Global Educational Research Journal

Abstract: Education has never stopped and will never stop solving problems of the society as long as they keep surfacing and resurfacing. This study examined how social networking sites affected social studies students in Kwara State. This study adopted descriptive survey design. The population for the study was all Social Studies undergraduate students in Kwara State, while the target population was all 300 and 400 level Social Studies students. A multi-stage sampling technique was used for the study. The instrument used for this study was a well-structured questionnaire titled “Influence of Social Networking Sites on Academic Performance of Social Studies Undergraduate Students”. Test retest was used to determine the reliability of the instrument. Reliability co-efficient of 0.64 was derived. Descriptive statistics (frequency counts and percentages) were used to analyze the demographic data obtained from respondents. T-test and PPMC were used to answer the research questions and the corresponding hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The study revealed among other that social networking sites have been accepted as veritable tools, though with some effects. It was recommended among others that University educators should enhance the latest technology and discover ways to harness students’ engagement for activities that work in conjunction with and not against their pedagogical philosophies and learning goals; more interactive environment should be provided for students to enable them have greater chances to manage and control their online social environment; lecturers should guide students and be the moderators and advisor throughout the learning process.

Keywords: Social Networking Sites, Academic Performance, Undergraduate Social Studies Students