Impact of Social Media on Academic Performance of Pupils. A Case Study of Chipepo Secondary School in Gwembe District

Abstract

The study was the impact of social media on academic performance of pupils. A case study of Chipepo secondary school in Gwembe District in Southern Province, Zambia. The researcher used the descriptive quantitative research method supported partly by qualitative data. The population for the study consisted of 110 purposively selected grade 12 pupils in one (1) purposively selected secondary school (Chipepo) in Gwembe district in Zambia. A total sample of 40 grade 12 pupils were simple randomly selected using balloting from Chipepo secondary which was included in this study. The instrument used for the study was a thirty (31) item close ended questionnaire and an interview guide for research question 4. The data collected was coded and analyzed using descriptive statistics. Findings from the study revealed that male pupils used social media more than their counterparts the female pupils. Moderate time 61-90 minutes was spent by pupils on social media per day. The use of social media did not distract academic performance of pupils instead it helped them to improve academic performance. Pupils who used social media were middle aged to younger. Google was commonly used by pupils also WhatsApp and Facebook. It was therefore recommended that the Ministry of General Education and head teachers institute incentives that might help to encourage the use of social media in schools.