| This study sought to understand how student veteran's experienced using social media in the context of higher education. It also explored how they used it for peer bonding and how student veterans perceived the benefits of using social media. This was a qualitative research study that used a phenomenological approach to data collection and analysis. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect the shared experiences of 10 student veterans on their social media usage. The common themes that emerged related to student veterans' experiences using social media for communicating, research, peer bonding, collaboration, and recreation. These experiences were helpful, peer related, relaxing, and informational. They perceived that they benefitted from the ability to better communicate and build relationships from these helpful experiences with social media. The research made it clear that student veterans do use social media and feel they can benefit from it. |
