Engaging Men aged 18-24 in Learning Development through Social Media

Description

Our usage data demonstrates that men aged 18-24 have lower rates of engagement with Learning Development. Furthermore, statistics show that men are more likely to drop out of university than their female counterparts (Hillman and Robinson, 2016). A possible reason for this could be social stigma around seeking help that generally effects men. In contrast, evidence suggests men aged 18-24 engage with Social media readily; the most popular being Instagram with around 14 million users in 2023 and TikTok which has around 9.1 million users. Data from January 2023 suggests the numbers of men engaging with social media are significantly increasing (Kemp, 2023). Learning Development Student Mentors at the University of Northampton have been exploring how social media use can be harnessed to increase male inclusion and to support the development of a sense of belonging. Learning Development mentors hold a unique position to be change agents as they are active both as students and staff members. Their position enables the university to create links with ‘hard to reach’ students such as men aged 18-24. This talk will discuss the findings of interviews in relation to men’s use and engagement with social media; what types of content men engage with the most and how Learning Development might use these insights to improve inclusion and belonging within our services. This session would be of interest for anyone who wishes to engage and to include men aged 18-24 using social media.

Hillman, N. and Robinson, N. (May 2016) Boys to Men: The underachievement of young men in higher education – and how to start tackling it. Higher Education Policy Institute [online]. Available from:
https://www.hepi.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Boys-to-Men.pdf [Accessed 29/11/2023].

Kemp, S. (February 2023) Digital 2023: The United Kingdom. Data reportal [online]. Available from: https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2023-united-kingdom#:~:text=More%20broadly%2C%2086.4%20percent%20of,while%2048.4%20percent%20were%20male [Accessed 29/11/2023].

Period	19 Jun 2024
Event title	Learning and Teaching Engagement Conference 2024
Event type	Conference
Location	NorthamptonShow on map