Influence of Social Media on Students Academic Performance (A Study of Students of University of Abuja)

Influence of Social Media on Students Academic Performance (A Study of Students of University of Abuja)

Chapter One

Objectives of the Study

The study has the following objective. They are:

To find out the various social networking sites the students had access to.
To find out how often the students of University of Abuja go online.
To determine how many hours the students spend in social networking activities daily.
To ascertain how the use of social media has affected the academic performance of the students.

CHAPTER TWO

Review of Related Literature

Introduction:

This chapter is a review of related studies on the topic “influence of social media on the student’s academic performance” *A study of students of Abuja University]. The chapter is organized under the following headings;

Review of Concepts
Review of Related Studies III. Theoretical Framework IV. Summary

Review of Concepts

The following concepts were reviewed;

Mass Media
Internet
Social Media
Social Networking Sites

The concept of Mass Media

Mass Media can also be defined as “messages communicated through a mass medium to a large number of people” (Bittner, 1980, p.10). Thus, the study of Mass Communication is the scientific study of the mass media (machines), the messages they carry (information, ideas, attitudes), and the audiences (people) they transmit these messages. A medium is called a mass medium if it meets two basic requirements: It must reach many people simultaneously (same time), and must use a technological device located between source and receiver (Whet more, 1985:p.6-7).

The popular maxim that the mass media is regarded as the fourth estate of the realm as an ideal expression that re-echoes through ages. Nwosu (1992) in his opinion said; they are channels through which communication is addressed to a large heterogeneous and a cross section of the population. Facuconner (1975) quoting Fleur conceives mass media as a computer of stable, repetitive and patterned action that is in part, a manifestation of the psychological orientation of the actors. It is a powerful and respected phenomenon that lubricates the engine of self-rule, human dignity and emancipated polity. Mass media are all those media technology that are intended to reach a large audience by mass communication. Broadcast media transmit information electronically and comprises of television, radio, and film. Alternatively, print media uses a physical object as a means of sending information through Newspapers, Magazine and bill board. Internet media is able to achieve mass media status in its own right, due to many services as email, websites and blogging. (Retrieved November 9^th2012)www.wikipedia free encyclopedia.com.

Classification of the Media

A simple way to classify the mass media is to group them under print and electronic media. The print media are such mass media as books, newspaper and magazine, whose basis is the printed word. Electronic media, on the other hand, comprise all the mass media which rely on the electronic power to get their messages to their audience which include radio and television, recordings, movies, internet and the explosion of digital communication technology in the 20^th and 21^st century.(Bittner, 1980 p:10). In 2000, a classification by (McQuail 1987) called the (7) seven mass media became popular. They are:

Print, pamphlet, newspaper(established in the 15^th c)
Recording – records, magnetic tapes, CD, DVD, gramophone(19^th c)
Cinema – it started from about 1900
Radio – it started from about 1910
Television – it started in 1950
Internet – it started in 1990
Mobile phone – it started in 2000. (Retrieved November 9^th 2012).mit.edu/people/mkgray/net.

CHAPTER THREE

Methodology

Introduction

This chapter discussed the various methods used in the study. It contained and explained the following; Research design, Population of the study, Sampling technique and sampling size, description of research instrument, validity of research instrument, method of data collection and method of data analysis.

Research Design

It is a term used to describe a number of decisions which need to be taken regarding the collection of data before they are collected. (Nwana, 1981). It provides guidelines which direct the researcher towards solving the research problem and may vary depending on the nature of the problem being studied. According to Okaja ( 2003, p. 2),” research design means the structuring of investigation aimed at identifying variables and their relationship, it is used for the purpose of obtaining data to enable the investigator test hypothesis or answer research question by providing procedural outline for conducting research”. It is therefore, an outline or scheme that serves as a useful guide to the researcher in his efforts to generate data for his study. The research therefore, adopted the survey method in data collection. It is used to obtain the peoples opinion through questionnaire.

Population of the Study

Population means, all cases or individuals that fit a certain specification. According to kerlinger (1981), defined population as” all members of any well-defined class of people, events, or subjects which can be living or non-living things”. Base on the data obtained from the office of the registrar of University of Abuja, the population of study of the entire students of the University of Abuja for 2012/2013 academic session is 6,000.

The population of the study comprises of students from the following faculties in the University of Abuja.

Faculty of Law………………………….2000

Faculty of Science……………………..1000

Faculty of Arts……………………………1,500

Faculty of Social Sciences…………. 500

Faculty of Management……………1000

Therefore, the total number of population of students of University of Abuja for the 2012/2013 academic session is 6,000.

CHAPTER FOUR

DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS

Introduction;

The purpose of this study was to determine the ‘influence of social media on the student’s Academic Performance “A Study of Students of University of Abuja undergraduate. This chapter is concerned with the presentation and analysis of data gathered through the use of questionnaire distributed to the respondents. One hundred and fifty (150) copies of questionnaire were distributed and one hundred and thirty (130) copies were retrieved. This gave a response rate of return of 86.7%.

The study answered the following research questions;

What social networking sites do the students of University of Abuja have access to?
How often do the students of University of Abuja go online?
How many hours do the students spend on social networking activities?
How has the use of social media affected the academic performance of the students of University of Abuja?

CHAPTER FIVE

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS.

Introduction:

The main objective of this study was to determine the “influence of social media on the student’s academic performance: A study of students of University of Abuja. Survey research design was adopted using the questionnaire for the gathering of data. Following the analysis of data and discussion of findings, this chapter presented the summary of findings, conclusion and recommendations.

Summary of Findings:

The findings showed that:

A great number of students in the University of Abuja are aware of the social media and had access to various social networking sites.
The students of University of Abuja are often online in various social networking activities.

A great amount of time is spent on social networking sites than in academic activities by the students of University of Abuja.
Due to a great number of times spent on social networking activities, the academic performance of students suffer setbacks which could lead to a poor performance in the student’s academics and therefore, fail to create a balance between the social media and academic activities.

Conclusion:

This study has demonstrated that the students of University of Abuja are aware of the social networking sites and had access to them. Findings also indicated that they are influenced to a great extent by the social media negatively because attention their are focused on chatting and music while their academic activities are neglected and left to suffer.

Recommendation:

Based on the findings and conclusions of this study, the following recommendations were made:

Social networking sites should be expanded and new pages should be created to enhance academic activities to avoid setbacks in the students’ Academic performance.
The students should create a balance between chit-chatting and academic activities. More attention should be directed to research.
There should be a decrease in the number of time spent by students when surfing the net.
The influence of social media on the academic performance of students should focus more on the positive side than on the negative side to achieve balance.

Suggestion for further Studies:

Further studies should be conducted to create more pages for research and academic activities to enable Students improve in their academics performance, thereby avoiding a distraction which leads to deviation from their academic work. Furthermore, access to the media should be made easy for students as an encouragement and should be for both the lecturers and students to meet up with the academic work. The scheme of work for the academic session should be placed online to enable the students get interested in research activities.

References

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