Social Media and Students’ Academic Performance among Secondary School Students

Abstract

The study assessed the impact of social media on students’ academic performance in Secondary Schools in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State. The theory underpinning this work is the theory of social constructivism. The work adopted a correlational-survey design, and a sample size of 248 respondents was determined from a population size of 1242 using the proportionate sampling technique. 248 copies of a structured questionnaire were distributed. 246 were retrieved and used in the analysis. A total of 209 copies, of which the respondents agreed to using social media, were used in answering the research questions and analysing the hypotheses. Mean and standard deviation were used in answering the research questions, while the Person Product Moment Correlation and T-test were used in testing the hypotheses. Person product moment correlation was used in examining the relationship between the independent and dependent variables, while T-test was used to determine if the level of relationship is significant a 0.05 level of significance. The result of the analysis showed a significant relationship between the dependent and the independent variables. Based on the findings, the study recommended that students should be better educated on the use of social media, how to effectively use it and ability to strike a balance between the use of social media and their academics. The study suggested that similar studies be carried out in private schools and other states in the country.