Social Media Perceived Influence of Academic Activities among Undergraduate Mathematics Students in Public Universities, Niger State

Social Media Perceived Influence of Academic Activities among Undergraduate Mathematics Students in Public Universities, Niger State

 Dr. ABDULRAHIM, Musbahu¹, Oluyemo Alade Abdullateef², Dr. Blessing Chinyere Anakpua³, Nwigboji Emmanuel Chikodi⁴, Dr. Yusuf Salahudeen⁵ and Dr. Alhassan D. Safo⁶

^{1, 3 & 4}Dept. of Science Education, Alex Akwueme Federal University FUNAI-Alike, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State.

²Department of Educational Foundations, Faculty of Education National Open University of Nigeria, Abuja

^5&6Department of Mathematics and General study, Niger State College of Education Minna Niger State

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.47772/IJRISS.2024.8100120

Received: 27 September 2024; Revised: 05 October 2024; Accepted: 09 October 2024; Published: 08 November 2024

ABSTRACT

This study examined the social media perceived influence of academic activities among Undergraduate Mathematics students in Public Universities in Niger State. Two objectives were formulated for the study. Descriptive survey research design was adopted. The target population for this study consists of one thousand seven hundred and thirty four (1734) full time students of Public Universities in Niger State, comprising of (male = 1245 and female = 489) out of which 306 Undergraduate Mathematics students were randomly selected as the study sample using research Advisory Table. The questionnaire was adapted for the study which consisted of  perceived influence of use of social media of academic activities in Public Universities in Niger State. The questionnaire was validated by experts and the reliability coefficient index was 0.830.  Descriptive statistic mean and standard deviation was used to answer the research questions with the criterion mean set at 2.50 and above. T-test was used to analyze the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. Analysis of data revealed that undergraduate mathematics students perceived that social media has negative influence towards their academic activities in public Universities in Niger State. Also, female undergraduate mathematics students has positive influence on social media platform on academic activities than their male counterpart. The findings showed that use of social media do influence mathematics undergraduate student’s academic performance as it become an integral part of students’ lives. It was recommended that; Undergraduate mathematics students should set their priorities right by taking advantage of social media more for learning, online discussion, downloading materials for reading and research purpose, and for solving academic related problems.

Key words: Social Media, Perceived Influence, Academic Activities, Undergraduate Mathematics Students, Public Universities

INTRODUCTION

There is enormous celebration on the planet today because of the imminent change in the communication pattern which has helped the scope of communication through Information and Communication Technology (ICTs). Modern Technology in communication no doubt has turned the entire world into a “Global village”. But as it is, technology, like two sides of a coin, brought with it both negative and positive sides. It helps people to be better informed, enlightened, and keep abreast with world developments. Technological changes have always been seen as strong evolutionary force but the advent of internet is something that has shaken almost all spheres of personal, social and professional human life. Right from the mere ways of interaction to the running of huge systems, we are utilizing the conveniences provided by the existence of internet (Apuke & Iyendo, 2018). Significant benefits have been drawn from internet being a connection and communication tool.

Internet users who visit social networking sites or any blogging site comprise two-third of world’s internet users consuming about 10% of the whole time spent on internet (blog.nielsen.com) and accounts for 65% of internet usage (www.socialadblog.com). Millions of people can stay connected together using the web provision called social networking sites. A social network if formed by the connection of many online communities leading towards the sharing of not only information and knowledge but cultural values as well (Nethistory.info). Classmates.com was founded in 1995 being the first official Social Networking Sites. The most successful and largest social networking site is the Facebook that is the latest among all other social networking sites. Reviewing the origin and creation of Facebook, he was Mark Zuckerberg who funded the Facebook. In 2003, he was a student at Harvard’s School and there he created a site called Facemash. This site was instantaneously shut down after coming into the notice of school administration and Zuckerberg was charged for Privacy Breaching by school admin. After releasing from this charge, “The Facebook” was recreated in February 2004. Social network is a social structure made up of individuals or organizations called “nodes”, which are tied to or connected by one or more specific types of interdependency, such as friendship, kinship, common interest, financial exchange, dislike, sexual relationships or relationships of beliefs, knowledge or prestige (Manca & Ranieri, 2017).

Social networking sites include: Twitter, Facebook Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, Blackberry Messenger (BBM), 2go messenger, Skype, Google talk, Google Messenger, Whatsapp messenger, iPhone and Androids. These networking sites are used by most people to interact with old and new friends, physical or internet friends. The world has been changed rapidly by the evolution of technology and this has resulted in the use of technology as the best medium to explore the wide area of knowledge. Social networks play a crucial role in learning environments as a key communicational channel and a source of social support. Many social networking websites, such as Edmodo, are specifically designed for learning (Manca & Ranieri, 2017). Social networks have many advantages in learning as they provide wide access to information and information resources; reduce barriers to group interaction and telecommunications (Madaiah et al. 2017); support collaborative learning activities (Al-Dhanhani et al. 2015); encourage learners to learn more about self-learning; increase engagement and learner’s motivation; enhance engagement of learners with each other and their teachers (Hamid et al. 2015) and support active and social learning. In general, the emergence of new technologies such as internet and social networks, in addition to providing opportunities in facilitating and improving the quality of global communications, has created some significant decrease in higher education institutions, this significant decrease in time spent in class and on-campus may have implications for the student learning experience (Avcıet al., 2015). When the use of social networks is managed poorly, they can have negative consequences at the individual and social levels.

The evolution of internet technology has led to its use as the best medium for communication. Whereby, two-thirds of the world’s internet population visits social networking or blogging sites, thus serving as a communication and connection tool. The internet is more than just a means of searching information. It has been revealed that the internet can be used to connect with other people for business or commercial purposes, to make new friends, or to bring back old friends and long lost relatives. One of the latest examples of new communication technology usually used by students is social media, also known as Social Networking Sites (Peter, 2015). The emergence of social media simplified the process, because they do not require advanced internet knowledge or experience to operate and are made up of a wide array of different formats and topics in which anyone can connect through social media (Sudha & Kavitha, 2016).

The use of social media has been rapidly rising during last few years, as it is not only being used by the working class people but also there is heavy increase in the use of social media by the students or educated society (Raut & Patil, 2016). With such broad acceptance, there is no surprise that social media have affected the way people live and socialize. Social Networking Sites such as Facebook is one of the latest examples of communication technologies that have been widely-adopted by students and, subsequently, have the potential to become a valuable resource to support their educational communications and collaborations with other information resources. Social media are mostly used by students to communicate and exchange ideas with lecturers, specifically in Western contexts (Sudha & Kavitha, 2016). Hasnain, et al. (2015) stated that the development of technology and increase in internet usage, social media has become part of our daily lives. If social media is used in a positive way, it can help students and youth to get knowledge that can be used to improve their academic performances.

The role of academic activities serves as predictors of one’s life success and also in the aspect of academic placement in schools to higher institutions as well as the level of employability in one’s career is inevitable. It also helps to develop skills specific to the students career path and imperative for future job success and give students opportunities to improve their leadership and interpersonal skills while also increasing their self-confidence (Peter, 2015).

Academic activities, one of the major goals of any tertiary institution with the aim of imparting knowledge and skills on those who go through them with the sole aim of enhancing good academic performance. Academic activities in this context are those exercises that are related to formal educational practices which are carried out by learners/students. They are of zeal for reading, writing, research, and private search for knowledge after class, for take home assignment, private project works, reading or seeking for information ahead of class lectures, co-operation with fellow students during discussions, establishing special skills, etc. Higher education refers to all education that takes place after secondary school level by individual, group of individual or government and approved by the competent state authorities as higher education. It can also be called post-secondary education. Higher education depends on what a given country deems to be higher education; such as universities, colleges of education, polytechnics, college of health technologies, technical specialty schools etc.

Presently, there exists a direct relationship between Social media usage and the academic activities of students in universities. Social network sites have recently exploded in popularity; one in particular is Facebook. Since Facebook’s creation in 2004, the social network site has gained worldwide popularity and currently hosts over 800 million active users. Many students throughout developed countries are members of social network sites and are reportedly using the site several times a day (Peter, 2015). Additionally, Facebook membership is prevalent and growing in many developing countries. The way that social network sites, like Facebook, have fast become part of students’ daily communication practices has caught the interest of higher education institutions, practitioners, and researchers. Questions arise about the extent that students use these social spaces to support their learning experience. Currently, there is a distinct lack of policy that ‘promotes responsible and critical usage of emergent technologies for teaching and learning’ and this is especially in the case for social network sites (Buettner, 2016).

The use of personal social media in the workplaces or educational contexts often raises concerns. Views on social media like YouTube, Facebook, MySpace, or Twitter are disruptive to work, productivity, or learning often arise in the news (Dickson, March 11, 2010 11:00pm; Templeton, March 24, 2010, 6.12pm; Thom, March 24, 2010 12:00am). However, these studies lack thorough empirical research that connects students’ use of social media with productivity and performance. Learning about how students use their personal social media, and how they manage the use when they are studying may provide insight into effective learning practices and strategies. It is important to also consider the potential such sites have for networking, information exchange and collaboration from a positive perspective. Currently, research about social network sites focuses primarily on technology features and their use within formal learning contexts, Explorations about technologies often lean towards effective or ineffective application within formal learning environments (Apuke & Iyendo, 2018). Subair et al. (2019) opined that these days’ students are so engrossed in the social media, making them to stay almost 24 hours online. Even in classrooms and lecture theatres, it has been observed that some students are always busy pinging, 2going or Facebooking, while lectures are on. Times that ought to be channeled towards learning, academic research and innovating have been crushed by the passion for meeting new friends online, and most times they are busy discussing trivial issues. Although it has been put forward that students spend much time on participating in social networking activities, the tendency has brought about steady decrease in their grade point averages (GPA). On the academic front, many researches have been carried out to discover the influence of the use of social media on the academic performance of students (Owusu-Acheaw& Larson, 2015).

Astonishingly, researchers have diverse results with the use of technology and its effects on academic activities and consequently their performance. Some found adverse and positive effects on academic performance, while others have found little to no effect on academic performance. A number of these studies established a decrease in the academic performance and grades of students, because of not having enough time for studies due to their participation in social media network. This means, the more students use social media, the more they influence their disposition to studies, given the fact that friends from social media will begin to exert influence on each other. Students are socially connected with each other for sharing their daily learning experiences and do conversation on class activities such as assignments, quiz, projects and many other forms of class activities which the lecturers use in assessing students as extracurricular activities (Subair et al., 2019).

Academic activities are not enough to satisfy some students who suffered through social networking isolation. This means that social networking activities have the possibility of enhancing student contact and is used to improve their participation in class, particularly where introverted students are involved. “Students can function in online group learning, with little or no anxiety of needing to raise questions before peers at school” (Apuke, 2016). In education industry, there is also argument over the positive and negative impact of social media on students’ academic activities as they start from upper primary level of education to higher education by accessing social media sites of their choice such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, 2go, Youtube, Myspace, WhatsApp, and so on. Every now and then which consumes most of their times. Oghenetega and  Ejedafiru (2014) reported that life is made easy by this media for development academically, socially and politically for any that is connected to it.

The influence of social media platforms on education production cannot be overemphasized. Subair et al. (2019) contend that the use of social media platforms improves students’ learning opportunities, fosters collaborative studies and group discussion, allows for communication outside the classroom, and enhances critical thinking. Today, students are exposed to social media platforms on a daily basis; they use desktop computers, laptops, tablets and mobile phones to actively engage in social media platforms for chatting, blogging, content sharing and online learning purposes (Subair et al., 2019). Thus, students spend much of their study time on social media rather than in their academic undertakings which seems to have an adverse effect on their study time, diverting their attention from their studies (Ndaku, 2013). Subair et al. (2019) stress that despite the peculiarity of social media for learning interaction, not all students use social media platforms for academic purposes. It is against this background that the present study has germinated, and aims at examining social media usage and its influence on undergraduate studies.

Gender may affect the way that people share information on social media and the way they use it to make decisions (Lin & Wang, 2020). However, an extended literature review in this study revealed that there are no published studies that have examined the gender differences of social media use for activities and travel choices. To address this gap, this study aims at explaining gender differences in social media use for activity planning and travel arrangements, before an activity. Acknowledging the amount of shared information on social media platforms today and the current growth rate of social media users, the present work focuses on the phase before any activity in an urban environment, examining the social media use and the impact of the shared content for women and men. It is based on this premise that the researcher intends investigating the social media influence for academic activities among undergraduate mathematics students in Public Universities in Niger State.

Statement of the Research Problem

Since the initiation of social media sites in the 1990s, it is understood that in many parts of the world, the academic performance of students is facing a lot of neglect and challenges. It is a common sight to see a student chatting in sensitive and highly organized places like church, mosque and lecture halls. Some are so carried away that even as they are walking along the high way, they keep chatting. It is therefore of great importance to explore some of the trending issues facing students’ academic activities as a result of social media. Mathematics students at all levels of learning now have divided attention to studies, as a result of available opportunities to be harnessed from social media. Whether these opportunities promote studies is a question that needs to be answered. Current research in the use of social media in the classroom indicates that attitudes among students and teachers alike continue to be mixed. The study revealed that over 500 college students, for example, Westerman, et al. (2016) found that college users of social media were generally negatively influenced about the use and content of social media through mass media and instructors or teachers, but positively influenced via friends and personal experiences. However, an extended literature review in this study revealed that there are no published studies that have examined the gender differences of social media use for activities. To address this gap, this study aims at explaining gender differences in social media use for academic activity. It is against this background that the present study sought to examine the social media perceived influence for academic activities among Undergraduate Mathematics students in Public Universities in Niger State.

Aim and Objectives of the Study

The aim of the study is to examine the social media perceived influence for academic activities among Undergraduate Mathematics students in Public Universities in Niger State. Specifically, the objectives of the study are to:

1. examine the perceived influence of social media on academic activities among male and female undergraduate mathematics students’ of Public Universities in Niger State
2. examine the perceived influence of social media on academic activities among undergraduate mathematics students’ of Public Universities in Niger State

Research Questions

The following research questions were raised:

1. How undergraduate mathematics students’ do perceived the influence of academic activities on social media among of Public Universities in Niger State?
2. How undergraduate mathematics male and female students’ do perceived the influence of academic activities on social media among of Public Universities in Niger State?

Research Hypotheses

The following null hypotheses are generated by the researcher and were tested at 0.05 level of significant:

HO₁: There is no significant difference in perceived influence of social media on academic activities among male and female undergraduate mathematics students’ of Public University in Niger State.

HO₂: There is no significant difference among male and female undergraduate mathematics students’ preference on the use of the use of social media platform in Public Universities in Niger State

Research Design

This study adopted descriptive survey design. The design is one in which data are collected from selected individuals at a single point in time. This is considered most important for this study to obtain current information about the influence of social media on the academic activities among undergraduate mathematics students’ of Public Universities in Niger State.

The population of this study comprised all the full time undergraduate Mathematics students in the Public Universities (Federal University of Technology, Minna and Ibrahim BadamasiBabangida University, Lapai) Niger State in 2018/2019 academic session. The target population comprised of one thousand seven hundred and thirty four (1734) undergraduate full time mathematics students (Male=1245 and Female=489) school of science in Public Universities, Niger State.

The sample for the study is 313 of undergraduate mathematics students in Public Universities Niger State. The choice of using all levels of mathematics students in Public Universities was because they have acquainted themselves with the school environment. They have studied using different social medial long enough to determine the influence and its extent of use on their academic activities. The sample size comprised of mathematics students randomly selected in Public Universities, Niger State.

The research instrument that was used for this study was adapted from Eze and Ogbga (2019) based on information about the influence of social media on the academic activities among undergraduate mathematics students’ of Public Universities Niger State.

Experts were requested to examine the items of the instrument whether the item statements are simple and unambiguous. The experts’ observations, corrections and suggestions on the appropriateness, clarity as well as simplicity and suitability were taken into consideration in reviewing the instrument. In other to determine the reliability of the research instrument, a pilot study was carried out using 50 students who are not part of the selected sampled University, Niger State and the result was analyzed using Cronbach Alpha coefficient. The reliability coefficient index of 0.83 for perceived influence.

The data collected from the administration of questionnaire was analyzed using descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation in answering the research questions and the decision mean of 2.50 was used to determine the influence of social media on the academic activities. Inferential statistics of MannWhitney U-test was used to test the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significant using “statistical package for social sciences” (SPSS) version 23.0

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Research Question 1: What is undergraduate mathematics students’ perceived influence of social media platform on their academic activities?

To answer this research question, the mean and standard deviation were used and the result is presented in Table 1

Table 1: Mean and Standard Deviation of Undergraduate Mathematics Students’ on Perceived Influence of Social Media Platform on Academic Activities in Public Universities in Niger State

Table 1 above showed the undergraduate mathematics students’ perceived influence of social media platform on their academic activities. The average mean of 2.50 was used as the benchmark for positive perceived influence of social media on academic activities and the mean of less than 2.50 is considered negative. Consequently, items 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15, has corresponding means of 3.19, 2.81, 2.82, 2.61, 2.80, 2.62, 3.22, 2.71, 2.77, 2.70, 2.50, 2.63, and 2.61 the mean between 3.22 and 2.50, indicating that undergraduate mathematics students perceived that social media has positive influence towards their academic activities in public Universities in Niger State. The highest mean score from the items indicates that social media platform encourages plagiarism during their project work.  They also noted that distraction during their home -work activities. Social media platform could serve as the best medium for undergraduate mathematics students’ if properly channelled to their academic activities but reverse is the case. The grand mean of 2.71 shows that undergraduate mathematics students’ agreed that social media platform has positive influence on their academic activities public universities in Niger State.

The standard deviation of the respondents’ on positive influence of social media platform on academic activities are 0.899, 0.836, 0.927, 0.943, 0.925, 1.015, 0.940, 0.817, 0.908, 0.969, 1.066, 0.925 and 0.987, while the standard deviation of grand mean is 0.957. Indicating that there is no meaningful deviation of respondents’ perceived influence from each other, and from the standard deviation mean of the group.

Research Question 2: What is undergraduate mathematics male and female students’ perceived influence of social media platform on academic activities in Public Universities in Niger State?

To answer this research question, the mean rank was used and the result is presented in Table 4.2

Table 2: Mean and Standard Deviation of Undergraduate Mathematics Male and Female Students Perceived Influence of Social Media Platform on Academic Activities in Public Universities in Niger State

Table 2 above indicated the mean and standard deviation of Undergraduate mathematics male and female students perceived influence on the use of social media on academic activities in public Universities in Niger State. The mean of the undergraduate mathematics male and female students on the perceived influence of social media platform on academic activities are 66.562 and 69.332. The standard deviation are10.648 and 8.070 respectively, indicating the mean difference of 2.77 in favour of the female respondents. Therefore, the female undergraduate mathematics students has positive influence on social media platform on academic activities than their male counterpart.

Testing of Research Hypotheses

HO₁:   There is no significant difference on perceived influence of social media usage on academic activities among male and female undergraduate mathematics students of public University in Niger State.

To test for this hypothesis, t-test was used and the result is presented in Table 3

Table 3 Summary of t-test Comparison of Male and Female Undergraduate Mathematics Students’ on Perceived Influence of Social Media on Academic Activities in Public Universities in Niger State

Significant p<0.05

Table 3 Show there is no significant difference between male and female students’ perceived influence of social media usage on academic activities. The difference between   the two conditions were found to be statistically significant t (2, 304) = -2.408, P-value =   0.010 at P< 0.05. Hence, hypothesis one was rejected. The null hypothesis which states that there is no significant difference between male and female mathematics students’ perceived influence of social media usage on academic activities is hereby rejected. Hence, we conclude that the use of social media do influence mathematics undergraduate student’s academic performance.

HO₂:   There is no significant difference between male and female undergraduate mathematics Students’ preference on the use of social media platform in public Universities in Niger State.

 To test for this hypothesis, t-test was used and the result is presented in Table 4

Table 4 Summary of t-test Comparison of Male and Female Undergraduate Mathematics Students’ on Preference of Social Media on Academic Activities in Public Universities in Niger State

Significant p<0.05

Table 5 shows there is no significant difference between male and female undergraduate mathematics students’ preference on the use of social media platform on academic activities. The difference between the two conditions were found to be statistically significant t_{(2, 304}) = -1.558, P-value = 0.012 at P< 0.05. Hence, hypothesis two was rejected. The null hypothesis which states that there is no significant difference between male and female undergraduate mathematics students’ preference on the use of social media platform usage on academic activities is hereby rejected. Hence, it concludes that the undergraduate mathematics students preferred use of social media platform on their academic activities

DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS

 Finding from the Research Question one revealed that undergraduate mathematics students have agreed that social media has negative influence towards their academic activities in public Universities in Niger State. The highest mean score from the items indicates that social media platform encourages plagiarism during their project work not only that also causes distraction during their home-work activities. Social media platform could serve as the best medium for undergraduate mathematics students’ if properly channelled to their academic activities but reverse is the case. The grand mean of 2.71 shows that undergraduate mathematics students’ agreed that social media platform has negative influence on their academic activities public universities in Niger State. The findings was in line with Asemah and Edegor (2013) The findings show that undergraduate students of Kogi State University, Anyigba, Nigeria, have access to social media and that their exposure to social media is to a very great extent. Findings also show that exposure to social media has effect on the students and that the effect is negative. Adenekan and Odusanya (2022) findings was contrary to Asemah and Edegor (2013) whose findings show that students mostly see social media as a positive influence on their academic works. They believed that their grades have improved due to social media use (Mean = 3.18); it has helped in making them better in their academic work (Mean = 3.05); it has improved their academic performance (Mean = 3.04) and helped them understand various topics better The highest mean score from the items indicates that social media platform encourages plagiarism during their project work not only that also causes distraction during their home -work activities. Social media platform could serve as the best medium for undergraduate mathematics students’ if properly channelled to their academic activities but reverse is the case. The findings which was also in line with Apuke (2016) Findings revealed that students of Taraba State University have access to the internet and that they do so through different mediums such as smart phones, tablets and computers. The study also postulates that students who spend more time on social media are likely to perform poorly in their academic activities than those who do not. Eze and Ogbaga (2019) agree with findings as the result revealed that attitudes of students on the use of social media in attending to their take home assignment have negative influence on the students’ academic activities. The study also revealed that the use of social media by students have negatively influence their academic activities on project work. The finding further revealed that social media negatively influence student class attendance and finally that steady use of social media by student negatively influences their academic performance

Research question two revealed that the undergraduate mathematics female students’ has positive influence on social media platform on academic activities than their male counterpart. The corresponding   hypothesis which states that there is no significant difference on perceived influence of social media on academic activities among undergraduate mathematics male and female students in public University in Niger State. The result shows no significant influence on undergraduate mathematics male and female students’ on academic activities. The corresponding hypothesis study shows that undergraduate mathematics male and female student’s perceived influence of social media has no significant influence on students’ academic performance.

CONCLUSION

Based on the findings from the analysis of the data collected for this study, the following conclusions are made:

The study concludes that social media platform have negative influence on undergraduate mathematics students of public Universities in Niger State. Students spent much time on social media chatting rather than engaging in home assignment or search for relevant materials that would enable them solve mathematics problem in the area of their difficulties.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Based on the findings of the study, the following recommendations are made, related to the context of Public Universities Niger State:

1. Undergraduate mathematics students should set their priority right by taking advantage of social media more for learning, online discussion, seeking academic help from academic faculty, downloading materials for reading and research purpose, and for solving academic related problems.
2. Undergraduate mathematics students should invest their time wisely and concentrate more on their studies rather than spend their precious time on social media platforms for non-beneficial engagement. .
3. Lecturers of mathematics should restrict undergraduate mathematics students from using their phones when lectures are on-going. This will help to curb the extent to which students are distracted during lecture periods.

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