How Whatsapp Peer Support Networks Foster Social Bonding and Academic Resilience Among Unimac-Ift Broadcast Journalism Students.

Abstract

This study examines how WhatsApp peer support networks foster social bonding and academic resilience among Broadcast Journalism students at the University of Media, Arts and Communication–Institute of Film and Television (UniMAC–IFT). Anchored in the Technology Acceptance Model and Uses and Gratification Theory, the study adopts a qualitative, interpretivist approach to explore students’ lived experiences within student-created WhatsApp groups. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and non-participant observation of four cohort-based WhatsApp groups spanning Levels 100 to 400. Thematic analysis was employed to identify patterns of academic collaboration, emotional support, and social interaction. The findings reveal that WhatsApp functions as a hybrid academic–social space where students share lecture materials, coordinate assignments, and provide peer tutoring while simultaneously engaging in informal interactions that strengthen trust, belonging, and emotional support. These social bonds were found to play a crucial role in enhancing academic resilience by encouraging persistence, timely task completion, and proactive help-seeking during periods of academic pressure. The study concludes that WhatsApp peer support networks operate as vital socio-academic infrastructures within practice-based programmes such as Broadcast Journalism. The findings contribute context-specific insights to digital learning scholarship and highlight the need for institutional recognition of informal peer support platforms in Ghanaian higher education.