IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA USE ON THE PSYCHOSOCIAL AND ACADEMIC PROBLEMS OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

The increased use of Social Networking Websites has become an international phenomenon in the recent years. What started out as a hobby for some computer literate people has become a social norm and way of life for people from all over the world (Boyd, 2007). Teenagers and young adults have especially embraced these sites as a way to connect with their peers, share information, reinvent their personalities, and showcase their social lives (Boyd, 2007).

Online social networks (OSNs) have permeated all generations of Internet users, becoming a prominent communications tool, particularly in the student community. Thus, academic institutions and faculty are increasingly using social networking sites, such as Facebook and LinkedIn, to connect with current and potential students and to deliver instructional content. With the increase of technology used for communicating with others and the popularity of the Internet, Social Networking€ has become an activity that is done primarily on the Internet, with sites like MySpace, Facebook, Bebo, Friendster, and Xanga (Coyle et al., 2008).

Students now use the Internet for the majority of their daily activities and information gathering, as opposed to older generations who used resources like the television or newspaper (Lewis, 2008). A recent survey showed that approximately ninety percent of teens in the United States have Internet access, and about seventy-five percent of these teens use the Internet more than once per day (Kist, 2008). This study also showed that approximately half of all teens who have Internet access are also members of social networking sites, and use the Internet to make plans and socialize with friends (Kist, 2008).

Tuckman (1975) defined performance as the apparent demonstration of understanding, concepts, skills, ideas and knowledge of a person and proposed that grades clearly depict the performance of a student. Hence, their academic performance must be managed efficiently keeping in view all the factors that can positively or negatively affect their educational performance. Use of technology such as internet is one of the most important factors that can influence educational performance of students positively or adversely.

Shah et al. (2001) proposed that student users are affected by the internet and this impact is determined by the type of internet usage. They are positively affected by the informative use of internet while having drastic impact of recreational use of internet on them. Also, Oskouei (2010) proposed that internet is advantageous to both students and teachers if used as a tool of knowledge creation and dissemination.

Several studies have been done regarding social networking and grades. Whittemore School of Business and Economics (University of New Hampshire, England) recently conducted a survey of over 1,000 students. They asked questions regarding which social  network sites were used, how much time they spent on a site, what their grade point average (GPA) was, and what they were going to school for. It was concluded that there is no correlation between how much time is spent on a social networking site and grades (Martin, 2009).

Facebook has attracted considerable attention among researchers. As a social networking site, it offers an online platform on which users create profiles, generate and share contents and information, and interact with other known and unknown contacts (Boyd and Ellison, 2007).

However various students participate in networking activities differently, depending on their personalities and cultural backgrounds.  Several studies note people’s internet-related attitudes; their interests and activities vary with their age, gender and personality traits (Hofstede and Hofstede, 2005 Nazir et al., 2009). Cultures are delineated by the relevant countries’ history, politics, and socio-economic situations. Cultural background also influences people from that culture through social learning processes and human natures, which shape their common characteristics. Each person is associated with a group of others who represent their native region; yet interacting with the external environment and communities contributes to modeling characteristics that subsequently affect attitudes and behavior (Hofstede and Hofstede, 2005 Nazir et al., 2009). Differences in cultural background and characteristics suggest a need to address the impact of students’ Facebook usage in various settings, which prompt questions about unpredictability of the Facebook among students with different characteristics and in different cultural context.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Student’s use of social networking continues to create challenges and issues for higher education professionals and keeping abreast of these challenges has proved difficult because of the speed at which new technologies are being introduced.

Potential risks or drawbacks identified with the use of social media include risks of psychological disorders and health problems such as anxiety, depression, poor eating habits, and lack of physical exercise; increasingly short attention spans and subverted higher-order reasoning skills such as concentration, persistence, and analytical reasoning among frequent users of social media; a tendency to overestimate one’s ability to multi-task and manage projects; and technology being seen as a substitute for the analytical reasoning process (Anderson, & Rainie, 2012). Collectively, these risks all play a role in a student’s educational process to various degrees and at various times. Other negative side effects of social networking websites include the following:

The lack of privacy on social network site can cause many problems in an adolescent’s life. Among the networks of people who are linked together on these sites, there is little that is not shared. Anything written on the site can be viewed by others, and this can often cause conflict. For example, if a teen is browsing through some of her classmates’ profile pages and notices that they all went to a party the night before and she was not invited. Though this could happen even without social network sites, it makes it much easier to find out what other people are doing just by the click of a button (DeSouza & Dick, 2008).

Participating in online social networks also increases the likelihood of being victimized online, or, cyber-bullied. Cyber-bullying is the use of communication technology, such as SNSs, to harm or bully€ others. Forms of cyber-bullying include harassing emails, web pages, hateful instant messages, text messages, and cruel posts on social networking sites. The result of being a victim of cyber-bullying can be embarrassment, feelings of belittlement, low self esteem, and even suicide (Mesch, 2009).

Despite the fact that a relatively large number of social network sites (SNS)  including Facebook was initially created for learning purposes, there is some evidence that most SNS users show almost no attitudes towards finding academic information. Thus, it is possible that students are spending their time on visiting SNS instead of doing their course requirements. For example, a survey conducted by de Villiers (2010) has shown that only an insignificant number of students (9 out of 200) who are studying at the University of South Africa claimed that they were using Facebook for academic purposes. Even though more than a half of the respondents had a Facebook account (105 students), only 5% of them were involved in the learning process with the help of social network sites (de Villiers, 2010).

Research has also shown that an adolescent is more likely to harass or harm another student if they are not face to face, which also can make a social network sites a perfect place to trouble to manifest.  However, there is no current legislation that protects students from this type of harassment, even though there are laws for more traditional types of bullying (Geach & Haralambous, 2009).

• Aim and Objectives of the Study

The main purpose of this research is to examine the impact of social media use on the psychosocial and academic problems of undergraduate students. Other objectives include:

1. To determine how social networking sites can be used as a platform for educational learning.
2. To examine the uses and gratifications drawn from social media and its effects on students’ learning.
3. To find out the adverse effect if any of social media on students’ academic performance in tertiary institution.
4. To examine the influence of social media network on students attitude towards education.

• Research Questions

In assessing the purpose of the study, this research project will answer the following questions:

1. How can social networking sites be used as a platform for educational learning?
2. What effect does the uses and gratifications drawn from social media have on students’ learning?
3. What are the adverse effects of social media on students’ academic performance in tertiary institution?
4. How does social media network influence students’ attitude towards education?

Research Hypotheses

The following hypothetical statements serve as a direction on which the work will be premised:

H₀₁: There is no significant relationship between social networking and educational learning of students.

H₀₂: There is no significant relationship between social media and gratifications drawn from the use by students.

H₀₃:  There is no significant relationship between social media and students’ academic performance in tertiary institution

H₀₄:  There is no significant relationship between social media and students’ attitude towards education.

Significance of the Study

This study will enable government to know the adverse state of social media and its effect on students’ academic performance so as to provide rules and regulation through which the problems could be resolved or curbed.

It will also be of great importance to the students by broadening their knowledge about both positive and negative use of social media and it effect on academic performance.

It will also help the society to appreciate the effective use of social media as an agent of political, social and religious development of a community which can influence them into passing the right judgment and taking the right decision that affect their lives and existence.

 Scope of the Study

The research work examines the impact of social media use on the psychosocial and academic problems of undergraduate students with a view to explore University of Lagos. The research is confined to the institution under study.

• Operational Definition Of Terms

Social Media: Social media refers to the means of interactions among people in which they create, share, and exchange information and ideas in virtual communities and networks.

Student Performance: This shows the result of students’ assessment, test and examination. It can be said to be the accomplishment of students achievement measured against preset known standards of accuracy, completeness, etc

 Psychosocial: It relates to the interrelation of social factors and individual thought and behavior.

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