RELATIONSHIP OF STUDENTS’ SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES USAGE WITH THEIR ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE, INTROVERSION AND SELF-ESTEEM

Abstract

This study aims to assess the relationship between social networking sites usage, academic performance, introversion and self-esteem of students. The current study also focus on age and gender differences in the usage of social networking sites. This study surveyed 150 participants (N=150) with the age range from 14 to 25 years, comprising 75 male students (n=75) and 75 female students (n=75). All these participants were approached from two schools, two colleges and two universities of Swabi. Three questionnaires; Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale (RSE, Rosenberg, 1965), Introversion Scale (IS, McCroskey, 1984) and Social Networking Time Use Scale (SONTUS, Olufadi, 2015) were used for data collection. The key findings of this research were that there was positive correlation between social networking time use and introversion; and the correlation of social networking time use with selfesteem and academic achievement was negative. There was negative correlation of introversion with self-esteem and academic achievement; and positive correlation was existed between self-esteem and academic achievement of students. The findings of this research also revealed that there were statistically significant differences at p<0.05 in the usage of social networking sites with respect to age and gender. The findings of study are discussed in terms of its implication in various sectors i.e. education, student’s family environment, and interpersonal relationship of students.