Influence of Social Media Usage on Self-Image and Academic Performance among Senior Secondary School Students in Ilorin-West Local Government, Kwara State

Abstract

This study was designed to find out the influence of social media usage on self-image and academic performance among senior secondary school students in Ilorin-West Local Government, Kwara State. The study used ex-post factor design. Purposive and simple random samplings were used to select the sample. Four senior secondary schools with a total population of 1,660 and a sample size of 310 students were drawn and used for the study. Two questionnaires were used for the study: Social Media, Self-Image Questionnaire [SMSQ] and English Language and Mathematics Test [EMT]. Three research hypotheses were raised and tested. Pearson r and t-test, tools were used for the statistical analysis. The result shows that there is positive correlation between social media usage and self-image. The finding shows there is no correlation between social media usage and academic performance. The result also shows significant difference between male and female in social media usage. Recommendations were that: Students should be conscious of the time they spend on social media sites in order to have more time for their classroom activities and homework. Teachers should encourage the students to expend some meaningful hours on social media sites so as to make friends that would help increase their self-image.

Keywords: social media, self-image and academic performance