.1% of them used them for other purposes.In the research carried out by Öztürk and Akgün (2012), it was observed that university students used social networking sites mostly to find their old friends (55.3%), join groups related to their universities(42.7%),communicate (81.6%), make sharing of a variety of information and resources (61.8%), be informed about the developments related to everyday life (58.9%)and follow the latest developments on the agenda (59.2%).
In one of the results of the research, it was observed that there was a significant difference in favor of male students in the sub-dimensions of cooperation, starting communication and content sharing in the students' intended uses of social networks, and there was not a significant difference between genders in the subdimensions of research, communicating, maintaining the communication and entertainment.In the research carried out by Ada et al. (2013), factors such as meeting the needs of information and reaching the detailed and Akgün 75 comprehensive information mostly affected the female students' use of online social networking sites compared to male students.Moreover, female students were more motivated in the use of online social networking site by the factors such as communicating with other people, sharing information and maintaining social relationships.
In the analysis of the intended use of social network according to gender in the research carried out by Akyazı and Ünal (2013), males used social networking sites for further recognition and for being recognized compared to females.
In the research carried out by Karakoç and Avcı (2015), it was observed that males used social media for content sharing (images, video, etc.) more than females, and there was a significant difference between them.In the research carried out by Filiz et al. (2014), while a significant difference in favor of males was observed in the sub-dimensions of "recognition and being recognized" of the students' intended use of social networks, no significant difference was observed between genders in the sub-dimensions of social interaction and communication and educational use.
In the one of the results of the research, it was observed that there was a significant difference (F=3.47;p= .033)only in the sub-dimension of entertainment of the students' intended uses of the social network according to their grade.Using the Dunnett-C test that was carried out to determine the difference between multiple comparisons, it was observed that there was a significant difference between the 2nd and 4th grades.In the research carried out by Filiz et al. (2014), significant differences were observed between the 4th grades and 1st grades and between the 3rd grades and 1st grades in the sub-dimension of "using for social interaction and communication" of the students' intended uses of social networks.According to the results of the research carried out by Sezgin et al. (2011), students' opinions about the educational use of Facebook varied statistically to a significant extent according to the grade levels in the dimension of "communication" and "cooperation".
In the one of the findings obtained from the result of the research, it was observed that there was a significant difference in favor of students who used the internet more often between the groups in the sub-dimensions of cooperation (F=6.107,p= .001),starting communication (F=5.78,p= .001),communicating (F=4.78,p=.003) and entertainment (F= 3.33, p= .021) in terms of frequency of the internet use.In terms of the frequency of social networking use of the students who participated in the research, a significant difference was observed in favor of the students who used social networks more often in the sub-dimensions of cooperation (F=6.90, t=.000), starting communication (F=4.74,t=.003), content sharing (F= 4.06, t=.008) and entertainment (F= 4.99, t= .002).Likewise, in the research carried out by Filiz et al. (2014), a significant difference was observed in favor of those who used the internet more often in the dimensions of using for the purpose of social interaction and communication, recognition and being recognized and educational use.In the research carried out by Vural and Bat (2010), there was a strong relationship between the frequency of the internet use and social networking use.
In the one of the research findings, a significant difference was observed in favor of the students who connected to social networks through mobile devices in the sub-dimensions of cooperation (t= -4.679, p=.000), maintaining communication (t= -2.505, p= .013)and content sharing (-2.250, p= .026), in terms of students' ways of accessing the social network.In the research carried out by Akyazı and Ünal (2013), the use of social networks for social interaction and communication purposes varied in favor of those who connected via mobile devices, and this difference was high (t=4,60; p<0,001).Likewise, it was observed that those who connected to social networking sites via mobile devices used social networking sites mostly for the purposes of recognition and being recognized.In line with the widespread use of mobile devices with each passing day and the fact that these devices can constantly be connected to the Internet, it is predictable that the intended uses of social networks will vary with each passing day (Filiz et al., 2014).

CONCLUSION
As a result of the research, it was observed that students used social networks mostly for research, maintaining communication and communicating and following these, they used social networks for collaboration, entertainment, content sharing and starting communication.In the subdimensions of cooperation, starting communication and content sharing of students' intended uses of the social network, a significant difference in favor of male students was observed.It was observed that there was a significant difference only in the dimensions of entertainment from students' intended uses of a social network according to the grade level.When analyzing the sub-dimensions of cooperation, starting communication, communicating and entertainment in terms of the frequency of the students' Internet use, it was observed that there was a significant difference between groups in favor of the students who used the Internet more often.In the sub-dimensions of cooperation, starting communication, content sharing, and entertainment in terms of the frequency of social network use of the students who participated in the research, a significant difference was observed in favor of the students who used social network more often.Also, it was observed that the students who connected to the Internet via mobile connections used social networks more in the subdimensions of collaboration, maintaining communication and content sharing.

SUGGESTIONS
The following suggestions are offered as a result of the research.
1. Considering the high use ratio of social networks for communicating, social networks can be benefited on issues of exchange of information for the courses, interaction of student-student and student-teacher, exchange of homework, portfolio, etc. 2. It is seen that mobile devices are used more often in accessing social networks.In this regard, training materials supported by mobile devices can be used during courses.3.By ensuring teacher candidates to use technologyassisted learning, e-learning, and social networks during their university education, they should be ensured to give an education that is more integrated with technology to their students when they become teachers.

Table 1 .
Demographic information of the students.

Table 2 .
Distribution of the intended uses of social network of the students who participated in the research.

Table 2 .
Cont'd ss: standard deviation; x: average.(F=3.33,p= .021) in terms of the frequency of the Internet use.

Table 3 .
T-test results of intended uses of social network of the students according to the variable of gender.

Table 4 .
ANOVA test results of intended uses of social network of the students according to the variable of grade.

Table 5 .
ANOVA test results of intended uses of social network of the students according to the frequency of the internet use.

Table 6 .
ANOVA test results of intended uses of social network of the students according to the frequency of social network use.

Table 7 .
T-test results of intended uses of the social network of the students according to the ways of accessing social network.