SOCIAL MEDIA USE AND TIME MANAGEMENT AS PREDICTORS OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENT’S ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

Social media is a form of electronic communication that facilitates interaction by leveraging specific interests and attributes. They are media that facilitate social interaction and employ publishing technologies that are both highly accessible and scalable. These technologies are capable of converting broadcast media monologues into social dialogues through the popular realm of internet sites such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, 2go, Whatsapp, Instagram, BBM, Eskimi, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Social media are computer-mediated instruments that enable individuals to generate, distribute, and exchange information, ideas, images, and videos within virtual communities and networks. 

According to Ames (2018), social media is "a collection of internet-based applications that are based on the ideological and technological underpinnings of web 2.0 and encompass the entire process of generating and exchanging user-generated content." Burke and Kraut (2020) defined social media as "the numerous electronic tools that are relatively inexpensive and widely accessible, allowing anyone to publish and access information, collaborate, and establish relationships." In other words, social media platforms can grant their users unlimited access to the extent to which they intend to utilise it. Consequently, the incorporation of social media is a direct consequence of its convenience, functionality, flexibility, and ubiquitous accessibility. In order to establish highly interactive platforms that enable individuals and communities to share, debate, co-create, and modify user-generated content, social media platforms depend on mobile and web-based technologies. The communication between organisations, enterprises, individuals, and communities is significantly and profoundly altered by these platforms (Baumer, Adams, Khovanskaya, Liao, Smith, Schwanda & Williams, 2023).

Facebook remains the most frequently employed social media platform (Nielson Company, 2018). Facebook use is in no way proportional to social media use as a whole. YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, and Reddit are among the social media platforms that were developed with the primary objective of providing entertainment and social interaction. They are also frequently utilised by college students and millennials (Nielson Company, 2018). The largest demographic of social media consumers is college students. Lenhart, Purcell, Smith, and Zickuhr (2020) report that 72% of college students have a social media profile, with 45% of them active on social media at least once a day. 

Time management is the process of utilising tools and activities to effectively manage and strategize one's time. A more gratifying life experience can be achieved by increasing individual or group productivity and experiencing larger profits through effective time management. Time management is a method of monitoring and governing time, as defined by Eilam and Aharon (2023).Time management, as defined by North (2019), is the process of organising tasks and events by first estimating the time required to complete a task, the deadline for completion, and then adjusting events that would impede its completion to ensure that it is completed within the designated time frame. 

Numerous Nigerian students may experience difficulties with time management due to their addiction to social media, which has resulted in a lack of interest or apathy towards their academic pursuits. Due to this, they devote nearly all of their time to social media, which has had a detrimental impact on their academic performance and psychological well-being. Parents are apprehensive about the future of their offspring as a result of this situation (Nalwa & Anand, 2023). The extensive use of social media has prompted numerous inquiries regarding the manner in which students integrate it into their lives and whether this practice facilitates or impedes their overall social and academic growth, as evidenced by their capacity to form genuine friendships, think critically, and read deeply. 

According to Karpinski and Duberstein (2019), social media has continued to be a significant distraction for the current generation, despite the diversity of distinct distractions that each generation experiences. Students of all categories have been increasingly utilising social media. In their daily routines, students utilise at least one form of social media. Numerous pupils encounter challenges in time management and are motivated to enhance their academic performance. Nevertheless, the proliferation of social media has resulted in a significant increase in the amount of time that adolescents spend on and within the platform, which they perceive as a source of enjoyment from technological devices. Consequently, Olubiyi (2022) notes that the obsessive stance of Nigerian adolescents towards the use of social media is the source of contention. He emphasises that adolescents squander their time engaging in frivolous conversations and other immoral activities. The consequence is the loss of valuable time that could have been allocated to academic research and other productive networking activities. 

1.2 Statement of the Problem

In places of worship like the church and mosque, as well as highly structured areas like classrooms, it is not unusual to witness young people chit-chatting. Some are so absorbed in their conversation that they continue to talk while driving on the motorway. Students now have more options when it comes to using their cell phones because they don't have to go to a cybercafé to send and receive messages, thanks to the production and distribution of equally advanced phones. Visible companions are no longer the centre of attention; yet, significant endeavours like reading, writing, and studying suffer as a result. Many people who value information and time management are becoming concerned about this situation (Lenhart, Purcell, Smith, and Zickuhr, 2020). 

For a student, time is of the essence. The way in which it is used or abused could have a significant impact on how well a student does academically. Due to the increasing popularity of social media and all of its distractions, students' time management skills are becoming increasingly important, especially in light of the demanding standards of academic success. 

These days, secondary school pupils are glued to their phones and laptops. When the majority of students have access to the internet, they can easily spend hours conversing, checking their emails, Facebook profiles, MySpace pages, Twitter accounts, and LinkedIn accounts—and not just once a day. According to reports, young people in Nigeria spend, on average, six to seven hours a day online; some even stay up late surfing. Then, one starts to question when they will have time to read, study, and conduct research (Nalwa & Anand, 2023). 

Students' use and exposure to social media typically have an impact on how they manage their time. A poor academic performance may arise from pupils who spend a lot of time on social media and little time studying. Students' extended online stays may be attributed in part to their use of social media. As a result, time management issues may arise for students, particularly in relation to their use of social media (Burke and Kraut 2020). Thus, this study examine the effect of  social media use and time management on secondary school student’s academic performance.

1.3 Objectives of the Study

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of  social media use and time management on secondary school student’s academic performance. Specially, this study sought to:

Ascertain the extent  of social media utilization among secondary school students.

Ascertain whether social media usage affects students time management skill.

Ascertain whether there is a significant relationship between time management and students academic achievement 

Ascertain whether social media engagement affect the academic performance of secondary school students.

1.4 Research Questions

The following research questions were formulated to guide this study:

What is the extent  of social media utilization among secondary school students?

Does social media usage affects students time management skill?

Is there a significant relationship between time management and students academic achievement?

Does social media engagement affect the academic performance of secondary school students?

1.5 Research hypothesis

Ho: Social media usage does not affects students time management skill and academics performance.

Ha: Social media usage affects students time management skill and academics performance.

1.6 Significance of the Study

The findings from this study will be of immense benefit to students, teachers, curriculum planners, Counsellors and Psychologists, and other stakeholders in education as well as the society at large. For example, the result of the study will help students see how social media can affect the way they manage their time when they spend more time than expected to the detriment of other important tasks (academic pursuit) and other activities they are supposed to attend to. It will also help them adjust and manage their time properly and wisely to achieve maximum utilization in both their studies and other important tasks in their everyday lives. Teachers on the other hand, will benefit from the findings of the study as it will help them gain knowledge on the current challenges that students experience when it comes to managing time on the social media and find appropriate measure to help the students. It will also be of help to teachers, to vary their methods of teaching by including the use of social media in their teaching to foster understanding among students and also encourage students to spend more time on the social media for assignments, studies and doing researches than on mere social media socialization.

The findings from this study will also serve as a guide in helping the curriculum planners in the course of planning academic programmes for students by drawing their attention to the need to incorporate the use of social media and how well to manage time for academic purpose in their curriculum which will go a long way in helping the students. It will help stakeholders in education to introduce time management among students in their use of social media into the educational system which will help students to allocate time wisely to their studies and other important activities in their daily lives. It will also help Counsellors and Psychologists to guide students well on how to adequately and wisely manage their time, by guiding them to plan and allocate time to each activity they may engage in, so as to avoid time management problems that may affect their studies and other important activities. Findings from this study will provide information on time management for academic purpose to Counsellors and Psychologists which will help them attend to clients facing such challenges. Also, the findings of the study will serve as reference material for those who intend to embark on similar research and study and how it affects other spheres of life.

However, this information will get to students, teachers, curriculum planners, guidance counsellors and psychologists, stakeholders in education and the society at large through seminars, workshops, conferences, educational talks and newspapers.

1.7 Scope of the Study

The scope of this study boarders on the effect of  social media use and time management on secondary school student’s academic performance. Hence, the study will be delimited to some selected secondary schools in Owerri Municipal Local Government Area, Imo State.

1.8    Limitation Of The Study

This research project, like all human endeavors, had some challenges that threatened to derail the study's completion. One of the reasons is that the time allotted for this work was so limited that the researcher did not have enough time to complete the task thoroughly. During data collection, the researcher also had to put forth extra effort to understand the respondents' interview schedules, several of whom fell into the incomprehensible age group. Also, there were financial and transportation constraints to deal with. Insufficient funds tend to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing the relevant materials, literature, or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire, interview).

1.9 Definition Of Terms

Social Media: they are forms of electronic communication which facilitate interactive base on certain interests. Social media include web and mobile technology.

Time Management: It is the analysis of how working hours are spent and the prioritization of tasks in order to maximize personal efficiency in the workplace, (Collins EnglishDictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014). In this study, it refers to aability of a person (particularly student) to perform a task while managing

Academic Performance: Refers to accomplishing the goals of schooling through school and class attendance, mastering the content, doing assignments and research, sitting for exams and obtaining good grades.