ASSESSMENT OF THE USAGE OF SOCIAL MEDIA AMONG UNDERGRADUATES OF PRINCE ABUBAKAR AUDU UNIVERSITY, ANYIGBA KOGI STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Social networking sites and applications are widely used by students. They spend a lot of their time on these sites as a part of their daily lives. The extent of the usage of social media for academic learning purposes remains unclear as there are still scanty studies in this regard particularly among students of Prince Abubakar Audu, Anyigba, Kogi state, Nigeria. It is against this backdrop that this study carried out an assessment of the usage of social media for academic learning purposes among students of Prince Abubakar Audu University, Anyigba, Kogi State, Nigeria. The study utilized primary data elicited through the use of questionnaire.  A multistage sampling technique was used to select the respondents for this study. A total number of 360 respondents were used for the study. Descriptive statistics involving the use of simple frequency, percentage and Likert rating type of scale were used. The results of the study show, among others, that social media does not give room for privacy, students post rumuors and gossips, use of social media affect student study time, high cost of data subscription are some of the challenges associated with the use of social media. The study concluded that students utilized social media for varying purposes but less for academic learning purposes. It was recommended, among others, that there is need to exercise restraints on the use of social media due to the negative tendencies associated with it.