Effects of addiction to the use of social media on the reading habits of students of English language studies, university of Nigeria, Nsukka

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study examines the negative effects of social media addiction on the reading habits of second language learners at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. It is anchored on two theories: the Uses and Gratification theory and the Time Displacement theory. These theories were exploited in assessing the effects of addiction to the use of social media on the reading habits of second-language users. The quantitative method for data collection and analysis was adopted. A questionnaire was administered to 525 respondents to ascertain the level of their addiction to social media and reading habits. The study shows that students are seriously addicted to social media, spending 3–4 hours on non-academic matters, which affects their reading habits seriously. Based on the above discoveries, it is recommended that compulsory orientations should be organised on when, how, and what social media should be used for.