A Review of Social Media in Higher Education: A Case of Australian Higher Education

Abstract

Despite the widespread adoption of social media across diverse sectors, its role in Australian higher education teaching and learning remains insufficiently explored. This systematic literature review examines the use of social media within Australian universities. Guided by the methodological framework of Kitchenham and Charters (2007) and reported in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines (Page et al., 2021), the review synthesises ten years of published research (2014–2024). Twenty-five articles met the inclusion criteria. The findings show that social media plays an increasingly significant role in fostering communication, collaboration and engagement between students and educators. Students use these tools to manage group work, access resources, and maintain peer connections, particularly benefiting online and international learners. For educators, social media extends classroom boundaries, promotes digital literacy and enables authentic, interactive learning experiences. However, challenges persist, including privacy and ethical concerns, limited institutional guidelines, tensions between personal and professional identities, and uneven levels of digital competence. To harness the educational potential of social media, universities should develop clear policies, provide professional development, embed social media meaningfully into curricula and promote inclusive, professional digital engagement. By synthesising a decade of evidence, this review offers a timely contribution to current thinking about social media’s use in Australian higher education. It highlights both its transformative potential and the need for more strategic institutional support to ensure its effective and ethical integration into teaching and learning practices.