THE EFFECT OF FACEBOOK ON STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AT UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN MOGADISHU, SOMALIA

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of Facebook on the academic achievement of university students in Mogadishu. The study’s objectives were to investigate the effects of Facebook usage, self-regulation, and time spent on Facebook on university students’ academic performance. To investigate the relationship between variables, a correlation research design was used. Data were collected from 204 students in the faculty of education at the University of Somalia (UNISO) using a self-administered questionnaire. The participants were chosen through a stratified sampling technique. The quantitative data gathered was analyzed using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS). Pearson product-moment coefficient results indicated that a significant positive correlation existed between Facebook usage and academic achievement (r =.85 n = 204, p<.05), a positive statistically significant relationship between self-regulation and academic achievement (r = .559, n = 204, p < .05), and a significant positive relationship also existed between time spent on Facebook and academic achievement (r = .858, n = 204, p < .05). It was concluded that Facebook usage, self-regulation, and time spent on Facebook have a strong positive correlation with the students’ academic achievement. It was recommended the establishment of a national policy on Facebook to regulate students’ usage in educational institutions such as universities by cutting off internet services from students’ smartphones during study time to learn appropriately. KEYWORDS: Academic performance, Facebook, self-regulation, and social networking