The Impact of Whatsapp Messenger Usage on Students Performance in Tertiary Institutions in Ghana

Abstract

The perceived high level of usage of social networking applications amongst students of tertiary institutions in Ghana is inevitable. However, little is understood from empirical viewpoint about the intensity, of usage of whatsapp messenger and its impact on the academic performance of students in tertiary institutions. This study seeks to empirically identify the impact of social network (whatsapp messenger) on the performance of tertiary students in Ghana from the perspective of the students.  To achieve this, 50 students from five tertiary institutions were interviewed and 500 questionnaires were administered to students from same institutions. The study revealed that, whatsapp instead of making communication easier and faster thereby enhancing effective flow of information and idea sharing among students, rather has impacted negatively on the performance of tertiary students in Ghana .The study among other things unveiled the following: whatsapp takes much of students study time , results in procrastination related problems, destroys students’ spellings and grammatical construction of sentences, leads to lack of concentration during lectures,   results in difficulty in balancing online activities (whatsapp) and academic preparation and  distracts students from completing their assignments and adhering to their private studies time table.

Keywords: Whatsapp Messenger, Impact, Students Performance, Tertiary institutions, Ghana.