SOCIAL MEDIA USE, CHANGES IN READING /WRITING CULTURE, AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF UNDERGRADUATES IN THE NIGER DELTA UNIVERSITY, BAYELSA STATE DOI: 10.36108/IJSI/2202.11.0330
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
This study examined the impact of social media usage on the reading and writing culture of undergraduate students of Niger Delta University vis-a-vis the academic performance of the students. No doubt, the use of social media has brought significant changes to all aspects of human lives within the past decade. Despite this, there is a dearth of empirical studies analysing the change it has brought to reading and writing culture of undergraduate students in Nigeria. Uses and gratification theory was adopted as framework for
the study, while a survey research design was employed. The Niger Delta University was purposively selected as the research locale based on its lack of empirical analysis on the subject matter. The university was clustered into faculties and a sample of 392 respondents was drawn using Yamane (1967) formula. Simple random sampling was used to proportionately administer a structured questionnaire on students. Descriptive statistics and Multiple Linear Regression at P<0.05 were applied to analyse Data. The average age of the respondents was 21.29±2.49 years. The majority used WhatsApp (100.0%) and Facebook (30.9%) to study or write as undergraduate students. They also used these platforms to read journal articles (47.2%), academic books (85.7%) and watch movies (99.0%) among others. These activities, however, jointly predicted academic performance at (R=0.895, R2=0.801, Adj. R2=0.797, F(8,
383)=192.854). Using the social media to read Journal articles (β=0.112), academic books (β=-0.308), magazines (β=-0.123), newspapers (β=-0.265), watch movies (β=0.107), pictures (β=-0.496) and advertisement (β=-0.974) correlated student academic performance. The study recommended that, students academic reading materials be distributed on social media platforms following the students’ level of trend and addiction to social media.
Downloads
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
References
Al-Rahmi, W. M, Othman, M. S & Musa, M. A. (2014). The Improvement of Students’ Academic Performance by using Social Media through Collaborative Learning in Malaysian Higher Education. Asian Social Science, 10(8), 210-221.
Barker, M. S., Barker, D. I., Bormann, N. F., & Neher, K. E. (2012). Social media marketing: A strategic approach. Mas on, OH: South-West/Cengage.
Blumler, J., & Katz, E. (1974). The Uses of Mass Communications. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications.
Brydolf. C (2007). Minding My Space: Balancing the Benefits and Risks of Students’ Online Social Networks. Education Digest, 73(2): 4-6.
Dahlstrom, E., de Boor, T., Grunwald, P., & Vockley, M. (2011). ECAR: National Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology. Retrieved from http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ERS1103/ERS1103W.pdf
Daluba, N. E., & Maxwell, C.E.O. (2013). Effect of Social Media on the Use of the Academic Library by Undergraduate Students in Tertiary Institutions: A case study of Kogi State University, Anyigba. Academic Research International, 4 (5), 536-542.
Facebook. (2016). Company Info. Retrieved from http://newsroom.fb.com/compa12ny-info/ Fiegerman, S. (2014). Friendster Founder Tells his Side of the Story, 10years after Facebook. Retrieved from http://mashable.com/2014/02/03/jonathan-abrams-friendster-facebook/#FznuWRQ7Riql
Ibrahim, S. B. (2015). Power, Social Influence, and Sense Making: Effects of Network Centrality and Proximity on Employee Perceptions. Administrative Science Quarterly, 3(8), 277–303.
Instagram. (2016). Press News. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/press/?hl=en
Kalpidon, M., Cosin, D & Morris, J (2011). The Relationship Between Facebook and the well-being of Undergraduate College Student Cyber Psychology Behaviour and social networking. 14(4): 183- 18.
Kaplan, A. M. and Haenlin M. (2010) Users of the World Unite the Challenges and Opportunities of Social Media. Business Horizons, 53 (1) 59-68.
Lakhal, M. (2021). Social Media Use and its Effects on Writing Ability among Moroccan University EFL Students. International Journal of English Literature and Social Sciences, 6(3): 132-143.
Loving, M. & Ochoa, M (2010). Facebook as a Classroom Solution. New Library World, 112 (3 & 4): 121- 130.
Lowery, S. A., & Nabila, M. L. (1983). Milestones in Mass Communication Research. New York: Longman.
Lusk, B (2010). Digital Native and Social Media Behaviour: An Overview. Prevention Researcher, 4(1): 17-26.
McQuail, D. (2010). McQuail’s Mass Communication Theory (6th ed.). London: Sage Publications.
Obi, N. C., Bulus, L. D. Adamu, G. M. & Sala’at, A. B. (2012). The Need for Safety Consciousness among Youths on Social Networking Sites. Journal of Applied Science and Management (JASM), 14(1).
Ofuani, F.N. & Gbenedio, U.B. (2009). The Reading Habits of Junior Secondary School Students: A Case Study of University of Benin Demonstration Secondary School, Benin City. African Journal of Student Education. 4 and 5 (1&2): 66-79.
Onuoha, U. D & Saheed, F. O. (2011). Perceived Influence of Online Social Networks on Academic Performance: A Study of Undergraduates in Selected Universities in Ogun State, Nigeria. The Information Manager, 11(1&2), 6-13.
Perez, S. (2012). Classmates.com parent United Online acquires school-focused friend finder SchoolFeed. Retrieved from http://techcrunch.com/2012/06/11/classmates-com-parent-united-onlineacquires-school-focusedfriend-inder-schoolfeed/
Peter, J., & Valkenburg, P. (2009). Social Consequences of the Internet for Adolescents: A Decade of Research. Psychological Science, 18(1), 1-4.
Severin, W. J. & Tankard, J. W. (2001). Communication Theories: Origins, Methods, and Uses in the Mass Media. New York: Addison Wesley Longman.
Technext, (2020). http://technext.ng/2020/01/31/60-of-nigerians-are-still-not-connected-to-theinternet-and-only-about-10-are-active-on-social-media/.
The Next Web (TNW), We Are Social & Hootsuite, (2020). The 2020 Digital Global Overview Report. Retrieved on August 17, 2020 from Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.thenextweb.com/podium/2020/01/30/digital-trends-2020-every-single-stat-you-need-to-knowabout-the-internet/.
Twitter. (2016). It’s what’s happening. Retrieved from https://about.twitter.com/company
Wang, Q., Chen, W. & Liang, Y (2011). The Effects of Social Media on College Students. MBA Student Scholarship. Retrieved from http://scholarsarchive.jwu.edu/mba-student/s.
Watson, J. & Hill, A. (1997). A Dictionary of Communications Studies. NY: Arnold Publishing.
Yamane, T. (1967). Statistics: An introductory analysis. New York: Harper & Row.
Yunus, M, M., & Salehi, H. (2012). The Effectiveness of Facebook Groups on Teaching and Improving Writing: Students‟ Perceptions. International Journal of Education and Information Technologies, 6(1), 94.