Preference of Social Network Sites for Uncertainty Reduction among International Students

International students are distant from their homes and seek for an appropriate platform which they can relate with home, North Cyprus and others. This research considers the preference of Social Networking Sites (SNS), particularly Facebook and Instagram by the international tertiary students. The various strategies employed by the students when they would like to reduce their levels of uncertainty have been also considered. 499 international students who study at the Eastern Mediterranean University participated in the study. The study made use of quantitative methodology and administered questionnaire as a means of data collection, in order to ascertain students’ preference of SNS. Findings revealed that although Facebook seems to be the most popular, Instagram seems to be significant in communicating with people in North Cyprus, and others than the use of Facebook. Also, the three uncertainty reduction strategies (URS) passive, active and interactive strategies have positive influence when SNS was used in inferential statistics to ascertain the influence when use as the mediating variable. Students are active in the selection of their media to reduce their uncertainty thus; they have positive relationship. The two theories used (Uses and Gratification and Uncertainty Reduction Theories) affirmed that youth are selective and active when selecting a medium for communication thus their suitability for the research. Keywords: Preference, Social Networking Sites (SNSs), Uncertainty Reduction Theory, International students, Eastern Mediterranean University.