Caribbean Studies Internal Assessment

INTERNAL ASSESSMENT “An investigation on the impact of Social Networking Sites on the academic performance of students at the Antigua State College.”

Name: Institution: Antigua State College Lecturer: Candidate number: Center number: Date submitted: INTRODUCTION

Problem Statement: The purpose of this investigation was to determine the impact of social networking sites on the academic performance of the students at the Antigua State College. Dependent Variable: Academic performance of students Independent Variable: Social Networking Sites Objectives:     

To identify the students at the Antigua State College who use social networking sites. To determine the most popular social networking site among college students To assess the level of prevalence social networking sites has on a student. To identify the reasons why students use social networking sites. To evaluate the impact that social networking sites has on students’ academic performance.

Research Questions:     

How many students at the Antigua State College use social networking sites? How often do the students at ASC use social networking sites in a day? How many social networking sites do students use? Why do students at the ASC engage in the use of social networking sites? What is the impact of social networking sites on the academic performance of the students?

Statement of the Problem: This present study focuses on the impact of social networking sites on the academic performance of the students at the Antigua State College. Technology has rapidly become a part of many peoples’ lives, particularly for the younger generation today. Many students are constantly online engaging in research, chatting with friends or most often on social networking sites. This study 1

will help to determine if students’ use of social networking sites has positively or negatively impacted their academic performance. The findings from this study will help create awareness for the students and teachers of the Antigua State College. The students would become conscious on the impact of social networking on their academic performance and as such would engage in its use more appropriately in the future. The teachers and heads of department at ASC would become mindful of its impact on their students’ academic performance and formulate rules and regulations to manage its use in the classroom suitably. Social networking sites provide an avenue for students to access a wide variety of information and knowledge easily. As such if students engage in its use appropriately, they would be able to take advantage of its benefits and advance in their academic endeavors, all in all improving their well-being and human development. However, if students abuse its use and neglect their academics then a fall in their advancement in life, due to inadequate education, may result in a decline in human development.

Definition of Key Terms Social Networking Site (SNS): any web site that enables users to create public profiles within that web site and form relationships with other users of the same web site who access their profile. Social networking sites can be used to

2

describe community-based Web sites, online discussions forums, chat rooms and other social spaces online. Academic Performance: is the outcome from efforts put into education by students, teachers and the institution. Human Development: the process of enlarging people's freedoms and opportunities and improving their well-being. ASC: The Antigua State College is an educational institution situated in Golden Grove, St. John’s Antigua.

LITERATURE REVIEW The internet provides a gateway for fast and easy access to information, communication with others, conduction of business activities and much more.

3

A study conducted by Pernin (2015) systematically tracked the social media usage of Americans during the period 2005 to 2015. This analysis of social media usage was based on a compilation of 27 surveys, about 47,000 interviews among internet users conducted by Pew Research Center from March 2005 to July 2015. The study stated that social media use were ubiquitous among the younger ages with 16 to 25 being the most likely users of social media by a considerable margin. This study will determine if students at the Antigua State College do engage in the use of Social Networking Sites. Re:fuel marketing firm conducted a study outlining college student’s spending, technology ownership, online behavior and media usage. The 2013 re:fuel College Explorer study was fielded by Crux Research online in January - February 2013. The study gathered the opinions of 1,528 college students on a physical campus between the ages of 18-34. The study stated on average, college students spend at least 3.6 hours a day with their cell phones and smartphones. Moreover at least 123 minutes of students’ time on smartphones are used to access social networking sites. This study will determine if students at the Antigua State College engage in the use of SNS’s as often as that found by Re:fuel (2013). Martin (2013) conducted a study to determine whether there is a correlation between heavy usage of social media and grades. The survey was administered to a total of 1,127students from all colleges at the University of New Hampshire. The study found that the most popular online network was Facebook, with 96 percent of all university students saying they use it on a typical day. The least used social media platform was LinkedIn, with 10 percent of students using it daily. This study will determine whether or not the students at the ASC prefer Facebook as their main social networking site as Martin (2013) suggested.

4

A study carried out by Eke, Omekwu and Odoh (2014) investigated the use of Social Networking Sites among the undergraduate students of University of Nigeria, Nsukka. A descriptive survey research design was employed for data collection as they distributed questionnaires to a sample size of 150 undergraduate students of university of Nigeria Nsukka who were selected via random sampling techniques. Through this survey they were able to conclude that the students’ main use of SNSs was for recreational reasons rather than academic. They highlighted SNSs were predominantly engaged for the use of chatting with friends, watching movies and listening to music. This study will determine whether or not the students at the ASC engage in the use of SNSs mainly for similar non-academic reason or not. Research by Helou and Rabim (2014) examined the influence of social networking sites on students’ academic performance in Malaysia. Helou and Rabim collected data through a survey. They randomly distributed 30 questionnaires consisting of 31 questions to undergraduate and postgraduate students of the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. They suggested that Social Networking Sites have more of a positive impact on academic performance rather than negative. They identify that SNSs can be used for various academic activities such as communicating with the faculty and university authorities, communicating with lecturers and supervisors, discussion. This study will determine if SNSs has a similar positive impact on the academic performance of students at the ASC.

DATA COLLECTION

5

This study took on the form of applied research as the investigation was carried out to find answers to a practical problem and then was used as an aid for decision making in different areas, for instance; policy making. The study used triangulation, where information was collected from both primary and secondary sources. With respect to the primary source of information, the students of the Antigua State College were the targeted population used to create the sample for research. They were chosen because of their correlation with academics and media proved them as the most practical group to provide data on the topic of investigation. The sampling procedure used to select the students of the sample was simple random sampling. This procedure was chosen in order to give each student an equal chance of being selected in order to gain an appropriate representation of all the views of the student body. The method employed to collect the data was a researcher administered survey. This method was chosen as it was the most convenient method for the researcher because it enabled an easy analysis of data as well as being time efficient. The survey entailed the distribution of fifteen questionnaires to the students chosen by the sampling procedure. Each questionnaire encompassed ten questions; with nine being closed ended questions and one being an open ended question. The secondary sources of information used were already published data which included textbooks, journals and publications found on the internet. They were used as a means of gaining a better understanding on the concepts and definitions associated with the topic which was being researched

PRESENTATION OF DATA 6

Age ranges 5% 20% 16-20

21-25

26 and older 75%

Figure 1 A pie chart representing the age ranges of the students at Antigua State College.

Students who use SNS's

Yes

No

100%

Figure 2 A doughnut chart highlighting the amount of students who use Social Networking Sites.

7

Types of Social Networking Sites 6

6

5

5 4 3 Number of Students

2

2

1

1

1 0

0

0

0

Social Networking Sites

Figure 3 A column chart showcasing the most widely used Social Networking Site among students.

Number of Social Networking Sites used

13% 1

2

3

7%

More than 3

13% 67%

8

Time spent on Social Networking Sites 10

more than 5 hours 3

3-5 hours Hours per day

5

2-4 hours

Figure 4 A pie chart representing the number of Social Networking Sites 2 1 hour used by a student. 0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Number of students

Figure 5 A bar chart displaying the amount of hours spent in a day by students on Social networking Sites.

Devices used to access Social Netwroking Sites 10%

Smart phones Laptops / Personal Computers

20% 70%

Tablets Other

Figure 6 A pie chart illustrating the type of devices used by students to access Social Networking Sites. 9

The use of Social Networking Sites' in class 8

number of students

8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

5

4

3

0

Figure 7 A pyramid chart highlighting the reasons why students use Social Uses Networking Sites. Figure 7 A bar chart displaying the reasons for students’ use of Social Networking Sites in class

10

The use of Social Netorking Sites at home 9

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

Number of students

7

2

2

0

Reasons

Figure 8 A cone chart displaying the reasons for students’ use of Social Networking Sites at home

Impacts of Social Networking Sites' on students' academic performance

5% Positive

Negative

35%

No impact

60%

Figure 9 A pie chart highlighting the impact in which Social Networking Sites has on students’ academic performance

Justification for Positive impact

Justification for Negative Impact

Justification for no impact 11

Allows for a quick access to information

Distracts me from studying

Makes it easy to find information A great source of information to complete my assignments. Great way to communicate to class mates about class assignments Allows access to information beyond the textbook

It is a distraction from doing homework It distracts me too much

Access to a lot of information

Easy way of finding information

I do not spend a lot of time on social networks

I spend too much time on these sites that I get too tired to do assignments I prefer to be on Social Networks rather than do School Work The amount of time spent on Social Networks could have been used to study Its use consumes most of my day leaving me not a lot of time to study I tend to not focus completely on school work as I am distracted by Social Networks Distracts me from studying It’s a big distraction

Figure 10 A table revealing students’ justification for their previously selected impact of SNS’s on their academic performance. ANALYSIS OF DATA

Figure 1 displayed a pie chart of the age ranges of students at ASC. According to the figure majority of 80% of students at ASC are between the ages of 16-20 years. Figure 2 illustrated a doughnut chart of the amount of students who engage in the use of social networking sites. According to the figure there was an astounding full consensus where all the students indicated they use SNS. This may be because students have wide access to technology as such inclining them to engage in the use of SNS. Therefore, from the study it can be seen that students between the age ranges of 16-20 years are the most common users of social networking sites.

12

Figure 3 showcased a column chart of the types of social networking sites used by students. According to the figure Facebook was the most popular networking site among the students with majority of 40% choosing the option. Instagram came a close second with 33% of students choosing this site. Whilst the least favoured SNSs included Google+, Flickr and LinkedIn. This may because Facebook offers a chat room for friends which is most appealing to younger adults. From this study it can be concluded that Facebook was the most favoured type of Social Networking Site among students. Figure 4 displayed a pie chart of the number of Social Networking Sites used by students. According to the figure, majority of 67% of respondents are engaged in more than 3 SNS while the lowest 7% of respondents agreed on 2 SNS. This may be because of the wide assortments of SNS available online and the ease of creating an account. Figure 5 highlighted the amount of hours spent by students on SNS in a typical day. The figure revealed that 50% of respondents used SNS more than 5 hours a day while the least being 10% of respondets who agreed on 2 hours a day. Figure 6 represented a pie chart of the types of devices used the by the students to access SNSs. According to the figure an overwhelming 70% of respondents used smartphones to access SNSs. This suggests that the most widely used device to access technology among students is a smart phone. Therefore, it can be seen that students use social networking sites quite frequently throughout a day through the use of their smart phone. Figure 7 represented a bar chart of the reasons why students use Social Networking Sites in class. The figure revealed that the main reason for its use in class was for social connections as 40% of respondents agreed on this option. The least common reasons included educational with 15% and informational with 20%. Figure 8 illustrated a cone chart of the reasons why students use Social Networking Sites at home. The figure disclosed a similar a trend to the reasons for its 13

use in class. Social Connections was still the leading reason for the use of SNS with a slight rise to 45%. Accordingly, educational and informational remained the inferior reasons for the use SNSs, with both reasons contracting to 10%. These results may be due to the fact that students find entertainment more appealing than education especially in the comfort of their home. Figure 9 showcased a pie chart of the impact in which social networking sites has on students’ academic performance. According to the figure majority of 53% of students agreed that SNS’s has a positive impact on their academic performance while a close 40% indicated a positive impact. Figure 10 showed a table on students’ justifications on their chosen impact of SNS on their performance. For the respondents who chose a positive impact, most justified their answer by declaring it as a source of information. The respondents who chose a negative impact shared a common justification where they stated that SNSs served as a distraction from their studies Therefore from this study it can be concluded that Social Networking Sites have a negative impact on students’ academic performance because it proves as a distraction from studying habits. DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS From this study it was indicated that all students at the Antigua State College engage in the use of Social Networking Sites. Moreover the study found that the majority of the students were between the ages of 18 – 20 years. This supported Pernin (2015) who expressed that age is strongly correlated with social media usage as those ages 16 to 25 have always been the most likely users of social media by a considerable margin. Today, 90% of young adults use social media, compared with 12% in 2005, a 78-percentage point increase. With advancements in technology continuously growing it is impossible to prohibit its use among the younger

14

generation. As such it recommended to not curtail its use rather expand and focus on the beneficial features. Martin (2013) expressed from his study that Facebook was notably the most popular online network within universities with a shocking 90% of students who engaged in its use on a daily basis. This study however contrasted the findings of Martin (2013), as it indicated the most popular Social Networking Sites among college students to be between Facebook and Instagram equally. It is recommended that programmers take a more innovative approach towards academic social networking sites so as to make conducting or sharing research, interacting with teachers/ professors and finding information online more appealing to the younger individuals. In addition this study suggested that a student’s use of social networking sites is predominately very frequent as more than 50% of respondents indicated spending more than five hours throughout a day on Social Networking Sites. Moreover the study revealed that among the students smart phones are the preferred device used to access social networking sites.

It

reinforces Re:fuel marketing firm(2013) which suggested that a student spends at least 123 minutes a day on social networking through the easy access of their smart phones. It is recommended to increase the level of control parents and the institution has on students’ social networking use. Parents should manage students’ use of SNS’s at home by developing an unambiguous schedule stating appropriate times for its use. The institution should modify the use of the school’s internet connection in such a manner that students could only access educational social networking sites. Eke, Omekwu and Odoh (2014) indicated from their study that amongst college students SNSs are predominantly used for the purpose of chatting with friends, watching movies and listening to music. This study revealed a similar result where majority of the students whether at home or 15

in class indicated that their main reason for using Social Networking Sites was for social connections, such as keeping in touch with family and friends. More research should be conducted in order to identify a recommendation. Social Networking Sites can impact a students’ academic performance in many ways. From this study it was indicated that majority of students felt that Social Networking Sites has had a negative impact on their academic performance. These respondents expressed a common justification for its negative impact as most viewed Social Networking Sites as a distraction from their studies. However the views from this study differs from that of Helou and Rabim (2014) who suggested that Social Networking Sites had more of a positive impact on academic performance rather than negative. They identified Social Networks Sites as an avenue for various academic activities such as communicating with the faculty and university authorities, communicating with lecturers and supervisors, discussion. It is recommended to increase the level of awareness and enthusiasm among students on how to use social networking sites to their academic advantage. This may include workshops, campaigns.

CONCLUSION According to the findings of this research it can be seen that all students at the Antigua State College engage in the use of social networking sites. The prevalence of SNS’s among students was found to be remarkably high with its level of use being more than 5 hours of a students’ typical day. The study found that its high use was mainly contributed by the easy access in which smartphones provided. It was concluded that the student’s main reason for using social

16

networking sites was for social connections. Findings identified Facebook as the most preferred SNS among the students. LIMITATIONS The process of data collection was very time-consuming. This was because students took a long period of time to complete and return questionnaires. This left the researcher with a limited amount of time to analyze and interpret findings of the research and determine a logical conclusion. Some questionnaires were not incorrectly completed as questions were left unanswered by respondents. This in turn affected the conclusion made by the researcher as a full set of data was not collected from the sample to appropriately represent the views of the population. RECOMMENDATIONS 

It is recommended that programmers take a more innovative approach towards academic social networking sites so as to make conducting or sharing research, interacting with teachers/ professors and finding information online more appealing to the younger



individuals. It is recommended to increase the level of control parents and the institution has on students’ social networking use. Parents should manage students’ use of SNS’s at home by developing an unambiguous schedule stating appropriate times for its use. The institution should modify the use of the school’s internet connection in such a manner that students could only access educational social networking sites.

17



It is recommended to increase the level of awareness and enthusiasm among students on how to use social networking sites to their academic advantage. This may include workshops, campaigns.

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Pernin, A. (2015). Social Media Usage: 2005-2015. Pew Research Center. Retrieved from: http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/10/08/social-networking-usage-2005-2015/



Report on Student Spending, Technology Ownership, Online Behavior and Media Usage. (2013). Globe Newswire. 18



Martin, C. (2013). Social networking usage and grades among college students (Unpublished thesis, Univerity of New Hampshire, Durnham, United States). Retrieved from: http://www.unh.edu/news/docs/UNHsocialmedia.pdf



Eke, H., Odoh, J. & Omekwu C. (2014). The Use of Social Networking Sites among the Undergraduate Students of University of Nigeria Nsukka Library Philosophy and Practice1195. Retrieved from : http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/1195



Adam, C., Helou, I., & Mahamat, M. (2014). The influence of social networking sites on students’ academic performance in Malaysia International Journal of Electronic Commerce Studies,5(2), 247-254. doi: 10.7903/ijecs.1114

APPENDIX QUESTIONNAIRE My name is Themara Tyson and I am a Caribbean Studies student at the Antigua State College. This study is being conducted to determine the impact of social networking sites on the academic performance of the students at the Antigua State College. The findings from this study will aid in the completion of the researcher’s CAPE Internal Assessment. Your cooperation will be greatly appreciated. Please read each question carefully. Then offer your response by placing a tick in the box provided, near your preferred answer. Some questions require a short written response; please provide these answers on the lines indicated. This survey is anonymous, as such you are not obligated to state your name anywhere on the questionnaire. Thank You. 19

1. What is your age range? 16 – 20 21 – 25

25 and older

2. Do you engage the use of Social Networking Sites (SNS’s)? Yes No 3. Which Social Networking Site do you use the most? Facebook Twitter Google+ Tumblr Pintrest LinkedIn Other: 4. How many SNS’s do you use? 1 2 3

Instagram Flickr

More than 3

5. How many hours do you spend on social networking sites per day? 1 hour 2 – 4 hours 3 – 5 hours More than 5 hours 6. What device do you use to access Social Networking Sites? Smartphone laptop/personal computer c tablet c c

7. What is your main reason for using SNS’s during a class at the Antigua State College? Social Connections (Keeping in touch with family and friends) Multimedia Sharing (Sharing videos and photography online) Professional (Finding opportunities for career related growth) Informational (Finding general Information on topics) Educational (Conducting or sharing research, interacting with teachers/ professors) Other: 8. What is your main reason for using SNS’s at home? Social Connections (Keeping in touch with family and friends) Multimedia Sharing (Sharing videos and photography online) Professional (Finding opportunities for career related growth) Informational (Finding general Information on topics) Educational (Conducting or sharing research, interacting with teachers/ professors) Other:

c c c c

c c c c

9. What impact does SNS’s have on your academic performance? Positive Negative 10. Justify your choice of impact of Social Networking Sites on your academic performance. 20

21