EFFECT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS OF UNGOGO LGA, KANO STATE BY Idris Salisu Rogo Department of Education, School of Continuing Education, Bayero University, Kano
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Abstract The paper investigated the effect of social media on the academic performance of senior secondary school students of Ungoggo Local Government Area of Kano State. Survey research design was used in the study and Kreycie and Morgan (1971) table of determining sample size was used in determining the sample size for the study. Researcher made questionnaire named students social media usage scale (SSUS) was designed to assess the frequency of social media usage by the students’ and first term mathematics examination score was used to find out the academic performance of the students. The questionnaire was administered to 370 students drawn from the total population of 10,058 students’ using stratified random sampling technique. Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (PPMC) and Chi-square test of independence were used to analyze the data for the study. The findings for the study revealed that there is a strong negative relationship between social media and academic performance of senior secondary school students of Ungoggo L.G.A of Kano State where the result showed the correlation coefficient of -0.805. Therefore, the study concludes that Social media has a negative effect on the academic performance of senior secondary school students in the study area. The study further revealed that there is a significant gender difference in the use of social media by senior secondary school students of Ungogo LGA where female students are found to be more frequent in the use of social media than their male counterparts. Based on the above findings the study recommends that parents and teachers should monitor and supervise the activities of their children most especially in the areas of internet and social media and should also prevent students of secondary school from using sophisticated handsets with internet connectivity. Key Words: Social Media, Academic Performance and Senior Secondary School Students.
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Introduction The advent of computer and information technology has turned the entire world into a “global village”. The remarkable improvement in information and communication technology recently has widened the scope of communication through information and communication technology (Asemah & Edego 2012). Information and communication technology comprise of internet, social media, satellite, cable data transmission and computer assisted equipment. Social media employs mobile and web based technology to create highly interactive platforms via which individuals and community share, co-create, discuss and modify user generated content (Jeong, 2005). Social Media network sites include; Yahoo Messenger, Facebook Messenger, Blackberry Messenger (BBM), Google talk, Google+ Messenger, iPhone, Androids, Whatsapp, 2go, Instant Gram, Twitter, Badoo etc. (Asemah & Edego 2012). Social media serves as an avenue through which students are connected by one or more interdependency relationship such as friendship, kinship, common interest, financial exchange, love, sexual relationship, beliefs, knowledge or prestige (Asemah & Edego, 2012). Also, social media is regarded as one of the vital means of communication in recent times and it has become the most important tool among students especially adolescents (Al-Rahimi & Othman, 2012). It is a group of internet based application that allows the creation and exchange of users generated content. It creates an avenue of interactions among adolescents in which they create, share, and/or exchange information and ideas (Hammond, 2000). With social media one can chat with friends everywhere in the world and can also send and receive messages almost immediately. This improvement in the global means of communication has brought with it both positive and negative effects on students’ Academic Performance.
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However, lack of regulatory framework in the use of internet and social media in Nigeria has led to its abuse and excessive use. It is common knowledge to see students’ chatting in classrooms during class instruction. The advent of sophisticated cellular phones has complicated the situation, as youth no longer need to visit cybercafé before they chat. Thus, the attention of many students nowadays has been shifted from studies to chatting, which has become a source of concern and worry to scholars and researchers of education. Hence, the effect of social media on academic performance of students has generated a heated debate among scholars, educators, and policy makers in recent times (Yang, 2003). Some scholars are of the view that social media facilitates learning because it gives room for easy accessibility to learning materials and also provides a platform upon which many opportunities are harnessed. Whether these opportunities harnessed from the social media promote academic performance is a question that needs to be answered. Therefore, this study was set to investigate the effect of social media on the academic performance of senior secondary school students of Ungoggo Local government Area, Kano State. Objectives of the Study The study was guided by the following objectives;
To find out the effect of social media on the academic performance of senior secondary
school students of Ungogo LGA. To find out the gender difference in the use social media among senior secondary school
students of Ungogo LGA. Research Questions What is the effect of social media on the academic performance of senior secondary
school students of Ungoggo L.G.A, Kano State Is there any gender difference in the use of social media among senior secondary school
students in the study area Research Hypotheses
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H01: There is no significant effect of social media on the academic performance of senior secondary school students of Ungoggo L.G.A, Kano State H02: There is no significant gender difference in the use of social media among senior secondary school students of the study area Review of Related Literature Social media refers to the interaction forum through which people create, share, and/or exchange information and ideas in virtual communities and networks. 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 (Yoon, 2000). Furthermore, social media depends on mobile and web-based technologies to create highly interactive platforms through which youth and adolescents, come in contact with one another to share information. They introduce substantial and pervasive communication between organizations, communities and individuals (Sunusi, 2014). Social media has gained wider acceptability and patronage in the recent past and it has become the major means of communication among adolescents (Al-Rahmi & Othman, 2012). Social media was believed to have bridged communication gap among students, but due to its frequent and excessive patronage among secondary school students without control, it creates a serious gap between the students and their studies which consequently affects their academic performance in school (Picciano, 2002). Within the social media, Facebook, Whatsapp, 2go and Twitter are the most patronized social media among secondary school students (Al-Rahmi & Othman, 2012). Youths nowadays have shifted their attention from visible to invisible friends through social media, making important activities like reading, writing and research to affected in the process (Al-Rahmi & Othman, 2012). Asemah & Edego (2012) assert that online interpersonal relationship has the same influence as face-to-face relationship where peer influence and transmission of values can easily be disseminated. This by 3
implication means, the more a student uses social media, the less time he has for his studies and the more peer influence will be exerted on him. Social media are equal to real life and are given human attributes where adolescents talk to computers as if they were talking to human beings. That is to say, students unconsciously personalize social media as if they are human beings. The driving factors for the adoption of social media by students include among others convenience, socialization, flexibility, and easy accessibility to learning materials (Moon, 2011). It further enhances mutual relationship, motivates students to learn, develops the culture of crossfertilization of ideas, enhances contact among the students and improves students participation in class, most especially introvert students (Seo, 2004). In general, benefits typically associated with the use of social media include the following: it encourages greater social interaction via electronic medium; it provides greater access to information, encourages creativity among individuals and group; creates a sense of belonging among users, provides more interaction and communication between people from different socio-economic status and increases the technological competency of social media by users (Shana, 2012). Many researchers and scholars have conducted researches to investigate the effect of social media on the academic performance of students; for example, in a study conducted by Asemah & Edegoh, (2012) on “the impact of facebook on undergraduate academic performance”, the findings of the study indicate that social media has a negative impact on students. The result showed that the more students use social media, the more it negatively affect their academic performance. (Oye, 2012) also opines that, most of the adolescents use social media mainly for socialization, rather than for academic purpose. Similarly, Shana (2012) asserts that students use social media mainly for making friends and chatting not for research and academic advancement.
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In a contrary view, (Young, 2006) in a study titled “the effect of internet use and social capital on the academic performance of students” observes that the internet expands its reach to teenagers’ school life. Young further notes that students are more reliant on the internet to access information that affect their school life as well as entertainment. The researcher further adds that although internet, consumes time, it has less effect on studies and academic activities. Yang (2003) cited in Asemah, & Edegoh, (2012) opined that the effect of social media on academic performance depends largely on the degree of its usage. Yoon (2000) also observes that the type of social media or network subscribed to by a student exerts influence on him or her to visit the internet. Jeong (2005) and Seo (2004) note that internet addiction is significantly and negatively related to students’ academic performance, as well as emotional attributes. Research Design and Methodology The research design used for this study was survey design. The justification for using survey design was simply because it provides answers to the questions of who, what, when, and where etc which is associated with this particular research problem. The design enables the researcher to obtain reliable information concerning the current problem under review, and also provides the necessary impetus through which the impact of social media on students’ academic performance could be explored. The population for the study comprises 10,058 students, and using the stratified random sampling technique, a sample size of 370 students was drawn from six different senior secondary schools in the study area as guided by Kreysie and Morgan table of sample size. The sample comprises of senior secondary school students from SS1 (33%), SS2 (33%), SS3 (34%). The mean age of the subjects was 16 years and the gender ratio was 60% male students and 40% female students. Researcher made students social media usage scale (SSUS) was used for data collection in the study. The reliability of the instrument was determined using Cronbach 5
Alpha formular where the overall internal consistency coefficient was found to be 0.85. The instrument has satisfactory levels of validity through face and content validity by experts in the areas of English Language, Educational Psychology, guidance and counseling after their review of appropriateness of the items contained in the instrument to the objectives of the study. In determining the academic performance of the students the researcher collected the students’ first term examination scores in mathematics. The Data collected from the field was statistically analyzed using Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) and Chi-square test of independence with the help of SPSS (16.0 version). Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) was used to find out the effect of social media on the academic performance of senior secondary students in the study area while the Chi-square test of independence was used to determine the gender difference on the use of social media among senior secondary students of the study area. Results and Discussions Testing Hypothesis 1 H0 There is no significant effect of social media on the academic performance of senior secondary school students of Ungogo LGA Table 1 Pearson correlation coefficient showing the effect of social media on the academic performance of senior secondary school students of Ungoggo L.G.A, Kano State
Social media
Social Media 1
Pearson Correlation Sig. (2 tailed) N
370
Academic Performance
Pearson Correlation Sig. (2 tailed) N Correlation is significant at 0.01 levels (2 tailed).
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-0.805 0.000 370
Academic Performance -0.805 0.000 370 1 370
The results in the table above (Table 1) reveal a statistically significant (P< 0.01) and negative strong relationship (r= 0.805) between the social media usage and academic performance of senior secondary school students of Ungoggo L.G.A, Kano State. Based on the above results, the study therefore concludes that social media usage has a strong negative effect on the academic performance of senior secondary school students of Ungoggo L.G.A, Kano State. Hence, we reject the null hypothesis which says there is no significant effect of social media on the academic performance of senior secondary school students of Ungoggo L.G.A, Kano state and accept the alternate hypothesis that, there is a significant effect of social media on the academic performance of senior secondary school students of Ungoggo L.G.A, Kano state. This is in line with the study of Jeong (2005) and Seo (2004) where they note that internet addiction is significantly and negatively related to students’ academic performance, as well as emotional attributes. Moon (2011) in the study he conducted on “the impact of facebook on undergraduate academic performance”, also finds that social media has a negative effect on students’ academic performance. Asemah & Edegoh, (2012) conducted a research on the impact of social media on the academic performance of high school students, their result showed that the more students use social media, the more it negatively affects their academic performance. Oye (2012) also found that most of the adolescents use social media mainly for socialization, rather than for academic purpose. Similarly, Shana (2012) opined that students use social media mainly for making friends and chatting not for research and academic purposes. Testing Hypothesis 2 H01: There is no significant gender difference in the use of social media among senior secondary school students of Ungoggo LGA, Kano State.
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Table 2 Chi-square test of independence showing the gender difference in the use of social media among senior secondary school students of Ungoggo L.G.A, Kano State Variables Male Observed
Female
%
Expected
Frequent
Score 45
Not
59
frequent Total 104 2 df=1 , χ =15.12, p=0.5
Total
Observed
%
Expected
Total
43.3
Score 56.1
45
Score 37
77.1
Score 25.9
70.9
56.7
47.9
59
11
22.9
22.1
81.1
100
104
104
48
100
48
154
The Data in table 2 reveals that the Calculated χ2 (15.12) is greater than the critical χ2 (3.84) for df = 1 at P= 0.05 level. The H0 is therefore rejected and it is concluded that there is a significant gender difference in the use of social media among senior secondary school students of Ungoggo L.G.A, Kano where female students are found be to using social media more frequently than the male students. The finding above corroborates Asemah and Edegoh (2012) who noted that female students patronize social media more than their male counterparts because of the ample time they have at home, as such, they tend to engage themselves into socialization through social media. Kietzmannn (2012) conducted a survey on social media usage between male and female adolescents, he concludes that female adolescents nowadays spend less time talking to family members, experience more loneliness and depression as such they became more addicted to social media than their male counterparts. Another survey released in 2000 by the Pew Internet and American life project also reports that female students use internet and social media more 8
than the male students. The study further reveals that female adolescents are addicted to internet in the same way they might be addicted to drugs, gambling, or alcohol. Conclusion The 21st Century brought with it the advent of new media with fast tracking means of sending and receiving information via internet called social media. This social media gained popularity among adolescents. The rate at which these adolescents devote their time and energy in chatting via social media calls for urgent attention. Since the advent of social media in the mid-1990s many scholars and educationists assert that students’ academic performance is drastically reducing due to the neglect, distraction and divided attention between social media and the students’ academic activities. It is observed that students give more attention to social media than their studies (Ndaku, 2013). Hence, social media is an educational distraction avenue which offers more educational harm to students than benefit. Senior secondary school students nowadays often waste their time chatting in the social media at the detriment of their academic work (Jeong, 2005, Seo, 2004, Oye, 2012, Shana, 2012). Due to their less activities and commitment in day to day activities of life, female students get more time to participate in the social media chatting than the male students there by making them more vulnerable to social media activities (Asemah and Edegoh, 2013, Kietzmannn, 2012). As such, there are many incidences of murders and gang rapping of girls by guys whom they meet through social media. For instance a young lady of 16 years called Cynthia Okojie was gang raped and murdered by her Facebook friends in Lagos when she visited them, and her nude pictures were displayed on the net by the perpetrators (Ndaku, 2013). Recommendations
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Based on the above findings the researchers made the following recommendations: 1. Parents and teachers should monitor and supervise the activities of their children most especially in the areas of internet and social media activities and should also prevent them from using sophisticated handsets with internet connectivity until after graduation from secondary school. 2. Students should strike a balance between chatting and academic activities. More attention should be directed to e-learning, academic consultation and research in the social media. 3. The government should create a regulatory framework in the use of internet and social media in Nigeria so as to regulate the abuse of social media in the country.
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Ndaku, A. (2013). Impact of Social Media on the Students academic performance of University of abuja Students. Abuja: University of Abuja. Oye, N. (2012). Students Perception of Social Networking Sites influence on academic performance. International Journal of social Networking and Virtual Communication. Picciano, A. (2002). Beyond Student Perceptions: Issues of Interaction, Presence, and Performance in an online course. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 21 to 40. Seo, W. (2004). Internet Usage and life satisfaction of youths. Information Policy, 11. Shana, L. (2012, 10 23). The Influence of Social Networking sites on students academic performance in Malaysia. Retrieved 5 27, 2015, from http:utechancademic.ed.shanleebrown. Sunusi, S. J. (2014). Impact of Social Media on the academic performance of senior secondary school students of Ungoggo L.G.A. Unpublished Undergraduate Project. Yang, D. (2003). The difference of adolescents activity and satisfaction of interpersonal relationship according to the internet addiction tendency. Korean Journal of youth studies. Yang, H. A. (2003). Effects of social Network on Students performance: A web based forum study in Taiwan. Journal of Asynchrous learning Networks, 7 to 20. Yoon. (2000). Internet Usage of Teenagers. Information and Science, 2. Young, B. (2006). A study of the effect of Internet use and social capital on the academic performance. Retrieved 6 10, 2015, from isdpt.org.publicationjournals.
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