Gender-based learning and behavioural differences in an educational social media platform

Abstract

Background:Gender differences in the use of educational environments and socialmedia platforms have been a topic of interest in research. Several studies have exam-ined the disparities between female and male participants in terms of participation,engagement, and motivations in either educational or social media platforms. On thisend, this study proceeds to explore gender disparities in an innovative educationalenvironment that sees the incorporation of an educational component within a simu-lated social media environment.Objectives:Driven by a dual objective, this study aims to first investigate the impactof gender on skills development in an educational social media platform, and second,to explore the behavioural differences between female and male adolescents socialinteractions within the platform.Methods:The study involved 142 high school students in Barcelona and utilised anad-hoc questionnaire to assess students' skills. To explore students' behaviour withinthe platform, actions such as likes, comments, publishing, visiting profiles, and view-ing images, were recorded using the Experience API.Results and Conclusions:Our study's findings indicate that both female and male stu-dents benefited from the intervention implemented within the educational social mediaplatform. Moreover, the results revealed distinct interaction patterns between femaleand male participants. These findings provide valuable insights into how adolescents ofdifferent genders interact within an educational social media platform. Additionally, thedesign principles outlined in this study can inform the development of future educationalsocial media interventions that effectively engage the preferences of both genders.