THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON STUDENTS ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Globally, the social media phenomena has gotten increasingly interesting during the previous few years. According to Bazley (2016), social media is a form of online media that facilitates discourse, in contrast to conventional media, which offers material but does not enable readers, viewers, or listeners to participate in its production or evolution. There are several social media platforms, ranging from social sharing sites like YouTube and Flicker to social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter (Maya, 2015). Today, the globe is home to numerous emerging brand names that were almost unheard of just six to seven years ago. Face book, which was established by a 26-year-old same years ago, currently has over 300 million users, including Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari. Other options include Twitter, Chatter, LinkedIn, and Yammer, to name a few. The internet's introduction in the 1990s ushered in significant changes in the realm of communication. Today, the internet has firmly established a foothold in people's lives. It's impossible to envision a young guy who didn't check social media for updates and leaf through the news lines at least once a day. The current world compels us to be connected and informed about recent global events (Maya, 2015).

The internet is more than a tool for information retrieval. The Internet has enabled people to connect with one another for business or commercial purposes, to make new friends, or to reconnect with long-lost friends and relatives (Boyd & Ellison, 2014). The advent of social media simplifies the process because it does not require advanced internet knowledge or experience and is comprised of a diverse array of formats and topics. This means that social media allows anyone to connect. With such widespread adoption, it's unsurprising that social media has had an impact on how people live and socialize. Teachers and students, particularly in the West, are also utilizing social media as a communication tool. It is a two-way street, as students use these mediums to communicate with their teachers.

According to Boyd & Ellison, (2014) a social network site is a web-based service that enables individuals to register in a confined system, articulating groups of people inside the same system for the purpose of sharing personal or academic information. This demonstrates that social media provides a space where individuals may connect and discuss shared interests such as relationships, sports, politics, or academia. Boyd & Ellison (2014) contend, however, that members on particular social media platforms do not sign up primarily to communicate with strangers; rather, they sign up to reconnect with lost but discovered offline friends as well as close ones. Scholars and educators have paid close attention to social networking sites due to their rising popularity among students and possible impact on academic achievement. However, the research demonstrate two diametrically opposed perspectives on the influence of social media on users. While proponents argue that social media allows users to connect with others who share their interests and values, critics argue that excessive use of these sites has a negative impact on users' social, mental, and physical health. Many students who have access to social media waste their time chatting and surfing the internet for non-educational information (Kaplan & Haenlein 2015). They spend their days hooked to their phones, which causes them to lose track of time. Additionally, several students have been observed touching their phones during classes, seminars, and in libraries. Some of them may even plug in their earpieces and hum out the music they are listening to while studying, lowering their absorption rates and causing problems for others around them. To be informed about the world and current events, they are always on the internet reading, surfing, and reading fashion and social blogs. There is a noticeable decline in students' enthusiasm for reading for pleasure and enjoyment, as they choose to seek pleasure from the media by streaming movies on Social Media and playing with their smartphones. They now read primarily to pass examinations, not to develop information (Kyoshaba, 2019). This has resulted in a significant decrease in the brain's usage and development. Students are no longer taught to read. Students that spend an excessive amount of time networking have a high probability of receiving bad marks, exhibiting poor academic performance, and being unsuccessful.

Additionally, social media has a plethora of beneficial effects. To begin, it improves learning and education. Students now have access to a wealth of information thanks to the Internet (Kyoshaba, 2019). Nothing is weird when it comes to 'googling'. Regardless of the age of the information, the internet functions as a search light for them. Certain types of information formerly unavailable in libraries and research institutes are now available online. Numerous students have benefited from the usage of search engines such as Google and Google Scholar. The globe has shrunk to a tiny space where knowledge and information circulate freely (Idobo, 2014). Certain educational issues that students confront are explored and resolved through engagement with online counselors. The usage of social media makes distance learning possible. Numerous colleges currently offer public online courses. The social media revolutionized education and learning by bringing them directly to our homes. There is no need to go and endanger one's life in order to learn. Students who are unable to fly out of the country financially have the option of studying overseas while in Nigeria. Lecturers now prefer that students submit assignments and projects via email. Teachers make lecture notes, handouts, and reading materials available online for students to download. This lowers the cost of photocopies and eliminates the danger of misplacing them (Idobo, 2014).

Individuals' opinions and self-acceptance may be influenced by their perception of themselves in relation to various components of their surroundings. This may impact students' attitudes regarding social media use. An examination of the impact of social media on students' academic achievement can be a critical first step toward reversing the trend in attitudes toward social media use.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Today's world is a global marketplace, with the internet serving as the primary source of information. Since the development of social networking platforms in the 1990s, it is often considered that students' academic performance has been neglected and challenged. Nigeria's educational system faces several issues, which have undoubtedly resulted in a fast deterioration in educational quality. Between their social networking activities and their academic work, there is a diversion, a distraction, and a division of focus. Students are found to pay more attention to social media than to their coursework (Osharie, 2015).

According to Obi, Bulus, Adamu, & Sala'at (2014), students' addiction to social networks, their frequency of exposure to social networks, the social media networks to which students are more exposed, and the influence of social media as a medium of interaction between students have all been discussed in recent years and have had an effect on their academic performance. Instead of reading their books, students spend their time chatting and making friends on social media, which may have an effect on their academic performance, as there is no way to perform well academically without reading. It is not uncommon to observe a student conversing in very sensitive and structured spaces such as a church, mosque, or lecture setting. Some are so carried away that they continue to converse even as they go down the high path (Maya, 2015).

In recent years, social media has dominated students' and the world's minds, resulting in a slew of drastic measures taken by students, teachers, and even educational administrators. It is critical to investigate some of the current difficulties affecting students' academic performance as a result of social media. Students at all levels of education now devote a portion of their attention to studies as a result of the opportunities available through social media (Maya, 2015). The question of whether these chances stimulate studies remains unanswered. Thus, the study examines the effect of social media on the academic achievement of senior secondary school computer science students.

1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The primary objective of this study is to examine the impact of social media on students academic achievement.  Specifically, this study seeks:

i.          To determine whether senior secondary school students are exposed to social media.

ii.        To determine the extent social media is used by students in senior secondary schools.

iii.      To determine whether social media has an effect on the academic performance of secondary school students.

iv.      To determine if there is any significant difference between male and female students in secondary schools usage of social media network.

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The following research questions will be answered in this study:

i.          Are senior secondary school students exposed to social media?

ii.        To what extent is social media used by students in senior secondary schools?

iii.      Does social media have an effect on the academic performance of secondary school students?

iv.      Is there any significant difference between male and female students in secondary schools usage of social media network?

1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study is significant to the teachers, parents, students and researchers. This study will help the teachers of senior secondary schools to know the influence that social media has on their students, so as to assist them to enlighten and create awareness to the students on the possible influence it has on them. This study will further be of significance to parents in the sense that they will know the possible effects these social media usage has on their children, so as to serve as watch-dogs to their children on the usage of the social networking site.

At the end of the study, this research work will be relevant in assisting students to understand the diversity of social media and ethical way of getting the best from social media and will also provide relevant materials for students and other researchers undertaking similar research.

Finally, this study will go further in helping researchers with more information on the effects of social media on student’s academic performance.

1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This study will focus on examining the impact of social media on students academic achievement. Specifically, it will focus on determining whether senior secondary school students are exposed to social media, determining the extent social media is used by students in senior secondary schools, determining whether social media has an effect on the academic performance of secondary school students and determine if there is any significant difference between male and female students in secondary schools usage of social media network.

Teachers and students of selected secondary schools in Okobo LGA, Akwa Ibom State will serve as participants for the survey of this study.

1.7 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

The researcher encountered minor obstacles when conducting the study, as with any human endeavor. The significant constraint was the scarcity of literature on the subject due to the nature of the discourse, so the researcher incurred more financial expenses and spent more time sourcing for relevant materials, literature, or information and in the data collection process, which is why the researcher resorted to a limited choice of sample size. Furthermore, the researcher did this investigation alongside other academic activities. Furthermore, the sample size was limited because only a few respondents were chosen to answer the research instrument, therefore the results cannot be generalized to other secondary schools outside the state. Despite the constraints encountered during the research, all elements were minimized in order to provide the best results and make the research effective.

1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS

Impact: a marked effect or influence

Social media:Social media are forms of electronic communication which facilitate interactive social networking base on certain interests. Social media include web and mobile technology. Kaplan & Haenlein (2015), defined social media as a group of internet-based applications that builds on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0 and allow the creation and exchange of user-generated content. The Oxford dictionary (2018), also defined social media as “websites and applications used for social networking”. Another definition of social media is that it is a ‘communication channel which is very popular, extremely fast and broad, has proven to be highly effective, as well as trusted by billions of people , to share and discover content concerning individuals, brands, information, entertainment and know how’’ (Dearborn, 2014). One theme that all these definitions underpin is that social media involves some form of communication between individuals over the internet.

Academic achievement: According to “Wikipedia” Academic performance or "academic achievement" is the extent to which a student, teacher or institution has attained their short or long-term educational goals. Completion of educational benchmarks such as secondary school diplomas and bachelor's degrees represent academic achievement. Academic performance also means the knowledge and skills that students have mastered in a subject or a course. It’s basically a measure of how well students have performed in the various assessment items set for them based on some educational criteria determined by professional educators.