Pattern Of Social Media Usage For Academic Activities Among Students Of Selected Tertiary Institutions In Delta State, Nigeria

Abstract

Social media use is very high in contemporary society including higher institutions. Studies show that students use them for both academic and non-academic purposes, but little or nothing seem to have been documented about the level and pattern of social media usage for academic activities among students of higher institutions in Delta State, Nigeria. This study draws insights from the Uses and Gratification Theory and adopted survey with a sample of 368 selected via multi-stage sampling. Data was analyzed by mean scores against a benchmark mean of 2.50. Findings show high level of social media usage for academic activities among the students who mostly use WhatsApp, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram for easy access to course-related materials, continued learning under relaxed environment, follow-up online research using the shared web links, storage of course materials on phones for easy access/sharing and keeping themselves academically active in and out of classrooms anywhere/anytime. Findings support claims by Uses and Gratification Theory and previous studies that social media use is expected to be high since they gratify students’ academic needs. The study recommends that government and management of tertiary institutions should promote access to social media on campuses while lecturers should integrate them into teaching.