The Influence of Internet Use on Socialization among the Youth: A Case of Undergraduate Students at University of Nairobi-Main Campus

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to establish the influence of internet use on socialization among undergraduate students of University of NairobiMethodology: The study adopted a descriptive survey design. The accessible population of the study was 15, 000 from main campus. Data was collected from a sample of 384 students from the university via use of questionnaire and an interview guide as data collection tools which contained both closed and open ended questions and encouraged the respondents to participate due to anonymity. The data collected was analyzed by use of descriptive statistics. In particular excel SPSS and frequency tables were used.Results: The study findings indicated that internet use may not have a negative effect on socialization as indicated in literature. The findings uphold that internet users spend more time socializing with friends when compared to non-users. The forms of internet mostly used by University of Nairobi students are internet enabled cell phones followed by computer labs and cyber cafes. Internet enabled cell phones were preferred because of the portability, convenience and cost while computer labs was preferred because of accessibility and the fact that they are free. The social sites mostly used by both the undergraduate students were Facebook, electronic mail, yahoo messenger, twitter and Skype.Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: The study recommended that since university of Nairobi undergraduates are frequent users of the internet, the university should increase the number of computers in the computer lab. It was also recommended that the university should exploit this avenue and ensure that more educational content are passed onto the students through the internet. This will pave way for e-learning. The university may use social media to reach the students as a part of a whistle blower policy where anonymous comments are posted, blogs and contributions on a certain issue can also be posted.