INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON EDUCATIONAL PERFORMANCE OF CHILDREN IN UYO LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA
ABSTRACT
The research work was on the influence of social media on educational performance of children in Uyo local Government Area. The objectives of the study were; to examine the level of children addictiveness to social media, to find out the influence of social media on the educational performance of the children, to determine the social media network that the children are more exposed and to ascertain how the use of social media has influence the educational performance of children in Uyo Local Government Area. Cultivation theory was used as it was suitable for the study. The population of the study was made up of 1298 children in Uyo. For the purpose of this study, three school were choosen in Uyo and questionnaire was used as instrument for data collations. The study adopted survey method. Cluster sampling technique was used to select 240 sample. Data were gathered through the structural questionnaire. Finding revealed that social media have a strong influence on the educational performance of children, also shows that children in Uyo are more exposed to facebook the influence that social media have on children is low grades. The study recommended that parent should limit the time their children spent with their phones what the browse should be monitored, the usuage of social media by children if not for academic purpose should be made moderate so as to avoid addictiveness to it.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
The term communication can be defined as a process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs, or behaviour. Emery; Ault and Agee (1980), see it also as a dynamic and functional interaction between individuals and among groups which takes place in social environment. Bringing it down to mass communication, it is referred to as a message communicated through the use of media develops for that purpose accordi8ng to Bittner (1991). So without communication, no individual will ever become a complete human some goes with networking sites without that an individual can never become of the modern society (Taiwo Isola, 2012).
Communication in its simplest sense involve two or more persons who come together to share, to dialogue and to commune, or just to be together for a festival or family gathering. Communication can be done in different ways like, verbal communication which is transmitted by word of mouth and a piece of writing, must be in short and simple sentences so that people will understand what we are conveying. This communication can be done orally. That is, spoken words are used and it includes face-to-face conversation, video, radio, television voice over internet and this form of communication is influenced by pitch, volume, speed and charity of peaking.
Also in written communication, written signs or symbols are used, messages may be printed or hand written and this can be transmitted via email, letter, report, memo etc. messages are influence by the vocabulary and grammer used, writing style, precision and clarity of the language used. Non-verbal communication means the sending or receiving of wordless messages like gesture body language, posture, tone of voice or facial expressions. Interpersonal communication means the communication that takes place between two individuals. Since it is person-to-person contact; it includes everyday exchange that may be formal or informal and can take place anywhere by means of words, sounds, facial expression, gesture and postures. This is an idea and effective communication situation because you can get immediate feedback. You can clarify and emphasize many points through your expressions, gestures and voices.
Information, messages, opinions, speech and thought can be done via different forms of modern communication media like internet.
The internet being the newest invention to communication can be defined as the global system of interconnected computer networks that use the inter protocol suite (TCP/IP) to link devices worldwide. It is a network of networks that consist of private, public, academic, business and government networks of local to globe scope, linked by a broad array of electronic; wireless and optical networking ;technologies.
The origins of the internet date back to research commissioned by the United States Federal Government in the 1960s to build robust, fault-tolerant communication via computer networks. The linking of commercial networks and enterprises in the early 1990s marked the beginning of the transition to the modern internet, and generated rapid growth as institutional, personal and mobile computers were connected to the network. By the late 2000s, its services and technologies had been incorporated into virtually every aspect of modern life. Most traditional communication media including telephony, radio, television, paper mail and newspapers are being reshaped, redefined, or even bypassed by the internet, giving birth to new services such as email, internet telephony, internet television, online music, digital newspapers and video streaming websites. Technology or are reshaped into blogging, web feeds and online news aggragators. The internet has enabled and accelerated new forms of personal interactions through instant messaging internet forums and social media.
Social media makes the world a smaller place, now we have more information, more knowledge, and have better opportunities to use it. Social media improved our ability to absorb information what would have seemed to be overwhelming to someone 20 years ago is normal to use. Social media as aspect of new media makes communication flow to have no limit. When it comes to social networking there is no one-fits-all approach. The benefit of social networking platform varies base on platform type, feature and the organization itself.
The usefulness of social media are as follows:
- Social media facilitates open communication leading to enhanced information discovery and delivery.
- Social media allows individuals to discuss ideas, post news, ask questions interact and share links.
- Business wise social media provides opportunities to widen business contact.
- Social media gives world wide connectivity. These connection can help with the variety of things such as; seeking a job, locating assistance, finding romance, getting and giving product and services preferral, receiving support from like-minded individuals, sharing political belief, accessing news in real time, making or receiving career or personal advice.
1.2 Statement of the Study
The world today is a global market in which the internet is the most important sort of information. Since the advent of social media sites in the 1990s, it is assumed in some quarters that the academic performance of children is facing a lot of neglect and challenges. The educational system in Uyo Local Government Area is faced with so many challenges which have certainly brought about a rapidly decline in the quality of education to children in the locality. There is a deviation, distraction and divided attention between social networking activities and their academic work. It is observed that children in Uyo local government area devote more attention to social media than they do to their studies.
Children’ addictiveness to social networks, children’ frequency of exposure to social network, social media network that the children are more exposed to and the influence of social media as a medium of interaction between children has been part of discussion in recent times and which have imparted on their academic performance. Instead of children reading their books, they spend their time chatting and making friends via the social media and this might definitely have influence on their educational performance, because when you do not read, there is no way you can perform well academically. It is a common sight to see a student chatting in sensitive and highly organized places like church, mosque and lecture venues. Some are so carried away that even as they are walking along the high way, they keep chatting. The manufacturing and distribution of equally sophisticated cellular phones has complicated the situation, as students no longer need to visit a cybercafé before they send and receive messages. Attention has been shifted from visible to invisible friends, while important ventures like study and writing might be affected in the process. Children at a level of learning now have divided attention to studies, as a result of available opportunities to be harnessed from social media. Whether these opportunities promote studies is a question that needs to be answered. Thus, the problem this study investigates is the influence of social media networks on the academic performance of children in Uyo Local Government Area.
1.3 Objectives of the Study
This study examines the influence of social media on the educational performance of children in Uyo Local Government Area. Specifically, they study seek;
- To examine the level of children addictiveness to social media.
- To find out the influence of social media on the educational performance of children.
iii. To determine the social media network that the children are more exposed.
- To ascertain how the use of social media has the educational performance of children in Uyo Local Government Area.
1.4 Research Questions
- How addictive are children to the social media?
- What influence do the social media have on children’s educational performance in Uyo Local Government Area?
iii. Which social media network are the children in Uyo exposed to more?
iv. How has the use of social media network influence the educational performance of children in Uyo Local Government
INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON EDUCATIONAL PERFORMANCE OF CHILDREN IN UYO LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA
