THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS IN UNIVERSITY OF BENIN, BENIN CITY, EDO STATE.

ABSTRACT

The study was carried out to thoroughly look into the impact of Social Media on Academic Performance amongst Undergraduate Students in the University of Benin. It used the University of Benin as the Area of study. The study used a sample of 200 students  from the 41,996 population of the 2021/2022 academic session. It made use of five objectives. The findings of this study reveal that social media usage is a common phenomenon among undergraduate students of the University of Benin. It discovered that majority of students have social media accounts and spend a significant amount of time on these platforms. The study also found that students prefer certain social media platforms over others due to their unique features. From the study, Facebook and WhatsApp were found to be the most popular platforms among students, likely due to their user-friendly interfaces and versatility.  Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and Snapchat were also found to be popular among students, although to a lesser extent. Most significantly, this study discovered the negative impact of social media usage on student academic performance. It recommends the integration of social media into school curriculum, and Utilisation of social media tools to enhance learning experience. It also recommends that students prioritise things and set aside time for social media and study to achieve academic stability.