Social Media and Academic Achievement in the Ibarapa Polytechnic, Eruwa, Oyo State

Abstract

Social media is rapidly changing the communication setting of today’s social world. The emergent of social media is significantly influencing the academic life of students. This study therefore examines the effect of social media on academic achievement of students in the Ibarapa Polytechnic Eruwa, Oyo State. The rationale behind the study is to find out whether the exposure of the students to social media has effect on their academic achievement. The population consists of all the 5,446 full and Part time undergraduate students in the institution. Simple random sampling technique was used to select a sample of 816 students. A survey research method was adopted employing five point Likert Type Rating Scale Questionnaire type, titled: Social Media and Academic Achievement of Students Questionnaire (SMAA) to collect data from the participants. The findings showed that undergraduate students of the Ibarapa Polytechnic, Eruwa, Oyo State, have access to and that their exposure to social media is to a very great extent. Findings also showed that social media has significant effect on the academic achievement of students in the institution. The results indicated that there exists a positive correlation between social media and academic achievement(r=0.576 P<.05) which were found to be statistically significant at 5% level of significance. The paper recommends that students should pay minimal attention to social media and focus more on their academic activities in order to improve their academic performance.

Keywords: Social Media, Academic Achievement, Technology, Social Network, Networking Sites, Students.