Influence of Social Media on Science Student Academic Performance in Rivers State University, Nkpolu Oroworukwo

Abstract

The study investigated the influence of social media on the academic performance on science student in Rivers State University, Nkpolu Oroworukwo Rivers State Nigeria.  To this end three research questions guided the study. The study used the casual comparative research design. 400 students of the University were randomly sampled from a population of 29,939 students. The instrument for the study was a questionnaire titled Social Media and Academic Performance Scale (SMAPS) developed by the researcher. The reliability coefficient of the instrument was determined by Pearson product moment as a measure of its stability over time. The reliability coefficient of the instruments was 0.82. Data was collected and analyzed using percentages mean and standard deviation. The majority of Rivers State University students use social networking sites for a variety of purposes, including entertainment, communication, sociability, and education, according to the survey. Male students utilized social media for information and academics, while female students used it for sociability and amusement. Male students are more likely to use social media for information and academics than female students are. The majority of Rivers State University students spend at least 6 hours a day on social networking sites (SNSs) visiting websites and connecting with other users for intellectual and non-academic purposes. SNSs, according to the majority of respondents, distract them from their lectures, library sessions, and academics in general. Students feel that social media sites have a detrimental impact on their academics, and that in order to enhance their scores, they must minimize their usage of social media sites. It recommended, among other things, that administrators at Nigerian tertiary institutions implement guidelines and restrictions that limit or prohibit students’ use of social networking sites during lectures and library sessions; and students utilize social media for academic purposes.