By Lawrence Sunday Ogwang
ABSTRACT
Today, it is worth noting that youth are defining users of social media. It is argued that youth are always on social media sites to look for ways of satisfying their curiosity. This is consistent with the Uses and Gratification theory. This theory seeks to understand why people pursue the media, the way they do it and what they use it for. It explores how individuals deliberately seek out media to fulfill certain needs or goals such as entertainment, relaxation, or socializing. Several studies, however, have revealed that over utilization of social media has a profound influence on the lives and academic performance of many youths who are students. In line with the above, using the lens of Uses and Gratification Theory, this study sought to shed light on the role of social media on the academic performance of Uganda Martyrs` University students. It aims at clarifying different stakeholders’ relationship between social media usage and academic performance and to harness the full potential of social media. This study examines the role of social media in students’ academic endeavors and ultimately their academic performance through their reported perceptions and reflections. It also examines factors that might influence the nature of this relationship and its tentative impact on the academic performance of Uganda Martyrs` University students.
The researcher used methodical approach that is a combination of questionnaire and interview to collect data from the field. Thereafter, the study employed methodological triangulation, combining both qualitative and quantitative methods to analyze data. The qualitative analysis has been used to give a complete and detailed description in the form of words and pictures while the quantitative analysis has been used to classify features, count them and construct statistical models in an attempt to explain data gathered from the field. Interestingly, this study revealed that there are three different students’ opinion of the social media effect on their academic performance, according to the survey analysis, the students are divided into three groups. The first group believes that social media has a positive effect on their academic performance, the second group believes that social media has a negative effect on their academic performance, and the third group believes that social media does not have any effects on their academic performance. The study concludes with recommendations to the Government, University, Parents and Students. These are included at end of this research project in chapter five.
Table of Contents
1.7 Justification of the study
2.1 The Concept of social media
Forms of social media adapted from Grahl (2012) as cited by Alwagait et al. (2015)
2.2 How social media facilitate academic performance
2.3 Effectiveness of social media in enhancing academic performance
2.4 Challenges posed by social media to students` academic performance
3.3 Area and population of the study
3.6 Data analysis and presentation
3.9 Limitations and challenges
DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS
4.1 Demographic Characteristics of the Respondents
4.1.1 Gender of the respondents
4.1.2 Age brackets of the Respondents
4.1.3 Faculties of the Respondents
4.2. Information background on the use of social media
4.2.1 Social platform mostly used by respondents
4.2.2 Place of social media access
4.2.3 Number of hours spent on social media
4.3 Findings in relation to the different specific objectives
4.3.1 How does social media enhance academic performance for students?
4.3.2 How effective is social media in enhancing the academic performance of students
4.3.3 Challenges social media poses to students in their academic endeavours
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.3.2 University Administration
5.3.3 Uganda Communications Commission and Telephone companies
CHAPTER ONE
Introduction to the study
Over the past years, Sponcil and Gitimu (2013) argue that social media have gained so much growth and fame worldwide to the extent that many researchers are now interested in learning more about these social platforms and their impact on the community. Numerous people, especially the youth and students according to Hynan et al. (2014) are more excited about these social media platforms because of the satisfaction they derive from the consumption of these social media content.
As a result of this, many scholars have researched different aspects of social media concerning the life of students in different institutions of learning and their findings have revealed a multiplicity of what social media can do in the lives of its users. To add on the body of existing knowledge from different researchers, this study sets out to explore the Role of Social Media in Enhancing Students` Academic Performance, using the case of Uganda Martyrs University Students.
The research is divided into five different chapters. Chapter one mainly handles the introductory part of the study, while Chapter Two focuses on what other authors or scholars say about the phenomenon of Social Media. This is titled Literature review. Chapter three covers the methodology that is used in the research process. Chapter four is about data presentation, analysis and discussion of findings and finally, Chapter five gives the summary, conclusion and recommendations based on the findings.
1.1 Background of the study
According to Camilia et al. (2013), the Internet and in particular social media applications such as Facebook, YouTube and many others, are overtaking the world and could be regarded as a global consumer phenomenon. Social media usage, therefore, is one of the most common activities among children, adolescents, and students at a higher level of education. It offers today’s youth a threshold for entertainment, communication and it is becoming one of the main platforms for accessing information and news.
These advances in Internet technologies and social media applications have stimulated how we interact, communicate, learn, and build knowledge. For much of the connected world, it infuses nearly every aspect of our existence from shopping and banking, to communication and education among many other pursuits (Tariq et al. 2012).
The adoption of social media among the younger generation according to Vorderer (2016), could be attributed to their up-to-date knowledge of technology and the convenient accessibility to these social networking tools. This encourages them to use social media not only for receiving and retrieving information, but also for being online and connecting with others, and from being consumers and participants to “prosumers” which means that they consume and produce media content on the social media platform (Obar et al. 2015).
Social media channels have nearly been everywhere since the early 2000s at exponential rates (Ahmad 2018). However, it is vital to capitulate that this phenomenon started a long way back as early as the 1840s. Since then, it has seen many social sites sprout and grow to something significant.
As social sites kept growing, the way people use them has also been evolving from one to another including maintaining the social fabric in the society. According to Ahmad (2018), everyday people spend more time on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, WhatsApp and other sites just to maintain their social links. It's hard to imagine a world without it, and we tend to think that before these sites especially Facebook, social media wasn't a thing.
With the significant growth in the social sites, the young people especially students have ventured into these sites for many reasons including maintenance of the social fabric. Lately, social platforms like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have proven to be major sources of academic materials to students (Guraya, 2016). The big question would be how often and how many of the university students know this fact and use it to meet that interest? And if that is true, how does social media enhance students’ academic performance?
These questions are some of the most compelling issues behind this investigation into the role social media play in enhancing students’ academic performance, notwithstanding other independent variables that may contribute to the same performance of the students academically. This research focuses on the students of Uganda Martyrs University- Nkozi.
1.2 Statement of the problem
Although a very large number of people exist online, including social media, who focus on education, this might not be the case for some university students (Tariq et al. 2012). Even though the majority of students are active users of social media networks, most of them do not use social media for academic purposes.
Many scholars like Tariq (2012), have argued that technologies might have severe negative consequences on social network addicts. They, for example, fear that social networks grab the total attention and concentration of the students and divert them towards non-educational, unethical, and inappropriate actions such as useless chatting.
However, according to Maton and Kervin (2008), using media technology can help students enhance their academic performance. Yet, many educators and parents are worried that their children and students are spending too much time using social media networks. Some institutions and instructors ban the use of social media in classrooms believing that it negatively impacts students’ attention, engagement, and accordingly their academic performance will be affected.
While some studies emphasise the positive impact and opportunities a student can get from social media technology, a greater number of scholars are more focused on the negative roles of social media in the life of students. Over generalizations regarding the impact of social media, however, are not justified (Rambe, 2012). More needs to be discovered about the variables that influence this relationship and about strategies that help youths and higher education institutions to harness the full potential of these omnipresent technologies.
Despite the above studies, little academic attention has been paid to explore this in Uganda. This study aims to address this research gap on how social media enhances the academic performance of university students within the framework of Uganda and especially of Uganda Martyrs University Students.
1.3 Objective
1.3.1 General Objective
The general objective of this study is to find out the role of social media in enhancing students’
academic performance in higher institutions of learning.
1.3.2 Specific objectives
1. To establish how social media has simplified academic performance for Uganda Martyrs University Students
2. To assess the effectiveness of social media in enhancing the academic performance for Uganda Martyrs University Students
3. To explore the challenges social media poses to the academic performance of Uganda Martyrs University students (to explore the challenges social media poses to students’ academic performance in UMU)
4. To suggest possible solutions to the challenges social media poses to students in theirs studies
1.4 Research Questions
1. How does social media simplify academic performance for Uganda Martyrs university (UMU) students?
2. How effective is social media in enhancing the academic performance of students?
3. What are the challenges social media poses to students in their academic endeavours?
4. What are the possible solutions to the challenges social media poses to students?
1.5 Definition of key terms
Social media
In the context of this research, social media is used to mean a collection of applications Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, YouTube and websites that link people to share information and alert people about any event through social networking (S'Tayo et al., 2019).
Students
In the framework of this research, the term students have been used to refer to learners who have enrolled in a higher educational institution of learning. This focuses on students of Uganda Martyrs University.
Academic performance
For this research, the term has been used to refer to what each student gets in any class assessment in terms of marks that also translate to either high- or low-Grade Point Average (GPA) at the end of the semester.
1.6 Significance of the study
This research contributes to the local literature available and acts as a point of departure to those academicians who will intend to do a supplementary line of investigation on this subject of social media and its double-edged impact on the lives of the youth in Uganda upon consulting this research.
The study findings, insights and conclusions furnish enlightenment to the parents and teachers in different schools and institutions of higher learning on how to guide the youth in their usage of the social media constructively.
This research is of great significance to the students themselves if they take the precautions laid down in this research to be careful enough about the dark sides of ever-blossoming social media as they explore the different social platforms in their curiosity.
The findings from this research are of great relevance to the government of Uganda in their policy of fighting the misuse of social media by the youth and if need be, find some additional ways of regulating the use of this wolf in sheep’s skin as a means of protecting its young citizens from getting lost in the world of technology.
1.7 Justification of the study
Many intellectual works have been published about social media and its impact on the youth. Most of these works mainly focus on the negative impact of the same and few if any, focuses on the positive aspects of it and these have not been exhaustive. Scholars like Tariq (2012), have argued that technologies might have severe negative consequences on social networks addicts. They, for example, fear that social networks grab the total attention and concentration of the students and divert them towards non-educational, unethical, and inappropriate actions such as useless chatting. However, technological determinists argue that technology is meant to aid man in his struggles but not to destroy him.
A lot has been left out in as much as the impact of social media is concerned especially the impression of the same phenomenon on the academic life of the students who are mostly youth. This unattended-to area in the field of social media is the motivating factor behind this study. Far from condemning students’ involvement in using social media, this research is intended to focus on the Role of Social Media in enhancing students’ academic performance. It may not be so exhaustive on the matter and that it also allows those interested in the same area of study to carry out their research in related areas.
1.8 Scope of the study
The content latitude of this study is limited to the role of social media in enhancing students’ academic performance. The sample population is restricted to the students of Uganda Martyrs University. The reason for this sample choice is based on the assumption that majority of students have smartphones and use social media.
This research report has supposedly taken six months that is, from March 2021. After the submission and approval of the proposal, the researcher went to the field to look for relevant data that is in line with the topic of the research. After collecting the data, researcher settled down to organize, analyze, interpret and present the finding. Thereafter, the recommendations and conclusion were made. All these have roughly taken one year.
1.9 Conclusion
This chapter covered mostly the general introduction to the research project. It majorly looked at the statement of the problem which included the knowledge gap, the objectives and the significance of study among others. The next chapter gives the literature review. It focuses on the existing literature covering the subject matter of the research topic and how each author explores these related ideas.
CHAPTER TWO:
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.0 Introduction
Conscious of the fact that many people have ventured into the subject of social media and its related impact on the lives of its users, this chapter strives to consider and review the existing literature from books, magazines, journals, newspapers and other sources of information related to social media. It has principally looked at the concept and the usage of social media by students and how it enhances their academic performance. It also considered the challenges students face in their use of the said social networking sites (SNS).
2.1 The Concept of social media
The word social media has been defined by different people in different ways. In all these definitions, the essential things remain the same.
According to Asad et al. (2016), Social Media means a collection of applications (Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, or YouTube etc.) and websites that link people to share information and alert people about any event through social networking. The above definition includes the different social media platforms and the general purpose and the role it plays in networking. It, however, does not include the aspect of the internet which is the key aspect in social media, therefore, leaving this definition wanting.
Meanwhile, Mageto (2017) defines social media as all applications and websites or blogs that enable people around the globe to interconnect via the internet, chat, and share content, video call among many other functionalities it offers to its users. This definition, however, is somewhat favorable because it includes the essential element in the use of social media, the internet.
From the two definitions, however, social media according to the researcher is a collection of Internet-based platforms and communities that allow users to interact with each other online by creating and sharing videos, messages and some user-generated contents. These web fora according to Christenson (2013) include Facebook - an online community that allows individual users to create personal profiles, share photos and videos, and post on each other's profile pages, or Timelines. Twitter - an Internet service that allows people to publish quick updates and see posts or "tweets" of other users they are following in real-time. LinkedIn - A professional networking website that allows users to create profiles, post resumes, and communicate with other professionals and job-seekers. Pinterest - an online community that allows users to share ideas and photos with others by "pinning" items and describing them on their profile pages. Some other commonly and widely used social media platforms include WhatsApp, Snapchat, Viber, Instagram and many others. All these examples fall within the different forms of social media here given in the table below:
Forms of social media adapted from Grahl (2012) as cited by Alwagait et al. (2015)
|
Forms of social media sites |
Description |
|
Social Networking Sites (SNS) |
Services in which users set up a profile to establish a connection with friends or other users, who have similar backgrounds or interests. The profile contains users’ personal information. SNS provides various ways for users to interact with one another. Examples of SNS include Facebook, WhatsApp, Viber and LinkedIn. |
|
Bookmarking sites |
Services which allow users to save, search and organize links to various Internet resources and websites. Some services will allow the tagging of links for them to be shared easily as well as being searched for. Examples of bookmarking sites are Diigo and Delicious. |
|
Microblogging sites |
Services which combine SNS and blogging but the messages exchanged are limited in terms of size. Users have to subscribe to the services. Examples of microblogging sites include Twitter. |
|
Media sharing sites |
Which allow users to upload and share media such as videos and photos as well as allowing users to comment and tag media. Examples of media sharing services include YouTube and Flickr. |
|
Social news sites |
Services that allow other users to vote on news articles and links to external articles, which are posted by users. The news articles that get the most votes are displayed more prominently on the site. Examples of social news sites include Digg and Reddit. |
|
Blogging sites |
Blogs are like online diaries of thoughts, which allow other users to post comments on the blog postings. Forums allow registered users to have conversations with other users by post messages. Examples of blogging sites include Word Press and Blogger. |
While social media networks collect a lot of personal data about the users, they also afford the privacy of the users. For example, the visibility of online profiles depends on the social media network site privacy terms and conditions. Boyd and Ellison (2007) agree that LinkedIn controls what the user can display and see according to the user’s subscription and paid fees. On the contrary, Facebook users’ profiles are available to all other users in the same network, unless a profile owner decides to change the privacy options. Moreover, private messaging, comments and friend’s features differ from one social media network site to another depending on the feature and user base (Boyd and Ellison, 2007).
With all the features social media provides, they have facilitated the lives of millions of people. Although they are easily accessible and despite the tremendous opportunities they offer, social media can have their drawbacks. Issues of privacy, detachment from reality and being the target of advertisers are some of the main concerns. However, they are creating a new communication landscape that is yet to be discovered and used especially in the field of academics.
2.2 How social media facilitate academic performance
With the explosion of social media sites that causes information super-highway and whose incorporation in educational fields is relatively new, Apuke and Iyendo (2017) argue that a growing body of literature debates has emerged to examine the social networking influence on students’ academic performance and most of such, demonstrates a positive impact. There is always too much content and information provided by these social media sites and careful deciphering and utilization of these content can facilitate academic performance. However, using these social media sites to facilitate the learning process can take several forms and utilize different tools. University educators propose that social media can have a positive influence on interaction, engagement, knowledge building, and sense of community (Rovai, 2001).
The use of social media in education provides students with the ability to get more useful information, to connect with learning groups and other educational systems that make education convenient. Social network tools offer students and institutions with multiple opportunities to improve learning method. In school, the use of online platforms such as school website will give students the right access to quality information about the school environment, departments, faculties, rules, and regulations. It has been observed that social media has a wider and faster means of circulating information not only to the students of an institution but also to the generality of the public.
Due to its nature, social network sites have been used to bridge communication and connections among teachers and students as well as build rapport through encouraging discussions. Several studies have established that teachers/lecturers are now utilizing social networking technologies for teaching and learning, as such transforming informal learning into formal learning (Apuke and Iyendo, 2017). This new trend that encourages discussions can facilitate academic performance especially among students who may find it hard to say their opinions among peers. Social media sites, therefore, steps in to bridge the gap. Winner and Dominick (2013) put it that, introverted students who are not able to raise questions before peers at school could engage themselves in online group learning with less or no anxiety attached.
Akin investigations have also documented four major advantages of social media employment in higher education to include, enhancing the relationship, improving learning motivation, offering personalized course material and developing collaborative efforts (Chugh and Ruhi, 2017). Correspondingly, documented research evidence has shown that social networking activities have the possibility of enhancing students’ contact as well as improving their participation in class.
Indeed, according to the researcher, integrating social media into the students` learning process as observed by the above scholars, provides them with an opportunity to take control of their learning activities, which in turn boost their confidence. This student-centered learning approach is what is changing the culture of many of today`s learning classrooms. Thus, Apuke (2016) argues that social media such as Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, YouTube, and Skype have facilitated communication and learning process because a large number of social technologies provided on the internet are free or require a little accessing fee which has encouraged wider utilization and adoption. As such, through the internet, students can form their page, access news, as well as lecture notes from an email sent by lecturers, hence, facilitating their academic performance.
According to Ortia and leach (2009), students’ academic life has moved to a different dimension and level since the introduction of these social media network sites and several studies have affirmed that social media play an important role on students` academic performance in higher education. Indeed, social media has contributed greatly to facilitating learning in the 21st century. It is shown that a greater percentage of students including those at the PhD level commonly use social media to ameliorate their studies (Khan, 2010).
Albeit it is easy to agree with this scholarly finding, caution must be taken to unveil the fact that much as students at different level of studies use social media, many studies have also come out to criticize how students use the said platforms, calling it a nuisance to the students’ academic life. Kuppuswamy and Narayan (2010) emphasize that social network sites distract the attention and concentration of students toward learning and convert it towards non-educational activities such as useless chatting. This, therefore, calls for judicious sheaving of these platforms if they must facilitate good academic performance among students.
Even though some scholars discredit social media because students use these sites to engage in unnecessary chatting, a study conducted by Jain et al. (2012), reveal that students benefit more from chatting with other students, teachers and external sources to acquire knowledge. In the same direction, Yunus and Salehi (2012) argue that students gain more vocabulary, improve their writing skills and reduce their spelling mistakes through social media usage. In fact, as an educational tool, social media enriches and facilitate learning by allowing both students and teachers to connect in new and very exciting ways thereby encouraging flexible mode of learning.
It is stated that flexible learning expands the choice on what, when and how people learn. It supports different styles of learning including E-learning which is highly patronized across the globe (Pappas, 2013). It is further buttressed by Arquero and Esteban (2013) that social media undoubtedly generate new opportunities to engage students in higher education as they are remarkably effective at connecting people and facilitating the exchange of information. It is therefore clear and indisputable from these studies that social media usage in the educational sector cannot be underestimated since its introduction.
Coupled with the above scholarly finding, social media also fosters the academic performance of students by allowing them to create learning groups. This according to Gorhe (2019) enable professors to connect with the students to share important instructions for the class as well as necessary study material for the students. Students can also share their viewpoints, innovative ideas or even doubts related to studies with their classmates and professors on these groups. This helps students to actively participate in such group discussions and this, in turn, will help to improve their knowledge.
In the same vein, professors can also provide a link for students to upload their homework or assignments on such study groups. All of this will save a lot of time and effort of students which can be utilized for studying. Social media helps students to collaborate if they are working together on some group project. However, experience has shown that social media groups hardly meet the intention since students often divert the intention of the group to sometimes their personal and sometimes useless chats and discussion. This does not mean that the above finding does not hold water but calls for the fact that social media groups would work best if clear principles and rules are governing its operation.
Imperative to note is that social media platform like YouTube facilitates students` academic performance by providing a variety of visual educational objects and movies. Therefore, taking into account the importance of using video and visual objects for teaching, some universities utilize YouTube as a complementary teaching tool (Olasina, 2017). Students use social media platforms such as YouTube with millions of educational videos, which help students to broaden their scope of knowledge as well as develop various other good skills and talents. If they find some good and informative videos related to their studies, they can share it with their friends or classmates who can benefit by watching them (Gorhe, 2019). These visual objects can aid students` understanding of the subject. Nevertheless, the authors raise safety concerns about the environment of online videos and the volatility of the video-sharing service. Therefore, in using YouTube as an educational tool, students are most likely to divert their attention to other video content that has nothing if not little to do with their academic materials.
According to Olasina (2017), YouTube is one social media site that provides the user with a variety of content both related and unrelated to the study areas. Discipline is a requirement for its use if one must benefit from such a site otherwise, instead of facilitating a student`s academic performance, it can as well be destructive to an indiscipline user who knows not what he or she wants from the social site.
2.3 Effectiveness of social media in enhancing academic performance
Today, Yasmin (2015) believes that it is crucial to determine the effectiveness of social media on the academic performance of students. He argues that technology is booming rapidly from year to year, and the younger generation are the ones mostly caught in this rapid change. This young generation according to Antonson et al. (2014) is called digital natives referring to the people who were born after 1980 when digital media existed while those born before this time, he calls them digital immigrants because they modified their lives to digital media. These digital natives are at the forefront of this research since most of them are at school and social media puts everything at their disposal.
Since one of the key functions of social media is research, Pardo (2013) considers that social media offers a platform for innovation to students. This he says, allows its users to express their opinions about how they feel towards the information being published. He adds that social media is also a platform that allows students to interact with one another, with their teachers and communities that share their same education, affirming that these types of interaction are “an essential part of how humans learn. This ego makes social media effective in enhancing the academic performance of its users.
Although Pardo (2013) views social media platforms as fertile grounds for innovative changes, it should also be clear that this may work only for those whom Antonson (2014) calls digital natives who know how to utilize the platforms well. But for those who only seek to go for what Rideout (2012, P. 5) refers to as “entertainment media”, may miss out on this innovative opportunity that social networking sites offer to its users.
As considerable as social media is applauded for providing effective content for its users, according to the research done to find out opinions regarding the effect entertainment media has on the students’ academic performance; a great number of the teachers believe that social media negatively impact students’ attention span. Some of the respondents who are teachers believe that social media has negatively impacted on students` writing skills, due to their regular use of slang language and word abbreviations (Rideout, 2012). Still some teachers believed it impacted both their face-to-face communication skills and their critical thinking skills. However, the research also found out that entertainment media effectively improves writing skills of students, ability to look-up information and find it, and more so, teachers believe it improved their skills in multi-tasking effectively (Rideout, 2012).
Concerning multi-tasking, however, Krischner and Karpinski (2010) noted that some students do not have control on their social media while engaged in academic activities and that they spend more time on these networks than they do studying or sleeping. They point out that empirical research suggests the negative impact of multitasking, or attempting to simultaneously process different sources of information, on performance. Although they underscore that this leads to increased study time of the students, it also leads to an increased number of mistakes on assignments due to divided attention in the name of multi-tasking. Junco (2013) examines the relationship between Facebook activity, time is taken for class preparation and overall GPA for 1839 students. Hierarchical linear regression analyses indicated that time spent on Facebook was significantly negatively correlated with overall GPA, but only weakly related to time spent on class preparation. Moreover, using Facebook to search for information was a positive predictor of GPA while time spent on socializing was a negative predictor.
According to O’Keeffe and Clarke-Pearson (2011) social media effectively enhances students` academic performance by providing platforms to individual users to understand themselves by engaging with others, and becoming creative through blogging. This leads to better outcomes in their school work. They argue that using social media allows students to improve their learning since they have the chance to share knowledge and conduct group projects more efficiently (O’Keeffe and Clarke-Pearson, 2011). This view is visibly clear that when students are exposed to social media platforms, through sharing and engaging with others, they obtain new knowledge from others and above all, it improves their learning which can easily translate into good academic performance.
Other than just providing effective content for improved academic performance, social media by its nature also equip its users with social capital in the form of friends that can influence one’s academic performance. According to Lavy (2012), research was conducted to determine the effect of the type of friends on social media platforms of middle-school students. They divided the types of friends into categories. Reciprocal friends who are friends that have something in common with each other, such as academics and interests. A second group was the non-reciprocal friends, those who turned down the friendship offer of another student. It was found out that students with reciprocal friends in their class had a significant positive effect on their test scores. On the other hand, students who had no common friends had low test scores.
The above argument informs this investigation that if students are in contact with friends who share the same interests, goals and education on social media, then they are more likely to help each other to perform well in their studies, due to motivation and other factors. Therefore, one of the effectiveness of social media is the ability to provide a platform to users to create social capital or friends who can help in academic issues by sharing content online which can translate to good GPA in the end as supported by Mowafy (2018) in his research on: The Effects of Social Media on the Academic Performance of Nile University Students, basing on the objective of establishing the relationship between academic performance in terms of Grade Point Average (GPA) and the use of social media among students. He argues that social interaction with friends with similar interests in education can easily enhance one’s academic performance by raising the GPA.
2.4 Challenges posed by social media to students` academic performance
The ubiquity of social media platforms is no more apparent than at universities. Social media sites are increasingly visible in higher education settings as instructors look to technology to mediate and enhance their instruction as well as promote active learning for students. Many scholars argue for the purposeful integration of social media as an educational tool. But be that as it may, research has shown that in many parts of the world today, students' academic performance is facing neglect and challenges since the advent of social networking sites because they dedicate more attention to social media than they do to their studies (Apuke, 2016).
According to Olubiyi (2012), students are so engrossed in the social media that they are almost 24 hours online. Even in classrooms and lecture theatres, it has been observed that some students are always busy pinging, Facebooking, while lectures are on. Accordingly, Asemah et al. (2013) recount that it is a common sight to see a youth, chatting at sensitive and highly organized places like church, mosque and lecture venues. Some are so carried away that even as they are walking along the highway, they keep chatting. Hence, most students` academic performance suffers a setback as a result of distraction from social media. Likewise, the use of these sites also affects students` use of English and Grammar because they are now used to short forms of writing rather than the conventional way (Obi et al. 2012).
The above scholarly opinions cover the fact that students don’t use social media judiciously as it ought to be. Surely, careless use of the said platforms is certainly detrimental to the users’ academic life. As observed from other scholars, the trend of this research agrees with the view of Asemah et al. (2013) that social media is destructive since it takes away the attention of its users from things that matter most like academics, although it is also agreed that social media is a form of technological development that is in place to aid the work of man as supported by Marshall (1964) in his theory of Technological Determinism. The key thing here is that users of the said media are careless in the way they use it especially those who are addicted to it, using it every time.
Social media users often time experience poor performance academically (Khan, 2009). Similarly, Englander et al. (2010) postulate that social media is negatively associated with academic performance of students and is a lot more pronounced than its advantages. Internet addiction consequently gave rise in internet usage within the last couple of decades.
Nalwa and Anand (2003) observed that addicted users prefer using internet setting to attain satisfaction as will be later discussed in the framework of Uses and Gratification theory but also to back their personal and professional profiles other than educational things which ultimately leads to poor academic performance.
In the same vein, Karpinski (2009) points out that social media users bestow less time to their studies in comparison to non-users. Karpinski and Duberstein (2009) agree that among various unique distractions of this generation, Social media remains a major distraction of the current generation, hence posing a great challenge to students` academic performance.
As already discussed above, Karpinski and Duberstein (2009) agrees to the predicament of social media. Social sites have proven to be destructive to students’ academic life as the above scholars have clearly spelt it out. Destructive here is to be understood as a way in which social media takes away the attention of its users from other activities.
Another real issue to be dealt with here is the point of addiction as Nalwa and Anand (2003) observed. In its proper context, addiction here must be understood as unrestrained urge to use the said social sites irrespective of the consequences. Therefore, one of the most obvious challenges that social media poses to students’ academic performance emanates from addiction to the said social networking sites. Morahan and Schumacher (2000) explain that social media addiction seriously harms a person’s life including one's academic life.
This phenomenon has become a source of worry to many who believe in knowledge and skill acquisition. Jeong (2005) noted that internet addiction is significantly and negatively related to poor students’ academic performance, as well as emotional attributes.
On the internet, students engage in a variety of activities some of which may be potentially addictive (Kuss and Griffiths, 2011). The mass appeal of social media on the internet could be a cause for concern, particularly when attending to the gradually increasing amount of time students spend online. Undergraduates spend more time on Facebook, Twitter and other social media through smartphones that are now in abundance among these youths. Many students cannot go for two-three hours without checking and updating their profiles on these social networks even at the detriment of other activities such as educational and career pursuit.
Itodo (2011) hypothesizes that there seem to be an alarming rate of social networking obsession among students today; a trend that could affect their academic, social and spiritual lives negatively if not properly controlled. Many concerned parents have expressed grave concern that they could hardly get the attention of their children as they seem to have been carried away by the fascinating world of social networks. Some youths are such social freaks that they have now engraved out for themselves a world of fantasy and illusion far detached from reality. Bello (2012) postulates that if the dangerous trend of social media network obsession is left unchecked could further affect an already collapsing education system in the world.
The above intellectual judgment has constructively informed this investigation to the effect that too much obsession with social media sites will help pull down the already disintegrating education system. Adding an opinion to this view, one of the reasons why students are performing poorly in school these days might not be farfetched. While some innocent lecturers can quickly take the blame, one might think harder if the phrase “Facebook frenzy” has not been heard of. Attention has been shifted from visible to invisible friends, while important ventures like study and writing are affected in the process.
Relatedly, in a study of 884 students of different universities in Nigeria, Olowu & Seri (2012) indicated that students in Nigeria are spending too much time on social networking sites at the detriment of other necessary things such as their studies. They explained that Youths’ use of these social networking sites even points towards obsession. The youths have made social media their top priority and continue using the platforms to feel satisfied.
Similarly, in another study carried out on 122 university students on Facebook and Academic Performance in Nigeria Universities, Emmanuel & Musa (2012), tested six hypotheses to know the effect of Facebook on the academic performance of students in selected universities. The study tested among other hypotheses that the more time a student spends on Facebook, the lower his or her grade point average will be. Olubiyi (2012) posits that the bone of contention of social media is the obsessive attitude of youths towards its use. He pointed out that students waste their time through idle chats and other immoral acts. Students are so engrossed in the social media networks that they are almost 24 hours online.
Another challenge that social media poses to students’ academic performance is information overload regularly called information super-highway. According to Sadiku et al. (1999), information overload is a symptom of the high-tech age, where too much information is given for one person to absorb in a world of expanding digital technology which in most cases is more dangerous than not. It primarily comes from the gigantic amount of content on the Internet, including search engine results, blogs and social media.
However, the most common reasons behind modern information overload Sadiku et al (1999) argue, are huge volumes of new information being constantly created, the pressure to create and compete in information provision leading to a quantity over quality effect in many industries. This overload is aggravated by the fact that the internet allows for any kind of information to be uploaded online. Students face the challenge when they go to social media to look for information that they want and they end up getting too much than they want and sometimes they even get wrong information because of this information overload or info-super-highway.
Although information overload is regarded as a universal problem especially for consumers of internet contents, it is also important to note that information super-highway can as well be advantageous to a student who has command of media literacy because of the varied content it gives to the consumers of online content. This can as well be helpful to students’ academic performance provided that they aggressively filter the huge information they get online.
2.5 Theoretical framework
Uses and gratification theory
This research is anchored on The Uses and Gratification theory (UGT). As was previously mentioned, social media offers today’s youth a portal for entertainment and communication and it is becoming one of the main platforms for gaining satisfaction, accessing information and news. According to Olise and Makka (2013), uses and gratification theory was propounded by Elihu Katz et al. in 1974. Basically, the theory places more vehemence on the utilization and satisfaction derived from a certain media rather than the effect the media exerts on an individual (Idakwo, 2011). This theory focuses on the fulfilment or benefits that attract and hold an individual to a particular media base on social, psychological, cognitive, effectiveness as well as personal and entertainment needs (Grant, 2005).
UGT assumes that the audience is active and its media use is goal-oriented. Above all, the initiative in linking need gratification to a specific medium choice rests with the audience member. It further assumes that the media compete with other resources for need satisfaction. Unlike other theoretical perspectives, UGT assumes that people have enough self-awareness of their media use, interests, and motives to be able to provide researchers with an accurate picture of that use. Finally, value judgments of media content can only be assessed by the audience. Generally, the Uses and Gratification approach focuses on why and how people use social media to satisfy their needs (Larose et al. 2001).
Relating this theory to the current study, it is apparently clear that university students use social networking sites for various reasons such as physical, intellectual and psychological, depending on the gratification derived from it. Some of them use it for chatting while others to retrieve educational information. These students chose and utilize a particular social media (Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, YouTube, etc.) based on how well each one helps them meet specific needs, satisfaction and goals. Social media usage by university students must, therefore, be viewed using the lens of uses and gratification theory.
2.6 Conclusion
This chapter reviewed the existing literature on social media usage in relation to student’s academic performance. It basically looked at how social cites facilitate academic performance for students. It further ventured into its effectiveness in bringing about the desired goal and finally, it also covered the challenges of the said sites. The chapter ends with the theoretical framework that is in line with social media usage. The next chapter is about the methodology that has been employed in collecting and analyzing the data in this research project.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Introduction
This chapter basically covers the tools and methods that have been used in the collection, analysing and presentation of data from the field. The specific contents of this chapter include Research Approach, design, Area and population of the study, sample selection and size, Sampling technique, research methods, data collection and research instruments or tools, Data analysis and presentation, gender consideration, ethical consideration, anticipated problems and finally the conclusion.
3.1 Research Approach
According to Kothari (2004, P.5), “there are two basic approaches to research, namely quantitative and the qualitative approaches”. Mouton and Marais (1990) define the differences between quantitative and qualitative research based on the operational particularity of concepts, hypotheses, methods of observation and analysis. The qualitative analysis aims at giving a complete, detailed description in the form of words, pictures or objects while the quantitative analysis classifies features, count them and construct statistical models in an attempt to explain what is observed (Ton et al., 2008). In this study, the researcher used methodological triangulation or the mixed-method approach with a greater leaning towards the qualitative approach.
3.2 Research Design
“A research design is the arrangement of conditions for collection and analysis of data in a manner that aims at combining relevance to the research purpose with economy in procedure” (Kothari, 2004, P. 31). It is the conceptual structure within which research is conducted; it constitutes the blueprint for the collection, measurement and analysis of data. As such the design includes an outline of what the researcher did from writing the hypothesis and its operational implications to the final analysis of data. Since the major thrust of this research is to provide an accurate and valid representation of the role of social media in enhancing students` academic performance. The researcher has used mainly descriptive survey design to gather data relating to the topic in question where a questionnaire was used as the main research tool alongside interview and observation. Price (2001) says that any researcher who adopts the descriptive research design attempts to produce data that is holistic, contextual, descriptive in-depth and rich in detail.
3.3 Area and population of the study
The area of study is a particular geographical region of the indefinite boundary from which the study is based. For this research, the area of study has been Uganda Martyrs University-Nkozi main campus. The target population refers to the specific group relevant to a particular study within a given area of study. According to Mugenda et al. (2003) population is a group of individuals or objects that have the same form of characteristics. They are the ―totality of cases that conform to certain specifications, which defines the elements that are included or excluded in the target group. The target population for this study, therefore, has been the students of Uganda Martyrs University who have gadgets that allow them to use social media.
3.4 Sample selection and size
A sample is a smaller number of the population that is used to make conclusions regarding the whole population. Sampling, therefore, is the systematic process of selecting several individuals for a study to represent the larger group from which they were selected (Gay, 2011). The sample size of this research has been 100 selected Uganda Martyrs University students from the main campus Nkozi and from different faculties.
3.4.1 Sampling technique
Sampling technique also called sample design is a definite plan for obtaining a sample from a given population. It refers to the technique or the procedure the researcher would adopt in selecting items for the sample (Kothari, 2004). Sample design is determined before data is collected. There are generally two sampling techniques: probability and non-probability sampling. The researcher chose to use probability sampling. Probability sampling methods are those in which every person in the entire population has a known chance of being included in the study sample. The selection process has chiefly been random and independent of the person doing the research.
3.5 Research methods
Research methods may be understood as all those techniques that are used in the conduction of research. Research methods or techniques, Kothari (2004) argues refer to the methods the researchers use in performing research operations. In other words, all those methods which are used by the researcher during the study are termed as research methods. In this field investigation, therefore, the researcher has used methodical triangulation which involves personal interview, observation and questionnaire.
3.5.1 Research tools
Research tools according to Annan (2019), are facts finding strategies and tools for collecting data. As far as this study is concerned, the researcher used the interview guide and semi-structured questionnaire. The semi-structured questionnaire is a more commonly used interview technique that follows a framework to address key themes rather than specific questions. At the same time, it allows a certain degree of flexibility for the researcher to respond to the answers of the interviewee and therefore develop the themes and issues as they arise.
3.6 Data analysis and presentation
Data analysis is studying the organized material to discover inherent facts. The data are studied from as many angles as possible to explore the new facts (Prabhat and Meenu, 2015). It comprises examining, categorizing, tabulating or otherwise recombining the evidence to address the initial propositions of the study. For the case of this research, data collected using different research methods and tools has been analysed based on the study approaches. For the qualitative data, the researcher adopted the “bottom-up” approach in analyzing the data. According to Creswell (2012), this analysis initially consists of developing a general sense of the data, and then coding description and themes about the central phenomenon. The collected quantitative data has been analyzed using multiple statistical descriptive and inferential statistical tests based on the research question and the nature of the data.
3.7 Gender consideration
Although conclusions from the Pew research center (2017) holds that males and females use social media at similar rates, according to Lim et al. (2017), females perceive social media differently from males. Basing on these findings, to ensure gender parity and equal representation of gender views in this study, the researcher has used both male and female students equally to eliminate biasing the findings from this study. Female students have been granted equal chances as well as male students in this investigation.
3.8 Ethical consideration
In every research, ethical consideration is key. The goal of the research ethics has been to ensure that no one is harmed or suffers adverse consequences from the research activities. Given the often-sensitive relationships between researcher and respondents, reasonable precautions have been built in this study based on ethical considerations and requirements. The researcher sought to get informed consent from every respondent. Consequently, the information that the researcher received during the period of this study has been treated with due confidentiality and purely for academic purposes. Names of respondents have not been used or mentioned in this study. Therefore, respondents have been assured of anonymity.
3.9 Limitations and challenges
This research anticipated and met many challenges in the field:
Ø First, due to the present world pandemic of Coronavirus commonly called COVID-19, the required data has not been obtained in time as it was formerly planned. This has caused an extension in the accomplishment of the project.
Ø Secondly, some respondents declined to give information especially when it came to the interview and some showed disinterest in the whole matter. This made the researcher to source other students to fit in the gap.
Ø The researcher had also predicted that some of the respondents would not fill the questionnaire in time and others may even fail to bring them back. This turned out to be true. This affected the process of data analysis and presentation. As for those who did not fill the questionnaire in time, the researcher had to keep reminding them time and again until it was all done although it delayed the process of data analysis.
Ø It has also been anticipated that this research would be expensive in the long run due to the financial implication involved in the research process. This became true and made it hard for the researcher to finish the project earlier as intended before. The researcher considered using only the available resources to facilitate the project.
3.10 Conclusion
In brief, this chapter covers the procedures and methods that was followed in this research project. It clearly describes the strategies that were employed in collecting adequate and appropriate information to achieve the research objectives. The next chapter presents the data, analysis and discusses the findings.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS
4.0 Introduction
In this chapter, the main focus is the presentation of different findings from the field concerning The Role of Social Media in Enhancing Students’ Academic Performance- The Case of Uganda Martyrs’ University Students. The study focused on assessing how social media boosts the academic performance of students and its effectiveness. The study also sought to assess the challenges that social media poses to its users.
The data collected has been analyzed and presented using both the quantitative and qualitative methods although much of the data has been presented in qualitative form with keen and specific attention to the objectives of the study and the literature reviewed in chapter two.
This chapter is organized into three sections. The first section looks at the demographic characteristics of the respondents for this study. The second part looked at the field findings in relation to the basic information background on the respondents’ use of social media which included; the platform mostly used, the place of access and the duration of access in a day while the third section covers the findings in relation to the different research questions.
4.1 Demographic Characteristics of the Respondents
This section provides information about the background characteristics of the 98 respondents in relation to this study. These characteristics have been grouped into three. as follows; gender, age and the different faculties of the respondents.
4.1.1 Gender of the respondents
This demographic presentation is intended to find out the gender of the respondents. It helps to determine the relevance and participation of both male and female in establishing the Role of Social Media in Enhancing Students’ Academic Performance- The Case of Uganda Martyrs’ University Students.
Figure 1: Pie-chart showing the Gender of the respondents
Source: Field findings, 2021
As clearly observed from the above figure 1, 56 of the respondents are female constituting 57.2% of the total population of the respondents while 42 respondents are male, translated into 42.8%. This ultimately show that there has been gender consideration in the choice of the respondents although the female gender has been a little bit higher in number. This is an indication that the findings from the field are devoid of bias since there is nearly an equal representative sample of the gender.
4.1.2 Age brackets of the Respondents
Under this, the main concern was to find out the age bracket of the respondents and their different experiences with the phenomenon of social media according to their respective age brackets.
Table 1: Age brackets of the respondents
|
|
Age bracket |
Total Number |
Total Percentage % |
|
1 |
17-25 |
81 |
82.6% |
|
2 |
26-30 |
11 |
11.2% |
|
3 |
31-35 |
4 |
4.08% |
|
4 |
36-40 |
2 |
2.04% |
|
5 |
41-45 |
0 |
0.0% |
|
6 |
46-50 |
0 |
0.0% |
|
|
Total |
98 |
100% |
As observed from the above table, it is clear that the age bracket group that participated most in the research survey is between 17-25 with total number of 81, standing for 82.6% of the total respondents. This is followed by the age bracket between 26-30 with the total number of 11 respondents making up for 11.2% of the total number. The age bracket between 31-35 had 4 respondents with the total percentage of 4.08%. This is then trailed by the age bracket between 36-40 with 2.04% of the total number of the respondents. The age brackets between 42-45 and 46-50 had no respondents and hence 0.0%. This means that most of the respondents are between the age bracket of 17-25.
4.1.3 Faculties of the Respondents
Since the respondents of this research have been marked out to be some selected students from different faculties, this part is intended to find out the different faculties from which the respondents were sourced.
Bar-chart 1: Showing Respondents by Faculty
Source: Field findings, 2021
From the above Bar-chart, it can be concluded that the respondents to this survey have been sourced from mainly 8 different faculties within the university. A total of 18 respondents with the percentage of 18.3% came from the faculty of Business Administration and Management (BAM). While 12 of the respondents constituting 12.2% came from the Institute of Languages and Communication Studies (ILaCs). 20 of the respondents with 20.4% of the total number came from the faculty of Education (Educ). Meanwhile, the Faculty of Built Environment (FoBE) had 8 respondents with 8.16%. From the Faculty of Law (LL. B), 10 respondents were sourced, making 10.2% of the total number of the respondents. The faculty of SASS had 5 respondents with 5.10% while the Faculty of Science had 12 respondents, constituting 12.2% of the total respondents whereas, the Faculty of Agriculture had 8 respondents with 8.16%. However, a total of 5 respondents did not identify their respective faculties.
From the analysis of the chart above, it is clear that all the faculties within the university had a representation in number of respondents sourced. The Faculty of education has the highest number of respondents. The chart information implies that the data collected came from all the different faculties which is a good representative sample for this survey.
4.2. Information background on the use of social media
This is the second section in this chapter. It is intended to get the basic information background on the use of social media by the different respondents. This covers the platform mostly used, the place of access and the duration of accessing the platform per day.
4.2.1 Social platform mostly used by respondents
Source: Field Findings, 2021
From the pie chart above it is observed that the respondents who use mostly WhatsApp are 18, constituting 23% of the total population of the respondents. The Facebook users turned out to be the highest with 42 of the respondents making 43% while those who use Twitter mostly are 10, accounting for 10%. Surprisingly, the users of LinkedIn which is one of the most professional social sites turned out the lowest with 2% of the total number of the respondents. Alongside this, those who said they use all these platforms equally are 18, making 23% of the total population of the respondents. These statistics pose some worry already because from the onset, most of the respondents are more into using platforms that are less academic but more of social interaction like Facebook and WhatsApp. While academic and more professional sites like Twitter and LinkedIn are used by few. This is already enough caution in as far as this research is concerned.
4.2.2 Places where students access social media
Source: Field findings, 2021
This section has been created to cater for the different places that respondents access social media from. The search on this was intended to gage whether students use social media for academic related purposes or social interactions depending on the place of access. Basing on the chart, of all the respondents, only 8 of them constituting 8.16% acknowledged accessing social media from the library which is thought to be the best place for academic work, consultation and research. In the same vein, only 6 of the respondents, making up 6.12% said they access social media from class. This is positive in the sense that it can aid the understanding of what is being taught although it can also be negative to the effect that it can distract the learner from class activities. 12 of the respondents making up 12.24% said they access social media from their rooms. This could have nothing to do with academic but social interaction although it can also be possible that someone is in his or her private room doing an assignment or reading or making consultations.
Surprisingly, the highest number of the respondents acknowledged accessing these platforms from all the places i.e. library, class, and private rooms which is a clear indication that most of people do access social media platforms wherever they are. It is a clear sign that they are easily distracted in their academic life since the social media gadgets are very close to them as they are doing academic activities.
4.2.3 Number of hours spent on social media
Source: Field findings, 2021
As highlighted in the line-chart above, 20 respondents with percentage of 20.4% spend 2-3 hours every day on social media while 48.9% of the respondents agreed to the fact that they spend 4-5 hours on social media every day. On the other hand, 12 respondents at 12.2% of the total number of the respondents said they spend 5-6 hours every day on social media. Meanwhile, 18 respondents at 18.3% of the total respondents said that they actually spend 24 hours on social media. This leaves a lot to be questioned. First of all, it implies that a number of respondents are easily distracted from constructive activities including academics because they are most of the time on social media even during class hours. Though some may be genuinely using social media platforms for a rightful set purpose at a right given time.
4.3 Findings in relation to the different specific objectives
This is the third section in this chapter. It is intended to bring out the findings in relation to the different objectives and research questions. This is done following the order of objectives statement from one to another ranging from Strongly agree (SA), Agree (A), Neutral (N), Disagree (D) to Strongly disagree (SD).
4.3.1 How does social media enhance academic performance for students?
To find out more about this first research question, six statements were formulated. These sought to investigate on how social media simplifies students` academic life that ultimately reflected in their performance.
Table 2: Response on how social media enhances students` academic performance
|
|
Questions |
F |
SA |
A |
N |
D |
SD |
TOTAL |
|
1 |
F |
26 |
50 |
6 |
10 |
6 |
98 |
|
|
|
|
% |
26.5 |
51.0 |
6.1 |
10.2 |
6.1 |
|
|
2 |
I follow the latest developments in my field through social media. |
F |
34 |
36 |
10 |
6 |
12 |
98 |
|
|
|
% |
34.6 |
36.7 |
10.2 |
6.1 |
12.2 |
|
|
3 |
We have a social media group for some of my courses for easy connections |
F |
68 |
14 |
8 |
8 |
00 |
98 |
|
|
|
% |
69.3 |
14.2 |
8.1 |
8.1 |
00 |
|
|
4 |
F |
24 |
36 |
24 |
6 |
8 |
98 |
|
|
|
|
% |
24.4 |
36.7 |
24.4 |
6.1 |
8.1 |
|
|
5 |
It is easier for me to get academic materials through social media |
F |
42 |
32 |
8 |
6 |
10 |
98 |
|
|
|
% |
42.8 |
32.6 |
8.1 |
6.1 |
10.2 |
|
|
6 |
F |
36 |
36 |
12 |
4 |
10 |
98 |
|
|
|
|
% |
36.7 |
36.7 |
12.2 |
4.08 |
10.2 |
|
|
|
TOTAL |
|
230 |
204 |
68 |
40 |
46 |
588 |
|
|
|
% |
39.1 |
34.6 |
11.5 |
6.8 |
7.8 |
100 |
Source: Field findings, 2021
Results from table 2 above indicates that majority of the participants have chosen the categories strongly Agree (SA) to Agree (A) for most of the statements. For instance, a total of 83.5% of the participants strongly agreed and agreed with only 8.1% disagreeing while 8.1% remained neutral to the statement “We have a social media group for some of my courses for easy connections” whereas the statement ‘I engage in academic discussions on social media platforms’ has 77.5% of the participants` consent with only 16.3% disagreement.
It is also noted that a total percentage of 71.3% agreed and strongly agreed to the statement ‘I follow the latest developments in my field through social media’ with 18.3 disagreeing while 10.2% chose to remain neutral. The results further show that for the statement ‘I communicate with the professor through social media’ 61.1% of the respondents agreed and strongly agreed to it meanwhile a total of 14.2% of the respondents disagreed and 24.4% remained neutral. The statement ‘I communicate with the professor through social media’ has 75.4% of the respondents agreeing as compared to the 16.2% disagreements and the last statement ‘Social media has made my academic life easy’ has 73.4% of the participants agreeing and strongly agreeing while 14.28% disagreed to it with 12.2 remaining neutral.
Thus, the qualitative results imply that majority of the students use social media networks as a communication platform due to the various number of available features and benefits including academic related issues as earlier on argued by Apuke (2016) in chapter two. For example, they can reach each other easily and quickly via WhatsApp groups whether by texting, voice notes or video calls.
This finding is arrived at basing on the fact that, in most of the statements, the percentage of the total respondents who fell in the category of strongly agree to agree are all above 60%. Above all, the total number of the participants who chose the category of strongly agree to agree for all the six hypothetical statements are 434 of 588 with 73.7% whereas the total number of those who fell within the category of disagree to strongly disagree for all the six statements are 86 with the total percentage of 14.6% while a total of 68 with 11.5% remained neutral. This according to the primary date as indicated in the above table, confirms the assertion that social media helps to ease the academic work of students. However, what is still unclear is whether this can be translated into good academic performance of students at the end of it all.
A pie-chart representation of the summary of percentages on how social media enhances academic performance
4.3.2 How effective is social media in enhancing the academic performance of students
Whereas the first research question was meant to investigate on how social media enhances the academic performance for students, research question two was intended to assess the effectiveness of social media in enhancing students` academic performance. To confirm this, six statements were framed to this effect as here shown both numerically and percentage form in table 3 below:
Table 3: Response on the effectiveness of social media in relation to students` academic performance.
|
|
Questions |
F |
SA |
A |
N |
D |
SD |
TOTAL |
|
1 |
Social media has impacted my GPA positively |
F |
10 |
40 |
26 |
14 |
8 |
98 |
|
|
|
% |
10.2 |
40.8 |
26.5 |
14.2 |
8.1 |
|
|
I solely rely on information got from social media to do my assignments without consulting other sources |
F |
8 |
20 |
26 |
38 |
14 |
98 |
|
|
|
|
% |
8.1 |
20.4 |
26.5 |
38.7 |
14.2 |
|
|
3 |
Sometimes I use social media to understand more what I have been taught in class |
F |
26 |
34 |
18 |
8 |
12 |
98 |
|
|
|
% |
26.5 |
34.6 |
18.3 |
8.1 |
12.2 |
|
|
4 |
I use social media extensively because most of my course assignments/projects are in the forms of blogs/online presentations |
F |
24 |
38 |
8 |
18 |
10 |
98 |
|
|
|
% |
24.4 |
38.7 |
8.1 |
18.3 |
10.2 |
|
|
5 |
Using Social media regularly has improved my communication skills |
F |
14 |
46 |
8 |
18 |
12 |
98 |
|
|
|
% |
14.2 |
46.9 |
8.1 |
18.3 |
12.2 |
|
|
6 |
All the material I get from social media is always correct |
F |
4 |
10 |
32 |
30 |
10 |
98 |
|
|
|
% |
4.08 |
10.2 |
32.6 |
30.6 |
10.2 |
|
|
|
TOTAL |
|
86 |
188 |
118 |
126 |
66 |
588 |
|
|
|
% |
14.6 |
31.9 |
20.0 |
21.4 |
11.2 |
100% |
Source: Field findings, 2021
From the table 3 above, a total of 51% of the respondents fell within the category of strongly agree to agree for the first hypothetical statement ‘Social media have impacted my GPA positively’, while a total of 22.3% chose the categories of disagree to strongly disagree with the total of 26.5% choosing to remain neutral. However, when it comes to the second statement; ‘I solely rely on information got from social media to do my assignments without consulting other sources’, the primary data analysis as indicated in table 3 above shows that more participants with 52% chose the categories of disagree to strongly disagree with only 28.5% agreeing to it while 26.5 remained neutral to the hypothesis.
Statement 3 ‘Sometimes I use social media to understand more what I have been taught in class’ attracted a combined total of 61.1% of the respondents who strongly agreed and agreed to it implying that a greater percentage of the total number of students sometimes use social media to that effect. Meanwhile, 20.3% of the combined number of the respondents disagreed and strongly disagreed to this statement with 18.3% of the participants in the survey remained neutral. In the same vein, statement 4 which says; ‘I use social media extensively because most of my course assignments/projects are in the forms of blogs/online presentations’ also attracted 63.1% of the participants falling within the combined categories of strongly agree to agree and a total of 28.5% falling within the categories of disagree to strongly disagree while 8.1% chose the neutral category.
Statement 5 sought to know whether using social media is effective in improving one’s communication skills. Here, the primary data as tabulated above, indicate that 61.1% of the total respondents chose the categories of strongly agree to agree as opposed to the 30.5% who chose disagree to strongly disagree while 8.1% fell in the neutral category to hypothetical statement. Interestingly, statement 6 which hypothesises that all the materials got from social media is always correct, show a bigger number of 40.8% of the respondents falling within the categories of disagree to disagree compared to the 14.8% of the participants who agreed to this. 32.6% however, chose to remain neutral.
All in all, the quantitative description here indicates that the total number of the respondents who chose to strongly agree and agree with all the six statements are 274 of the 588 respondents, accounting for 46.5% while a total of 192 with 32.6% fell within the disagreement categories, leaving 118 with 20.0% remaining neutral to all the six statements. This reveals that social media is not so much effective in enhancing academic performance of students considering the fact that the total percentage of agreements does not reach 50% although from the tabulation it seems to be higher than the percentage of the total disagreements. What is more interesting is the 118 participants who chose to remain neutral to all the six statements. This shows that of all those who use social media, almost 20% of them are not sure whether it is effective in bringing a positive change in their academic performance or not.
A Pie chart percentage summary on the effectiveness of social media
4.3.3 Challenges social media poses to students in their academic endeavors
Following from the first and second objectives of the study, this third objective is designed to investigate the challenges that social media poses to students in their academic endeavors. As it is with all the other objectives, six hypothetical statements were formulated to be confirmed or disagreed with by the participants in this study survey as shown in the table below:
|
|
Questions |
F |
SA |
A |
N |
D |
SD |
TOTAL |
|
1 |
Once I interrupt my study time with social media, I lose concentration |
F |
46 |
28 |
6 |
10 |
8 |
98 |
|
|
|
% |
46.9 |
28.5 |
6.1 |
10.2 |
8.1 |
|
|
2 |
Social media has impacted my GPA negatively |
F |
16 |
14 |
40 |
24 |
6 |
98 |
|
|
|
% |
16.3 |
14.2 |
40.8 |
24.4 |
6.1 |
|
|
3 |
F |
10 |
24 |
16 |
30 |
18 |
98 |
|
|
|
|
% |
10.2 |
24.4 |
16.3 |
30.6 |
18.3 |
|
|
4 |
Online social networks distract me from my studies |
F |
12 |
36 |
20 |
22 |
8 |
98 |
|
|
|
% |
12.2 |
36.7 |
20.4 |
22.4 |
8.1 |
|
|
5 |
The hours I spend online on social media are more than the hours I spend reading |
F |
30 |
22 |
12 |
18 |
16 |
98 |
|
|
|
% |
30.6 |
22.4 |
12.2 |
18.3 |
16.3 |
|
|
6 |
I use social media for making new friends and socializing more than I use it for academic purposes |
F |
32 |
30 |
8 |
18 |
10 |
98 |
|
|
|
% |
32.6 |
30.6 |
8.1 |
18.3 |
10.2 |
|
|
|
TOTAL |
|
146 |
154 |
102 |
122 |
66 |
588 |
|
|
|
% |
24.8 |
26.1 |
17.3 |
20.7 |
11.2 |
|
Source: Field findings, 2021
Table 4 above has demonstrated that more than half of the students were within the categories “agree” to “strongly agree” for the statements “The hours I spend online on social media are more than the hours I spend reading with a combined 53% of the respondents and on the statement “Once I interrupt my study time with social media, I lose concentration” recording the highest combined percentage of 78.4% of the total number of the respondents.
The statement ‘Social media have impacted my GPA negatively’ has registered the highest number of the participants falling in the category of neutral with 40.8%. The total percentage of 30.5% falling within the categories of strongly agree to agree while 30.6% accounted for the respondents who fell within the combined categories of disagree to strongly disagree. This implies that quite a good number of students are not even sure whether social media contribute positively or negatively to their academic results.
Although most of the participants in this study agreed that social media poses many challenges to them, the statement of ‘Social media has negatively impacted on my writing skills’ recorded the highest number of respondents choosing to strongly disagree and disagree with the statement with combined 48.9% as opposed to the 34.6% falling within the categories of strongly agree to agree while 16.3% chose to remain neutral.
Meanwhile, the statement ‘I use social media for making new friends and socializing more than I use it for academic purposes’ has recorded 63.2% of the participants who agreed and strongly agreed with the statement. 28.5% of the total respondents chose to disagree and strongly disagree with the statement with 8.1% remaining neutral to it. This implies that even though a good percentage of the participants use social media more for making new friends, some people use it for academic related purposes as here represented by 28.5%.
In a nutshell however, the primary data as reflected in the table 4 above indicate that a total 300 out of 588 participants chose to agree and strongly agree with all the six statements, making up for 50.9%. Whereas, a total of 188 of the participants fell within the categories of disagree to strongly disagree with all the six hypothetical statements, accounting for 31.9% of the total respondents. This leaves a total of 102 of the participants with the percentage of 17.3% choosing to remain neutral to all the six statements under the research question 3 (three). The findings therefore reflect that more than half of the total students acknowledged that social media is a big challenge to them
Interestingly, the qualitative results obtained from the interview indicate that of all those interviewed, none of them hinted on the negative sides of social media when asked about their views on social networking sites in relation to education. This reveals the inconsistency in the reports. While reports from the questionnaire reflects a greater number of the participants agreeing with the challenges of social media to education, reports from the interview records non but praises. This means that the findings from this research may not be very conclusive. There should be more research in this area to probe the respondents more on the challenges experienced so as to strike a balance.
A Pie chart percentage summary on the challenges social media poses to students
4.4 Discussion of findings
This study investigated The Role of Social Media in Enhancing Students’ Academic Performance- The Case of Uganda Martyrs’ University Students. It focused on assessing how social media boosts the academic performance of students and its effectiveness. The study also sought to assess the challenges that social media poses to its users.
Surprisingly, in this study, majority of the participants indicated using social media in academic related purposes such as: sharing information with classmates and having social media groups for some of the courses and following the latest developments in their field through social media. However, in chapter two of this study, Alwagait (2015), had shown that students are hardly interested in using social media networks for study related knowledge. The difference may be explained by the fact that the above study was done six years ago and according to Vorderer (2016) the use of social media is rapidly increasing especially among the younger generation. This may explain why the above finding in the present research differs with the cited literature. Thus, as was shown in the results, majority of the participants use social media in academic related purposes but they do not solely rely on it which might show that the students are aware that social media is not a credible pool of information.
Even though it is revealed that a good number of students use social media for academic related purposes, this study has also confirmand that the number of hours students spend on social media are more than the hours they spend reading. This is consistent with the previous study by Krischner and Karpinski (2010) recorded in chapter two of this study. They maintain that, some students do not have control on their social media while engaged in academic activities and that they spend more time on these networks than they do studying or sleeping. This has also been supported by Lau (2017). He noted that media multitasking behavior is a predictor of a poor academic performance and that it affects the students’ concentration particularly during studying. These scholarly records are also consistent with the findings of Kuppuswamy and Narayan (2010), cited in chapter two of this research. They emphasize that social network sites distract the attention and concentration of students toward learning and convert it towards non-educational activities such as useless chatting. Hence, calling for judicious sieving of these platforms if they must facilitate good academic performance among students.
In the present study, the results indicated that there is a negative correlation between the time spent on social media and the students’ academic performance. On the other hand, the present study also indicates that there is a positive correlation between study hours and academic performance and negative correlation between the time spent on social media and the time spent studying, consequently, the more students use social media the less they study and the lower their GPA becomes. This is consistent with what Junco (2013) observed in chapter two of this study.
It is worrying noting that more than half the population in this study stated that the time they spend on social media is more than the time they spend studying and that they lose concentration once their study is interrupted or interfered by social media. This is in agreement with the previous study by Apuke (2016). He notes that in many parts of the world today, students' academic performance is facing neglect and challenges since the advent of social networking sites because they dedicate more attention to social media than they do to their studies. This, as accented to by 75.4% of the total number of the participants, makes them lose concentration.
The primary data of this study has also revealed that most of the participants disagree with the fact that using social media has affected their writing skills. In fact, 49% of the respondents disagreed while only 34.6% agreed to it. This is inconsistent with what Rideout (2012) said in chapter two of this research. He opines that, social media has negatively impacted on students` writing skills, due to their regular use of slang language and word abbreviations. The findings from this research have to a greater extent disapproved this assertion about the use of social media because, most of the participants disagreed with the statement that using social media have impacted on their writing skills negatively.
4.5 Conclusion
In conclusion, this chapter majorly looked at Data presentation, analysis and discussion of findings based on the available primary data. This now leads to chapter five of this study where we shall have Summary, Conclusion and Recommendations based on the above discussed findings from the study.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.0 Introduction
This last chapter majorly covers the summary of the research, conclusion drawn from the findings and finally gives recommendations drawn from the findings of the study based on both primary and secondary data cited in the research.
5.1 Summary
The research sought to find out the Role of Social Media in Enhancing Students’ Academic Performance- a Case of Uganda Martyrs’ University Students. The study focusses on assessing how social media boosts the academic performance of students and its effectiveness. The study also sought to assess the challenges that social media poses to its users.
The five chapters on different issues; chapter one covers the introduction to the study, chapter two explores related works of other authors about social media while chapter three covers the methods used to collect both primary and secondary data to arrive at the finding dealt with in chapter four. Generally, chapter four is dedicated to presentation of raw data, analysis and interpretation of the data while chapter five the last of all, gives the summary, conclusion and recommendations in relation to the findings.
In order to realise this research report, 98 participants were engaged to respond to a total of four research questions formulated to help the researcher get deeper into the phenomenon of social media in relation to students` academic performance.
The first specific objective of the study was meant to establish the fact that social media simplifies academic performance for Uganda Martyrs University Students. This was exhaustively searched on using six hypothetical statements that confirm the fact that social media simplifies students’ academic studies and amplifies their performance. This was verified by the collected data where 73.7% totally agreed with the statement, 14.7% disagreed and 11.5% were neutral.
The second specific objective sought to assess the effectiveness of social media in enhancing the academic performance for Uganda Martyrs University Students. The six hypothetical statements formulated to this effect indicate that 46.5% of the respondents agreed to the fact that social media is very effective in enhancing students’ academic performance while 32.6% disagreed and 20.0% remained neutral to the hypothetical statements. Generally, the percentages indicate that social media plays a bigger role in students’ academic performance by either improving the CGPA or reducing it depending on the way it is used.
The third specific objective addressed the challenges social media poses to students in their academic endeavours. Similarly, the six hypothetical statements applied to this objective indicated that 50.9% of the respondents agreed to the challenges faced by students while using the social media for academic purposes. 31.9% did not agree with all the statements while 17.3% neither agreed nor disagreed, thus remained neutral. Observation of these percentages make it clear that students do face a lot of challenges using social media. Some of these challenges are: poor internet services, data cost, government interferences like taxes, uncensored content and many others.
Finally, the fourth objective sought to get some possible solutions to the challenges of social media. The qualitative results indicate that most of the respondents agreed that as part of the possible remedies to the challenges students face in accessing social media, telecom companies should work hard to see to it that they improve on network distribution so that even those in remote places can access social media with ease. Still, most of the participants suggested that social media users should budget their time well and reduce on the number of hours they spend on the different social media platforms to avoid addiction and destruction from academic related issues.
5.2 Conclusion
From the results of the present study, it can be concluded that the majority of the participants use social media for academic related purposes as means of communication, they use it to connect with their colleagues in order to discuss class related contents. Similarly, it can also be concluded that even though the majority use social media for academic related purposes, some others use social media just for interaction with friends and strengthening their social fabric.
Interestingly, this study also shows that there are three different students’ opinion of the social media effect on their academic performance, according to the survey analysis, the students are divided into three groups. The first group believes that social media has a positive effect on their academic performance, the second group believes that social media has a negative effect on their academic performance, and the third group believes that social media does not have any effects on their academic performance. This is the group labelled as neutral. This leads to the conclusion that the relationship between the social media usage and the academic performance depends on the way students use social media.
This explains the positive and negative correlation between the students’ academic GPA and the time they spend on social media, which can be addressed by increasing the students’ awareness about the double-edged effects of social media, these are the opportunities and addiction effects it exerts on its users.
From the findings also, it can be concluded that for those who use social media judiciously for academic related purposes, their academic life is enhanced as compared to those who use it to strengthen their social fabric only. This conclusion is drawn from the findings under the first specific objective of the study where the majority of the respondents confirmed that social media enhances their academic life.
As much as social media makes academic life of its users easy as evidenced in the first objective, it can also be concluded that the said social sites are not very effective in bringing about academic excellence for the reason that some of the social media content is not authentic and users do not solely rely on those materials but consults other sources for surety. Thus, social media needs a lot of consciousness if one must use it. This conclusion is drawn from the findings in the objective two of this study where a great majority disagreed with fact that social media is very effective in enhancing students` academic performance.
It can also be concluded that social media poses a big challenge to students` academic life simply for the reason that some students spend more time chatting and making friends than spending time on academic issues and the number of hours spent on social media are higher that the time they spend reading academic materials. This draws them near to the vice of addiction. This conclusion is drawn from the third objective of the study where majority of the respondents, agreed to the fact that social media truly poses a big challenge to their academic life.
All in all, it can be concluded that from the findings, social media can either be good or bad depending on how you use it. For those who see it as a fertile ground for getting academic related content, they draw from it what they want. For those who think social media is majorly for socialisation and making friends, they reap no more than what they think. It is also important to note that, imprudent use of social media can lead one into addiction. Therefore, care must always be taken when using it.
5.3 Recommendations
From the study findings of this research, the following recommendations have been brought forward to the different stake holders. These are; Students, University administration, government and Uganda communications commission.
5.3.1 Students
Having seen the dangers of over using social media, students should be given a Social media education course to mentor their attitude towards social media usage, to instill in them better ways of using the social media, to encourage them to reduce on the number of hours they spend on social media and to spend more time on reading academic content. This will safeguard them from getting addicted to the use of social media which in the long run, impacts negatively on their academic performance always reflected in the GPA.
Students should be encouraged to always filter every information they get from social media and avoid forwarding unverified information to others. This will protect them from using fake content in their academic work as they consult the social media for academic purposes.
Students should also be encouraged to make use of the books in the library to inform their research and studies and stop relying solely on information got from social media since it is discovered to be a hot bed for fake information and thus, dangerous to its users who only depend on it.
This study also recommends that instead of being on social sites for interaction and strengthening
their social fabric, students should venture more into some professional sites like LinkedIn Twitter and Blog. This will help expose them to the people who matter and open up for them opportunities that they need in their studies.
5.3.2 University Administration
From the study findings, the researcher recommends that university administration should consider including social media usage and literacy to all students in different faculties. This would help them to use social media with carefulness and pay attention to the vices of the said social sites as they engage in its usage. It will also help the students to have a positive constructive attitude towards social media usage and also be selective in using social media information
The university should also consider creating many other social sites alongside Moodle that are strictly for academic purposes. This will help keep students engaged most of the time and thus, have less time to concentrate on other social sites that only take them away from their study times and destructs them the more. This will help them to communicate effectively to fellow young people.
5.3.3 Uganda Communications Commission and Telephone companies
All the stakeholders and especially Communication Commission of Uganda and network providers need to come up with means of filtering information that reaches the young people through social media platforms. This will help in minimizing exposure to pornographic and other unwarranted materials that has nothing to do with their academic life.
Above all, Uganda Communications Commission alongside with social media service providers should consider improving on the different networks that provide internet to the students at subsidized costs. This would be of great help to students who mostly use social media for academic related purposes to access the content they need with ease.
Telephone companies in particular should consider reducing on data cost so that students who use internet to access academic content he helped not to over spend their money on data but if data cost is reduced, they would access their needed content at low cost on data.
5.3.4 Government
To help students access social media at reduced cost, the government should wave-off the taxes levied on social media data for the case of Uganda. And above all, the government should also intervene in the network distribution instead of leaving it to the private companies who are most of the time limited to some places only like the urban centres and leaving the rural places in dire need.
APPENDICES
APPENDIX I: References
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Apuke, O., 2016. The influence of social media on the academic performance of undergraduate students of Taraba State University, Jalingo, Nigeria. Research in Humanities and Social Science. 6 (19) 63-72. Available at www.iiste.org
Apuke, O.D. and Iyendo, T.O., 2017. Two sides of a Coin: revisiting the Impact of Social Networking Sites on Students' Performance in selected higher educational settings in Nigeria. Sci. Int, 29(6), pp.1265-1275.
Arquero, J. L., & Esteban, R., 2013. Using social network sites in Higher education: an experience in business studies. Journal of innovations in education and teaching international.DOI:10.1080/14703297.2012.760772.
Asemah, E. and Edegoh, L., 2013. Influence of social media on the academic performance of the undergraduate students of Kogi State University, Anyigba, Nigeria. Journal of Research in Humanities and Social Sciences, 3(12).
Asemah, E., and Edegoh, L., 2012. Social media and insecurity in Nigeria: a critical Appraisal. Being a paper presented at the 15th National Conference of African Council for Communication Education, which took place at the conference Hall of Federal University of Technology, Minna, Nigeria.
Baruah, T.D., 2012. Effectiveness of Social Media as a tool of communication and its potential for technology enabled connections: A micro-level study. International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, 2(5), pp.-10.
Bashar, A., Ahmad, I. and Wasiq, M., 2012. Effectiveness of social media as a marketing tool: An empirical study. International Journal of Marketing, Financial Services & Management Research, 1(11), pp. 88-99.
Chugh, R., & Ruhi, U., 2017. Social media in higher education: A literature review of Facebook. Education and Information Technologies, 1-12.35. Education of Youth. Internal journal of virtual Communities and Social Networking.
Grant, I., 2005. Young; peoples’ relationship with online marketing practices: an intrusion too far? Journal of Marketing Management, 21(5/6), 607-623
Guraya, S.Y., 2016. The usage of social networking sites by medical students for educational purposes: a meta-analysis and systematic review. North American journal of medical sciences, 8(7), p.268.
Guy, R., 2012. The use of social media for academic practice: A review of literature. Kentucky Journal of Higher Education Policy and Practice, 1(2), p.7.
Hynan, A., Murray, J. and Goldbart, J., 2014. ‘Happy and excited’: Perceptions of using digital technology and social media by young people who use augmentative and alternative communication. Child language teaching and therapy, 30(2), pp. 175-186.
Idakwo, L., 2011. The use of social media among Nigerian youths. Available at http://www.slideshare.net/goldlami/the-use-of-socialmedia- among-Nigerian-youths. Retrieved on 27/3/2020.
Karpinski, A., and Duberstein, A., (2009. A description of Facebook use and Academic performance among undergraduate and graduate students. In Poster presented at the meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Diego, CA.
Kirschner, P. & Karpinski, A., 2010. Facebook and academic performance. Computers in Human Behavior, 26, 1237-1245.
Kothari, C.R., 2004. Research methodology: Methods and techniques. New Age International.
Kuppuswamy, S. and Narayan, P.S., 2010. The impact of social networking websites on the education of youth. International journal of virtual communities and social networking (IJVCSN), 2(1), pp.67-79.
Larose, R., Mastro, D., and Eastin, M. S., 2001. Understanding internet usage: A social cognitive approach to uses and gratifications. Social Science Computer Review, 19(4), 395-413.
Nigeria. Journal of Social Science and Policy Review.
Obi. C., Bulus L. D., Adamu G. M. and Sala B., 2012. The need for safety consciousness among youths on social networking sites. Journal of Applied Science and Management (JASM) 14
Olasina, G., 2017. An evaluation of educational values of YouTube videos for academic writing. The African Journal of Information Systems, 9(4), p.2.
Olise, F., and Makka, E., 2013. Uses and gratification of the internet among mass communication students in delta state university, Abraka, Nigeria. International Journal of Information and Communication Technology Education, 9(4), 70-80.
Olubiyi, S., 2012. Social media and Nigeria Youth burden. Available at: http://bluepringng.com/2012/12/social-mediaand-nigerian-youth-burden, retrieved 8/04/2020.
Radwan, H., and Radwan, I., 2016. Evaluating the effectiveness of social media as a marketing tool in the hotel sector: A case study on four- and five-star hotels in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. Journal of Faculty of Tourism and Hotels, Fayoum University, 8(1), pp.151-169.
Sadiku, M.N., Shadare, A.E. and Musa, S.M., 1999. Information overload: causes and cures. Proceedings, vol, 51(8), pp.249-254.
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Sponcil, M. and Gitimu, P., 2013. Use of social media by college students: Relationship to communication and self-concept. Journal of Technology Research, 4, p.1.
S'Tayo, S., Adebola, S.T. and Yahya, D.O., 2019. Social Media: Usage and Influence on Undergraduate Studies in Nigerian Universities. International Journal of Education and Development using Information and Communication Technology, 15(3), pp. 53-62.
Wimmer, R. D., and Dominick, J. R., 2013. Mass media research. Cengage Learning.
Yunus, M., & Salehi, H., 2012. The effectiveness of Facebook groups on teaching and Improving writing: students’ perceptions. International journal of education and Information Technology
APPENDIX II: Questionnaire
UGANDA MARTYRS UNIVERSITY NKOZI
P.O. Box 5498, Kampala
Dear respondent,
I am Ogwang Lawrence, a student of the above-named institution. I am currently undertaking a research project and the purpose of the research is to find out: THE ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN ENHANCING STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE- The Case of Uganda Martyrs’ University Students. This will lead to the award of a bachelors Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication of Uganda Martyrs University. I hereby request you to help me fulfill this academic requirement by answering this questionnaire. All information gathered shall be used purely for research purposes and shall be treated with confidentiality.
Yours sincerely,
Ogwang Lawrence (+256782516677 +256392556678)
(Researcher)
SECTION A (PERSONAL INFORMATION)
NB. (Tick the most appropriate)
- What is your gender?
Male Female
- What is your age bracket?
17-25 26-30 31-35 36-40 41-45 45-50
- What is your faculty? ........................................... Year (Class)......................................
- What social media platforms do you use?
Facebook WhatsApp Twitter LinkedIn Blogger Any other Specify..................................
- When did you begin to use social media?
- From high school b. From University c. From primary
- Where do you use mostly social media?
a. In class b. In the library c. In my room d. All the above places
- How long do you use social media in a day?
- 2-3 hours b. 4-5 hours c. 5-6 hours d. 24 hours e. Any other? Specify..................
SECTION B. (Instructions: Instructions: Please read each statement carefully and tick the most appropriate answer)
1. How social media simplify academic performance for students
2. The effectiveness of social media in enhancing the academic performance of students
|
|
Statements on research Question 2 |
Strongly agree |
Agree |
Neutral |
Disagree |
Strongly disagree |
|
1 |
Social media have impacted my GPA positively |
|
|
|
|
|
|
2 |
I solely rely on information got from social media to do my assignments without consulting other sources |
|
|
|
|
|
|
3 |
Sometimes I use social media to understand more what I have been taught in class
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
4 |
I use social media extensively because most of my course assignments/projects are in the forms of blogs/online presentations |
|
|
|
|
|
|
5 |
Using Social media regularly has improved my communication skills |
|
|
|
|
|
|
6 |
All the materials I get from social media are always correct |
|
|
|
|
|
3. Challenges social media poses to students in their academic endeavours
|
|
Statements on research Question 3 |
Strongly agree |
Agree |
Neutral |
Disagree |
Strongly disagree |
|
1 |
Once I interrupt my study time with social media, I lose concentration |
|
|
|
|
|
|
2 |
Social media have impacted my GPA negatively |
|
|
|
|
|
|
3 |
Social media has negatively impacted on my writing skills |
|
|
|
|
|
|
4 |
Online social networks distract me from my studies |
|
|
|
|
|
|
5 |
The hours I spend online on social media are more than the hours I spend reading |
|
|
|
|
|
|
6 |
I use social media for making new friends and socializing more than I use it for academic purposes |
|
|
|
|
|
SECTION C (Your views)
4. what is your view on how students use social media?
............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
5. what challenges do you get in using social media?
............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
6. What solutions can you offer to the above challenges?
............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
END
Thanks for your cooperation
