Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
TURKISH ONLINE JOURNAL OF DESIGN ART AND COMMUNICATION, cilt.8, sa.2, ss.166-177, 2018 (ESCI)
In this study, virtual spaces, commonly accessed by social media, were compared with real (physical) spaces partaking in educational buildings; in terms of being in substitution for each other, and their influences on the school belonging of the students. The study was grounded on a survey conducted on 159 undergraduate students determined by quota sampling among non-probable sampling methods. The relationship between the usage of virtual spaces and real spaces, and the influence of virtual space usage on real space usage rates were investigated. Another question was that whether the time consumed by students in real spaces was changed due to the information access opportunities through social media, or not. Also, can the social media be regarded as a substitute for a real space in terms of their primary functions and gainings; and what are their influences on belonging, were two other main questions tried to be answered. As a result, the use of virtual spaces -accordingly social media-was found to be unreplaceable before real spaces; however, it was regarded as a supplementary ground when real places are insufficient or inaccessible. Thus, social media was not regarded as an alternative place in some fields, particularly in design education, despite being a useful support.