The Use of Social Media and the Academic Performance of Students

Master's Thesis from the year 2019 in the subject Communications - Multimedia, Internet, New Technologies, grade: 72.0, Coventry University (School of Engineering, Environment and Computing), course: MSc. Management of Information Technology, language: English, abstract: The thesis aims at exploring the use of social media to improve students' academic performance in Nigeria. The study is guided by the interpretivist theoretical perspective which follows a qualitative approach. The findings reveal that Taraba State University students have access to social media, but there is no official social media platform to build learning communities for the improvement of students' academic performances in the university.

In recent times, institutions of higher learning around the world are exploring various technologies that encourage active learning. One of such technologies is the use of social media in building learning communities. Learning communities have assisted students' learning process by means of collaboration, sharing of ideas and information in their respective subject areas. This is in accordance with the benefits of mobile technologies and ubiquitous computing, internet of a thing and emerging technologies such as web 2.0 and social networking that has captivated the attention of students globally. It is this development that has triggered this research on use of social media to improve students' academic performance in Nigeria.

The study is guided by the interpretivist theoretical perspective which follows a qualitative approach. The case study method and triangulation sampling are employed for indept data collection. Interviews, online survey and observation are used as sources of primary data collection. Constant comparative analysis method is used to analyse the data. Social media has become an integral part of people's life as this technology enables people to network with friends and associates, share photographs, generate contents, interact in games and real time conversations. The ever-increasing proliferation of mobile technologies has increased the use of social media, more especially in universities where the technology is transforming the way students communicate, collaborate, interact and learn.