Students’ Perception on the Effects of Social Network Sites on Their Academic Performance at Kumasi Technical University Campus

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to examine how students of the Kumasi Technical University perceive the use of social network sites (SNS) on their academic performance and the factors that influence their perception. The general assumption was that Kumasi Technical University students had positive perception on the use of social network sites on their academic performance. A sample size of 160 students made up of 103 male and 57 female respondents were selected using the stratified and the systematic sampling techniques.The descriptive survey design was used for the study. The instrument used was the questionnaire designed and administered by the researchers. There was 100% retrieval of the completed questionnaire from the respondents. From the statistics, the results showed that students of the University believed that there are both positive and negative effects of the use of social network sites on academic performance.Based on the findings, it was recommended that for students to reap the full benefits of social network sites they should use social network sites solely for academic purposes.It was suggested that, future studies should consider using a larger sample size.

Keywords: Perception, Social Network Sites, Academic, Performance, Internet.