Impact of Social Media Usage on Information Retrieval Among Undergraduate Students in Faculty of Management Sciences, University of Ilorin

Abstract

The study examined the impact of social media on information retrieval among undergraduate students in the Faculty of Management Sciences, University of Ilorin. It determined the social media network that undergraduate students were more exposed to for retrieving information, identified the differences in their usage of social media network for information retrieval based on gender and age brackets, explored preferences for social media compared to other sources of information retrieval systems available for students, explored the types of information retrieved from social media network, and identified the challenges they faced in the use of social media networks. The population of the study comprised of 3,634 students out of which a sample of 360 was chosen through stratified random technique. A self-designed questionnaire was used to collect data. Five research questions were developed and answered by the study. The findings revealed that undergraduate students exposure to social media was very high. The social media tools where students exposure was highest was WhatsApp application compared to any other social media platform. Students preferred using social media platforms to retrieve information than using conventional resources like textbooks, journals, etc. There was a negligible difference between social media exposure level of male gender and female gender. Furthermore, the study revealed that undergraduate students level of exposure varied by age brackets while those within age bracket 21-25 years have the highest level of exposure. The study also demonstrated that a higher percentage of students like using social media platforms to retrieve information on the latest update of school activities and to gratify their needs in entertainment. The major challenge faced by students is the high cost of access to social media platforms (subscription). The study recommended that the students exposure to and bias preference for social media over other available information retrieval systems should be controlled.