Understanding Undergraduates´ Information Literacy from their Facebook Usage

The rapid growth in the popularity of online social networking services has been accompanied by some problems and negative effects. Institutes of higher education have designed their curricula to enhance students´ information literacy. However, it is questionable whether students have enough information literacy to counteract the potential problems. This study adopts a negative perspective in order to propose a model that assesses the information literacy of undergraduates and explores the determinants of usage behavior. The developed research model has been empirically validated using the responses from a field survey of undergraduates. The results show that perceived behavior control, perceived risk, perceived privacy self-protection, and perceived ease of use are the determinants of usage behavior. Most students are aware that the risks tend to be serious, but are willing to take them nonetheless. This study shows that undergraduates misunderstand the law and need to refresh their understanding of information literacy. The study also proposes some suggestions for future research and instruction.