Students’ Perceived Influence of Social Media Use on Academic Achievement in Adamawa State University, Mubi, Nigeria

The study investigated the perceived influence of social media on students’ academic Achievement in Adamawa state University, Mubi, Nigeria. The research questions sought to identify the major social media platforms that are patronized by students and their perceived advantages and disadvantages. The population of the study consisted of all the undergraduate students in the four faculties of the university with an estimated population of 12,000. A sample of 400 students was drawn using purposive and stratified sampling techniques. The instrument for data collection was a self-designed questionnaire whose face and content validity were verified by senior Lecturers in the Dept. of Science Education and Educational Foundations. The Instrument was pilot tested in Federal Polytechnic, Mubi. The reliability index of 0.72 was computed manually using Kuder Richardson 21. Means and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions while Chisquare statistics was used to test the hypotheses at the 0.05 alpha levels. The study revealed that the benefits derived from the use of various social media platforms are for the purpose of entertainment and not used to source materials for academic purposes. Almost all the respondents said they are fully aware of the consequences arising from their over dependence on social media but lack the will power to detach themselves sufficiently from the attractions of the social media scourge. Based on these findings, it was recommended that Human Development Counsellors should step down orientation programmes to sensitize students on the advantages and disadvantages of social media use on academic achievement.