Influence of Social Media on University Students’ Academic Performance in Rivers State, Nigeria

Abstract

This research adopted a descriptive survey design to determine the influence of social media on the academic performance of students in three universities. The universities are Rivers State University, Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, and the University of Port Harcourt, all in Rivers State, Nigeria. To achieve the purpose of the study, three (3) null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The population of the study was 1,750 undergraduate students of the Department of Business Education in the 2018/2019 academic session. A stratified simple random sampling technique was used to select a sample size of 350 students, using the Taro Yemane (1984) formula. A modified four-point Likert-scale type questionnaire was used to gather data. Before use, the questionnaire was validated and also subjected to a reliability test which yielded an index of 0.83 using Pearson’s product moment correlation statistics. Results showed that a large number of students in the Universities are addicted to social media. Findings show that the use of Facebook and WhatsApp platforms would likely influence the academic performance of the University students in Rivers State. It was recommended that social media should be used for promoting educational purposes, social networking sites should be broadened and new platforms created to enhance academic activities and improve students’ academic performance. It is also suggested that a one-credit course on the use of social media should be included during the orientation/induction programmes of the fresh students in the universities.