The use of social networking sites by students of The Polytechnic, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria

Abstract

Social networking sites (SNSs), are vital tools of getting information, and most students are availing themselves of the much opportunities to exploit them for academic output. The study therefore examined the use of social networking sites by students of The Polytechnic Ibadan, Oyo state, Nigeria. Descriptive survey design was adopted and the study population consisted of 2156 students. The stratified random sampling technique was used to select a sample of 255. Questionnaire was the instrument used for the data collection. Data were analysed using simple descriptive statistics of frequency counts, percentages, mean and standard deviation for the five research questions in the study. Respondents indicated that they used social networking sites for personal development (mean = 3.11), group discussion (mean = 3.07), and group presentation (mean = 2.70), and affirmed that social networking sites helped to meet the challenges of academic activities (mean = 3.01). Challenges such as battery life power outages (mean 3.08), accidental loss of data or damage of equipment (mean 3.02), and poor internet connectivity (mean = 2.63), were the major constraints faced in the use of social networking sites for their academic activities. It was concluded in the study that the respondents expressed social networking use helped to meet the challenges of academic output, by assisting in getting solutions to their academic tasks such as classwork/ projects/ group work, and others. The study recommended that students should be encouraged to use social networking sites in ways that could be beneficial to them, specifically for academic tasks.