The number of individuals considering studying abroad has grown as a result of globalisation, internationalisation, and societal mobility. According to studies, there were 800,000 foreign students studying and living abroad in 1975. By 2015, that number had increased to 4.6 million, and by 2025, it is expected to reach 7.2 million. It is hardly surprising that India, the most populous developing nation, exports so many students to study abroad. India sends more students abroad than the combined total from the United States and Europe. In fact, when it comes to sending students overseas for academic study, India has already surpassed China. As a result of the steady rise in demand for higher education abroad and the country’s expanding middle class, for whom education has become a top priority, India has become a key market for higher education for leading countries.
It goes without saying that the invention of the internet and subsequently smartphones irrevocably altered the dynamics of marketing. The majority of marketing has moved to digital media. Today, social media plays a significant role in digital marketing. As more Indians get online, the market for social media networks in India has been expanding for a while. According to a Deloitte report, India will have 1 billion smartphone users by 2026, with rural regions driving the market for internet-enabled mobile devices. Due to these reasons, students from India who are now enrolled in colleges and universities are frequently referred to as “digital natives,” meaning they have lived a significant portion of their lives in an online setting. Extensive participation in interactive Social media communities is making Indian students, living in even tier-2 and tier-3 cities, dream of a new possibility- pursuing a degree abroad.
With the assumption that social media technologies will and should be utilised to involve them in their educational experiences, Indian students are enrolling in universities in greater numbers. 72% of prospective university students said they would be interested in participating in instant messaging with an admissions counsellor, 64% said they would be seeking blogs written by faculty members, and 63% said they would like to read online profiles or blogs written by current students at the institution when asked about specific social media technologies. Numerous empirical studies in the field of acculturation have repeatedly discovered that using social media has an impact on international student’s ability to grow their social networks, learn about the culture of their host country, make friends, and realise a variety of needs in an overseas setting while quickly acclimating to their new surroundings.
Prospective overseas students frequently use social media to get online material that will assist them in selecting the college or university that is best for them or to confirm the authenticity of their decision if they have already been admitted by an academic institution. Students who want to study abroad are more concerned with the fundamentals, such as how to apply, how much the tuition will cost, how well-regarded the university is, and how to apply for scholarships. More than 7,000 students, polled for the 2016 Social Admissions Report, reported that 90% of them used social media to find their prospective universities and enrolment. The report also showed that 71% of potential college students used their internet-enabled mobile devices to do their research while 72% obtained their information from social media websites.
Today, Social Media is full of education influencers who have been empowered with social media’s powerful AI-driven algorithms and massive reach. However, although Social Media empowers influencers and universities to reach deeper in pursuit of untapped talents and provide assistance, the activities are largely unchecked or unregulated leaving the scope for fraudulence at an unprecedented level. As India’s tier 2 and tier 3 cities witness a rise in study abroad demand, neither social media’s powerful influence nor its dark side can be undermined. The picture of Social Media’s influence on students’ decisions is not entirely rosy and would require checks and balances in terms of educating students about the possibility of misinformation and unrealistic views of other people’s lives and peer pressure.
Disclaimer
Views expressed above are the author’s own.
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