ABSTRACT The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the role of online communities and the impact of educational social media on 14 Saudi female college students who were studying in the United States. The findings revealed that social media was important to the participants for maintaining relationships and seeking out information from others. Social media was also an important way for participants to remain close to their communities and keep in contact with Saudi friends and family; however, the use of social media to interact with their communities was often shaped by Saudi cultural expectations. Most of the participants enjoyed online education and interacting with others in an online educational setting because it promotes collaborative learning and cultural interaction. Overall, social media used for educational purposes was mostly seen by the participants as a positive and beneficial part of their educational experiences.

中文翻译：

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在线社区的作用以及教育社交媒体对美国沙特女大学生的影响

摘要这项定性研究的目的是探讨在线社区的作用以及教育社交媒体对14名在美国学习的沙特女大学生的影响。调查结果表明，社交媒体对于参与者保持关系和从他人那里获取信息非常重要。社交媒体也是参与者保持亲密社区并与沙特朋友和家人保持联系的重要方式；但是，社交媒体与社区互动的使用通常受到沙特文化期望的影响。大多数参与者喜欢在线教育，并在在线教育环境中与他人互动，因为它促进了协作学习和文化互动。全面的，