Analyzing Gifted Students' Social Behavior on Social Media at COVID- 19 Quarantine

ABSTRACT

COVID-19 has caused a global disturbance, increased anxiety, and panic, eliciting diverse reactions. While its cure has not been discovered, new infection cases and fatalities are being recorded daily. The focus of the present study was to analyze the reaction of gifted undergraduate students on social media during the quarantine period of the COVID-19. A special group of gifted students, who joined the program of attracting and nurturing talents at the University of Jeddah, University students as were the target sample of this study. To analyze online reactions during the pandemic;the choice of university students was arrived at as they are perceived to be gifted academically. Hence, the analysis of the impacts on their behavior on social media use is imperative. This study presented accurate and consistent data on the effects of social media using Twitter platforms on gifted students during the quarantine occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic. The behavior of learners due to during the use of social media was extensively explored and results analyzed. The study was carried out between April and May 2020 (quarantine period in Saudi Arabia) to establish whether the online behavior of gifted students reflects positive or negative feelings. The methods used in conducting this study the research were online interviews and scraping participants' Twitter accounts (where most of the online activities and studies take place). The study employed the Activity theory to analyze the behavior of gifted students on social media. The sample size used was 60 students, and the analysis of their behavior was based on Activity theory Overall, the results showed proactive, positive behavior for coping with a challenging situation, educating society, and entertaining. Finally, this study recommends investing in gifted students due to their valuable problem-solving skills that can help handle global pandemics efficiently.