Benue State University, Makurdi

IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON STUDENT’S ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN CATHOLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN OTUKPO DIOCESE, BENUE STATE, NIGRERIA

Ochai Peter Donatus and Felix Terhile Bua, PhD

Abstract

The study investigated the impact of social media on student’s academic performance in senior secondary schools in Catholic secondary schools in Otukpo Diocese, Benue State, Nigeria. Four research questions were raised and four hypotheses were formulated and tested at P>0.05 level of significance. Descriptive survey design was used. The sample comprised 270 senior secondary school students drawn randomly from six secondary schools in the diocese out of the 22 Catholic secondary schools. Simple random sampling technique was used for selecting the schools. Students’ Social Media Usage Questionnaire (SSMUQ) was used for data collection. The data collected were analysed using mean and standard deviation to answer the research questions while chi-square was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that access to social media, addictiveness, time spent and number of online friends affected academic performance of students. The findings therefore showed that the listed variables have significant impact on academic performance. It was recommended that students’ participation on social media be moderated and their online activities be guided so that they may be prevented from spending unnecessary time on nonacademic issues in social media. It was recommended that social media network providers should control the number of friends students can keep on their platforms.

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