Perceived Influence of Whatsapp Usage on Students’ Academic Achievement in the University of Cross River State

Abstract

The study determined the perceived influence of WhatsApp usage on students’ academic achievement at the University of Cross River State. Two research questions were asked, two hypotheses were developed, and evaluated at a 0.05 level of significance in order to accomplish the goal of this study. This study adopted a survey research design. Purposive sampling and census techniques were used to select 258 400-level business education students that participated in the study. A validated questionnaire titled “WhatsApp Usage Questionnaire” and approved students' results in Vocational Guidance (BED 4107) for the 2020/2021 academic session were used for data collection. A reliability index of 0.82 was obtained for the questionnaire using Cronbach Alpha statistics after a trial test was conducted on twenty (20) business education students at the University of Calabar. Hypotheses were tested at a .05 level of significance using a population t-test and one-way ANOVA. Research outcome indicates that students’ frequency of WhatsApp usage is significantly high and WhatsApp application significantly influenced students’ academic achievement in Vocational Guidance (BED 4107). In light of the research outcomes, it was recommended, that the school's administration should have a course on time management taught across all disciplines, as this course would enlighten the students on what they should prioritize; Hence, they would be able to strike a balance on the period used on WhatsApp for scholarly work and for leisure.