Abstract
The study seeks
to assess the social media perception and usage among students of Nigerian
universities. Three research questions guided the study. Survey research design was adopted for the study. The population
for the study is 1816. The sample size of the study was drawn using Wimmer and
Dominic to get 451. 451 copies of questionnaire were distributed and 317 copies of the questionnaire were returned. Data was gotten
from both the primary source and secondary source. The primary source was
gotten from a structured questionnaire while the secondary sources were gotten
from text books, library, and journals. The method of data analysis was frequency
distribution tables and analyzed using simple percentage approach, from the
analysis; it was discovered that students spends time longer than necessary on
social media, students prefer chatting on social media than talking with their
friends, students uses social media to source information happening around the
world. Also from the study it was gathered that social media enhances quality
education, students can learn from social media because they have access to
educational materials online. It was recommended that Students should spend more time on their academic studies than they spend
time on social media. Government should take charge of monitoring what goes on
in the internet and awareness should be created on the proper use of social
media.
TABLE OF
CONTENT
Title page
Table of Content
Abstract
CHAPTER
ONE; INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
1.2 Statement of the Problem
1.3 Objectives of the Study
1.4 Research Question
1.5 Scope of the Study
1.6 Significance of the Study
1.7 Definitions
of terms
CHAPTER
TWO; LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Review
of concepts
2.1.1 Social
Media in Nigeria
2.1.2 Adolescent
and internet
2.1.3 Psychological
impact
2.2 Review
of related Literature
2.3 Theoretical
Framework
2.3.1 The
play Theory
2.3.2 Technological
Determinism Theory
2.3.3 Academic Achievement theory
2.4 Summary
of related Literature
CHAPTER
THREE; METHODOLOGY
3.1 Research Design
3.2 Population
of the Study
3.3 Sample
Size
3.4 Sampling Techniques
3.5 Instrument for data collection
3.6 Validation and reliability of the instrument
3.7 Method of Data collection
3.8 Method of Data Analysis
CHAPTER
FOUR; DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Analysis of Data
4.3 Discussion of findings
CHAPTER
FIVE; SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Summary of Findings
5.3 Conclusion
5.4 Recommendations
Reference
Appendix
CHAPTER
ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the study
Social
media are fast becoming very popular means of both interpersonal and public
communication in Nigeria and the world at large. Social media are modern
interactive communication channels through which people connect to one another,
share ideas, experiences, pictures, messages and information of common
interest. What distinguishes the social media from the conventional means of
communication is their interactive nature which allows the audience to
participate in it from any part of the world they reside. McQuail (2010)
differentiates the social media from the traditional mass media when he noted
that “traditional mass communication was essentially one-directional, while the
new forms of communication are essentially interactive.” This interactive
feature of the new media confers an unprecedented popularity on them. Social
Media are media that allow users to meet online via the Internet, communicate
in social forum like Facebook, Twitter, etc., and other chat sites, where users
generally socialize by sharing news, photo or ideas and thoughts, or respond to
issues and other contents with other people. Common examples of social media
are the popular social networking sites like Facebook, Myspace, Youtube,
Flicker, etc. Social Media is an interactive media format that allows users to
interact with each other as well as send and receive content from and to each
other generally by means of the Internet.
Social media are technologies that
facilitate social interaction, make possible collaboration, and enable
deliberation by stakeholders across boundaries, time and space. These
technologies include: blogs, wikis, media (audio, photo, video, text) sharing
tools, networking platforms (including Facebook), and virtual worlds (Bryer and
Zavatarro, 2011). The rise of social
media sites as another platform on the internet has gained popularity over the
last decade. The sites have attracted millions of users worldwide (Boyd, &
Ellison, 2007) due to this fact many people are changing the outlets where they
search for news, information, business and entertainment. These social media
sites let those who use them create personal profiles, while connecting with
other users of the sites. Users can upload photographs and post what they are
doing at any given time. (Pempek, Yermolayeva, & Calvert, 2008). The social
media by their nature have the capabilities of educating, informing,
entertaining and inflaming the audience. Above all, they possess a contagious
and outreaching influence which the conventional media lack. This potential is most likely what Osahenye
(2012) refers to as “unstoppable power of the social media.
Now just like radio or television
stations, social media sites spread everywhere in Nigeria and are bound to be
sprouting as technologies continue to improve; however, the problem lies in the
point that the purposes which the users apply the new media for are still
obscure. This is what Folorunso, Vincent, Adekoya and Adewale (2010: 326),
perceived when they argue generally that, “in Africa, social media networking
site is becoming widely spread than it has ever been before and it tends to be
majorly accepted by the youths. Yet the widespread adoption by users of these
sites is not clear, as it appears that people’s perception of this technology
is diverse. By and large, this study among other things is set to methodically
examine why the students in universities within South-East Nigeria make use of
the social media. The reason for such academic inquiry is to unravel some of
the fundamental purposes which students use the new media to achieve. The rapid development of both technology and
the skills and knowledge of social media users means that what makes up ‘social
media’ continues to change at a rapid rate, as new websites and online content
appear each day. As Jacka and Scott (2011:5) argue, ‘there is no single
recognized definition of social media.’ For many people, well-known social
network sites such as Facebook and Twitter typify social media. The sites have
become enormously popular across demographics of race, age and gender, and have
hundreds of millions of users. Jacka and Scott (2011:5) contend that it ‘can be
said that social media is the set of Web based broadcast technologies that
enable the democratization of content, giving people the ability to emerge from
consumers of content to publishers’. The ABC (2011) has produced a Technology
Explained website, where definitions and explanations are provided for modern
technical and online terms. The website comments that: ‘Social media
encapsulates digital tools and activities that enable communication and sharing
across the net ... Social media is used prolifically by all areas of society;
business, politics, media, advertising, police and emergency services. It has
also become a key tool for provoking thought, dialogue and action around
particular social issues’. The Social Media Guide website (2011) has listed
some 50 definitions that it says it has collected from various other websites.
In its terms, ‘social media is user generated content that is shared over the
internet via technologies that promote engagement, sharing and collaboration.’
Kaplan and Haenlein contend that social media as we know it today can probably
be traced back more than two decades. While it was unsophisticated by today’s
standards, users could post public messages on sites such as Usenet. Not
surprisingly, the advent and availability of high-speed internet access has led
to a proliferation of sites and an explosion in their popularity (Kaplan and
Haenlein 2010:60). Kaplan and Haenlein (2010:61) developed their own technical
definition of social media: ‘Social Media is a group of Internet-based
applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web
2.0, and that allow the creation and exchange of User Generated Content.’
1.2 Statement of the
problem
The
use of the social media as channels of communication is a growing trend in
Nigeria now, and in virtually all parts of the globe. In the country, almost
everyone including university students make use of social media. Social media
is a double-edged sword. Its power - for good and for bad - resides in us.”
That is to say; people (users) determine what they do with social media. The
rate at which social media is used is very high especially among university
students which often leads to reduction of time the students devote to their
studies. To ascertain if social media have any positive input on the students’
studies is a major concern. .The life of a student is consumed with studying,
assignments and projects. However in this modern technology era, the life of a
student is also consumed with countless social media sites like Twitter,
Instagram, Facebook and other countless sites and this makes it difficult for
students to focus on studying. It is observed that some of the students use the social
media to engage in cybercrimes which could cause harm to the victims.
For some students, they easily get addicted with social media that it begins to
interfere with their lives (Wilson, 2015).
These constitute the core problems this
study seeks to systematically unravel how the Social media perception and usage
among university students.
1.3 Objectives of the Study
As
a central objective, this study seeks to assess the social media perception and
usage among students of Nigerian universities.
Specifically, the study is meant to;
1. To
find out the extent to which social media has influenced GO
University students
2. To
ascertain if frequent social media is linked to poor academic performances
3. To
determine if social media contents are relevant to academic curriculum in
Nigeria
1.4 Research Questions
The following research questions are
proposed
1. To
what extent do social media influence GO University students?
2. How
is frequent social media use linked to poor academic performances?
3. How
are social media relevant to academic curriculum in Nigeria?
1.5 Scope of the Study
This study is
limited to literature regarding social media use based on academics in Nigerian
universities. The research was conducted in Enugu because of the concentration
of students within who are active users of social media.
1.6 Significance of the
Study
The findings
of this study would be of benefit to these persons; stakeholders/policy makers,
student.
Stakeholders/policy makers in academics:
this study will help the stakeholders and policy makers as they will reduce the
use of cell phones and educate the students on the implication of using social
media all the time.The study will also enable the policy makers to take
measures in enacting laws that will guide the use of social media in the
school, and appropriate punishment for offenders. The tuy would also help
policy makers put a check to devices that can gain access to social media
during academic activities.
Students: this study will help the
students understand that too much of everything is bad which includes the use
of social media as it might endanger them or make them become addicted to
social media.
1.7 Operational
Definition of Terms
Academic
performance: is the extent to which a student, teacher or institution has
achieved their short or long-term educational goals.
Perception:
the way in which something is regarded, understood, or interpreted.
Social
media: Social media is the creation, publishing and sharing of content from an
author to a crowd, providing a locus for horizontal interaction across the
crowd.
Stakeholder:
An individual, group or organization who may affect, be affected by, or
perceive itself to be affected by a decision, activity or outcome of the
project.
Students:
A person who is studying at a university or other place of higher education.
University:
The grounds and buildings of an institution of higher education
Undergraduate:
a university student who has not yet taken a degree.
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