INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA USAGE ON STUDENTS' ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN ANAMBRA STATE

Abstract

This study investigated the influence of social media usage on students' performance in public secondary schools in Anambra State. Three specific purposes, three research questions and three hypotheses guided the study. Descriptive survey design was adopted for the study. The population of the study consisted of all the 24,006 (10,926 males and 13,080 females) SSS II students in the 267 public secondary schools in Anambra State. The sample size of 1,200 was drawn for the study using multi-stage sampling procedure; involving stratified, simple random, and purposive sampling techniques. Social Media Usage and Students’ Academic Performance Questionnaire (SMUSAPQ) structured by the researchers was used for data collection. The instrument was face validated by three experts in the Faculty of Education, Nnamdi University, Awka. The reliability of the instrument was ascertained using Cronbach Alpha. Data were analyzed using aggregate mean, standard deviation and independent t-test. The findings revealed that social media usage significantly and positively enhances students’ academic performance in public secondary schools in Anambra State. The study also found that the positive influence was consistent across genders, as both male and female students benefit equally, with no significant difference in their mean scores. However, the study concluded that teachers, parents, and school principals should promote responsible and purposeful use of social media by integrating it into instructional processes and fostering digital literacy skills. Based on the findings the study recommended among other that stakeholders promote the constructive and purposeful use of social media as a tool for enhancing students’ performance in their academics and overall learning outcomes among both male and female students in public secondary schools in Anambra State by encouraging students to use social media platforms to plan, organize, and monitor their daily academic activities productively.