TITLE PAGE

AWARENESS AND USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA FOR INFORMATION

SHARING AMONG STUDENTS IN SCHOOL OF HEALTH
TECHNOLOGY KANO, NIGERIA

BY

NAFIU ADAMU ALI

(EDU/15/LIS/00028)

SUPERVISOR: DR. SANI M. GWARZO

BEING A RESEARCH PROJECT SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF LIBRARY

AND INFORMATION SCIENCES, BAYERO UNIVERSITY, KANO IN PARTIAL

FULFULFILMENT FOR THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF DEGREE IN

LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCE.

DECEMBER, 2019
 DECLARATION
I hereby declare that this work is the product of my own research effort, undertaken under the

supervision of Dr. Sani M. Gwarzo, and has not been presented anywhere for the award of a

degree or certificate. All sources have been duly acknowledged.

___________________________________________

NAFIU ADAMU ALI

(EDU/15/LIS/00028)

ii
 CERTIFICATION
This is to certify that the review of this work and the subsequent preparation of this review

by Nafiu Adamu Ali with the registration number EDU/15/LIS/00028 were carried out under

my supervision

______________________ Date _________________________

Dr. SANI M. GWARZO
(Supervisor)

_______________________ Date__________________________
Dr. SANI M. GWARZO
(Head of Department)

______________________ ___________________________
External Examiner Date

iii
 APPROVAL

This dissertation has been examined and approved for the award of Degree in Library and

Information Science (LIS)

_______________________ Date__________________________
Dr. SANI M. GWARZO
(Supervisor)

_______________________ Date__________________________
Dr. SANI M. GWARZO
(Head of Department)

iv
 DEDICATION

This work is dedicated to my Parents.

v
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My profound gratitude goes to Almighty Allah (SWT) for giving me the inspiration,

knowledge, power/energy and health to complete this work. May the blessings of Almighty

Allah be upon our Noble prophet Muhammad (SAW), who was sent to this  world to become

a source of blessings to all mankind on earth and beyond. Secondly, I would like to express

my warm appreciation to my parents who always stood by me to make sure that I lack

nothing when it comes to my welfare both in school and at home. I am also grateful to my

supervisor Dr Sani M. Gwarzo for his academic guidance throughout the conduct of this

work. May Allah reward him bountifully.

My gratitude also goes to the Head of Department, Dr. Sani M. Gwarzo and the entire

lecturers of the Department, Library and information Sciences for their contribution towards

the success of my study; most especially Prof. S. O Bello, Dr. Bappah Magaji Abubakar,

Mal. Dauda Yakasai and Malama Fatima Salihu Usman may Allah bless them and their

families.

I am also grateul to all those who are in one way or the other, openly or secretly concern with

my achievements in life most especially and many others that are worthy to be mentioned. I

pray that I and you will never lack help in our time of needs.

vi
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title page..................................................................................................................................................i

Declaration..............................................................................................................................................ii

Certification...........................................................................................................................................iii

Approval.................................................................................................................................................iv

Dedication...............................................................................................................................................v

Acknowledgements................................................................................................................................vi

Table Of Content...................................................................................................................................vii

Abstract...................................................................................................................................................x

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study....................................................................................................................1

1.2 Statement of the Problem...................................................................................................................4

1.3 Research Questions......................................................................................................................5

1.4 Research Objectives.....................................................................................................................5

1.5 Significance of the Study...................................................................................................................6

1.6 Scope and Limitations of the Study.............................................................................................6

1.7 Operational Definitions of Terms......................................................................................................6

CHAPTER TWO:LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction.......................................................................................................................................9

2.2 Concept and Significance of Social Media for Information Sharing..................................................9

2.3 Characteristics and types of social media........................................................................................10

vii
 2.4 Awareness of social media among students.....................................................................................11

2.5 Use of Social Media for Information Sharing Activities..................................................................15

2.6 Challenges’ bedeviling the awareness and use of social media for information sharing among

student...................................................................................................................................................20

2.7 Summary of the review....................................................................................................................24

CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction.........................................................................................................................................25

3.2 Research Design..................................................................................................................................26

3.3 Preliminary Survey and Result............................................................................................................27

3.4 Population of the Study.......................................................................................................................29

Table 2: Population of the Study...............................................................................................................29

3.5 Sampling Technique and Sample Size.................................................................................................30

3.6 Data Collection Instrument..................................................................................................................30

3.7 Validity and Reliability of Data Collection Instrument........................................................................31

3.7.1 Validity.............................................................................................................................................31

3.8 Method of Data Collection..................................................................................................................31

3.9 Method of Data Presentation and Analysis..........................................................................................31

CHAPTER FOUR:DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF

FINDINGS

4.1 Introduction...............................................................................................................................33

4.2 Response Rate.................................................................................................................................33

Table 4.1 Response Rate........................................................................................................................33

4.3 Demographic Information of the Respondents................................................................................34

viii
 4.2 Demographic Information of the Respondents................................................................................34

4.3 Awareness of Social Media.............................................................................................................35

4.4 Source of Awareness of Social Media.............................................................................................36

4.5 Level of Awareness of Social Media...............................................................................................36

4.6 Purpose of Social Media Use...........................................................................................................37

Table 4.7 Purpose for Use of Social Media...........................................................................................37

4.8 Level of Use of Social Media..........................................................................................................37

4.11 Challenges of Social Media Use....................................................................................................39

4.12 Discussion of Findings...................................................................................................................39

CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 Introduction.....................................................................................................................................44

5.2 Summary of the Study.....................................................................................................................44

5.3 Summary of the Major Findings......................................................................................................45

5.4 Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................45

5.5 Recommendations...........................................................................................................................46

BIBLIOGRAPHY.................................................................................................................................48

Appendix A...............................................................................................................................................52

Appendix B...............................................................................................................................................53

ix
 ABSTRACT
The study investigates awareness and use of social media for information sharing among
students of School of Health Technology, Kano, Nigeria. Quantitative methodology and
cross-sectional survey design were used for the study. The population of the study comprises
of 885 students of the school, out of which 260 users were randomly sampled for the study.
Data was collected using structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics was used for data
analysis based on 260 useable returned questionnaire, while data presentation was done using
frequency counts and percentage. The study found that the students of School of Health
Technology, Kano are highly aware of social media through their personal experiences of
using internet, not through their school Library. The users mostly use social media for
academic purposes as well as for social interactions. They encounter challenges of
unavailability and inaccessibility to internet due to high cost of internet subscription. The
study opposes previous studies that indicated that unguided use of social media among
students leads to using it for non-educational purposes. The study concludes that Library of
School of Health Technology, Kano state is not operating based on global best practice of
using social media for sharing and providing information service; they are left behind in
making their users aware of using social media for sharing various forms of information for
various purposes. The study recommends that their information literacy program of the
school studied should encompass and emphasized awareness about more use of social media,
among others.

x
 CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study

The advent of modern information and communication technologies (ICTs) has

resulted in the introduction and breakthrough of social media as medium of communication,

interaction and information sharing among and between people on the Internet.

According to Kaplan and Haenlein (2010) is a group of Internet-based applications

that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0 technologies that

comprises of blogs, social networking, and video sharing applications, which is radically

changing the way we communicate, interact and share information (Robinson, 2012). Now

than hitherto, social media has become a powerful tool that provides veritable platform for

quick information communication, knowledge sharing and collaboration among friends,

colleagues and affiliations as well as updates on every bit of happenings around the world

once it is shared Omelizor and Bamidele (2014).

The Awareness and use of Social Media for Information Sharing among Students in

School Of Health Technology Kano, Nigeria therefore have been borne out of its capabilities

and increase information sharing among people most especially colleagues, scholars and

students who may be carrying out various academic and other personal activities and

therefore would always share information anywhere through such platform as well as to be in

contact with others. It is understood that social media has now became widely accepted

which gives it a high popularity among other means of information communication and

dissemination among students. A study by Helou and Ab.Rahim (2014), affirmed that

students of higher institutions are the common users of social media; whereby, social media

leverages “social interaction and communication” in their academic environment; and where,

it was also discovered that students of Nigerian universities use social media for several

1
purposes of communication with friends, watching movies as well as debates and discussions

on national issues in areas of politics, economy, religion and their academics (Eke, Omekwu

& Odoh, 2014).

Alves, Fernandes & Raposo (2016), cited Kaplan & Haenlein, (2010) and described

social media as including all Internet-based technological applications, in accordance with the

principles of Web 2.0. Such technological applications include blogs and microblogs (such as

Twitter), social networking sites (such as MySpace and Facebook), virtual worlds (such as

Second Life), collaborative projects (such as Wikipedia), content community sites (e.g.,

YouTube, Flickr), and sites dedicated to feedback (e.g. online forums; Chan & Guillet, 2011;

Mangold & Faulds, 2009). They enable the creation and exchange of user-generated content,

while also facilitating interaction and collaboration between participants (Alves, Fernandes &

Raposo, 2016).

Social media is therefore an essential tool for School of Health Technologies Library

to use, to explore in its devoted need to pervade and share to its user community with relevant

and current information. For this reason, social media is nowadays a viable medium that

librarians can harness to reach out to a wider audience that utilizes library resources and

services. This is simply because, with its viable feedback mechanism, social networking

could assist library to respond to queries, selective dissemination of information (SDI),

current awareness of new arrival information resources and devices, send out reading list to

users, alert on overdue among other services.

No doubt, social media have brought evolution in the area of education and

entertainment throughout the world, reached up to our academic communities with

outstanding exploration, and this makes it necessary for students to be attuned to effective use

of social media for their positive development especially in terms of information and

2
knowledge sharing, considering the fact that it is a double edged sword that can be used for

both academic and leisure purposes. So, awareness and use of social media for teaching,

learning, problem solving, capacity building and other germane issues relating to education

cannot be undervalued. Thus, the need to investigate awareness and the usability of social

media as a tool for information sharing, teaching and learning, (Amutha &kennedy, 2015).

Awareness refers to the knowledge about the existence of something or,

understanding of a situation either through learning or experience (El-Yakub, 2016). So,

awareness is a product of education which means knowing social media for its functionality

and usability (Abdullahi & Usman, 2018). Therefore, awareness of social media has strong

positive influence on information sharing and utilization.

Schools of Health Technology in Nigeria are institutions of higher learning that are

mandated with teaching and training to produce qualified middle level health personnel who

will assume the responsibilities of putting in practice the methods, systems and devices for

preventing people from suffering from illness, treat sickness, improving health condition for

them to be able to resist illness and work well. One cannot imagine achieving these goals

without revolutionary information delivery and sharing facilities like social media.

Thus, in academic environment such as schools of health technology, Social media

can now be counted as a new and powerful type of communication system that provides a

good platform for information sharing. This is because the overall goal of social media is

commonly to establish an active online community and information sharing network, by

which users can share valuable information, such as health information.

However, the questions begging for answer now is, are library users in school of

health technology, Kano aware of social media and effectively use it for sharing information?

it is against this thought prompting question that this study will investigate the awareness and

3
use of social media as tool for information sharing among library users in school of health

technology Kano, Nigeria. The literature shows studies on social media was concentrated

more on universities compared to school of health technologies, the state of affairs in school

of health technology, Kano is unknown, this study will bridge this knowledge gap by

bringing to our knowledge the state of awareness, and use of social media by library users in

the School of Health Technology in Kano State through quantitative approach.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

It is understood that social media’s capability goes beyond common charting, uploading

and downloading of high density colored pictures, texts and video recordings to become a

tool for collaborations and information sharing among others. Social media is therefore now

as important as digital resources in library since it can enhance research, collaboration,

information gathering and sharing which goes beyond traditional method of delivering

information to library users. But, it is observed that its effect on information sharing and

other services delivery is yet to be felt in Nigerian academic library (Ezeani & Igwesi, 2012).

Because, most library staff in the developing countries are unaware of the effect of social

media in information sharing and other library service delivery for meeting the needs of 21st

century library users, and the few ones that are conversant with social media have not fully

utilized it in information sharing and other library service delivery (Omelizor & Bamidele,

2014). While, when used effectively for information sharing among users and in library

services, it is bound to enhance effective utilization of library information services and

information sharing by patrons irrespective of their geographical location and as well make

them become regularly and promptly informed about the new development in the library.

It is against these problems that this study will be conducted to investigate the

awareness and use of social media for information sharing among students of schools of

4
health technology, in Kano State with a view to among others brings to limelight their level

of awareness and extent of use of social media concerning information sharing.

1.3 Research Questions

This study will provide answers to the following research questions:

1. What is the level of awareness about social media among students in schools of health

technology, Kano state?

2. What are the purposes for using social media use among students in the schools under

study;

3. What is the level of use of social media for information sharing among students of the

schools under study?

4. What are the challenges affecting social media use among students in the school

under study?

1.4 Research Objectives

The main objective of this study is to investigate the awareness and use of social

media for information sharing among students of school of health technology, Kano state.

Therefore, the specific objectives of the study are as follows:

1. To investigate the level of awareness of social media among students in schools of

health technology, Kano – Nigeria;

2. Investigate the purposes for using social media use among students in the schools

under study;

3. Assess the level of use of social media for information sharing among students of the

school under study;

4. Find out the challenges affecting social media use among students in the school under

study?

5
1.5 Significance of the Study

It is hoped that the findings of the study would practically be very significant and a

vital contribution to library and librarians, the policy makers and other relevant authorities as

it will be the basis for better understanding of whether the library users are aware of and

using social media for information sharing in school of health technology or not. This is

simply because, the study will bring to limelight of their level and source of awareness as

well as their level of using social media for information sharing. Also, findings of the study

would be significant in bridging the knowledge gap in the area of social media use for

information sharing and services provision as well as adding to the literature and discussions

on electronic information resources and Internet base information serves in library.

1.6 Scope and Limitations of the Study

The subject matter and area of coverage for this study is confined and focus only to

the issue of awareness and use of social media for information sharing among students of

school of health technology, Kano – Nigeria. So, the study is limited to these knowledge and

geographical areas; therefore, any other thing apart from these do not constitute part of the

study.

1.7 Operational Definitions of Terms

[[

Awareness: refers to knowledge about the existence of something or, understanding of a

situation either through learning or experience;

Use: refers to the act of using a thing or state of a thing being used;

Social Media: refers to the Internet based means of interaction and collaboration among

people in which they create, share and exchange information and ideas in virtual communities

and networks for example: blogs, social networking, and video sharing platforms;

6
Information Sharing: information refers to facts and ideas whether recorded as sound,

written as text, symbols or images that conveys meaning/knowledge about the issue in

context; while, sharing is the act of distributing something among or between people or both.

So, information sharing refers to partaking in mating out facts and ideas among and between

people using a means like the social media

Students: refers to persons who spends time learning aspects of knowledge in their area of
interest at schools

7
REFERENCES

Amina, B. B. & Nwanne, O. F. (2015) Challenges Librarians Encounter in the use of Social
Medial for Promoting Library and Information Resources and Services in University
Libraries in South-South, Nigeria. International Journal of Humanities and Social
Science 5(6): 208-214
Amutha, S & Kennedy, S. J. (2015) awareness and utilization of social networking among
teacher trainees, International Journal of Research & Development 4(10): 327-329
Asif, Z., & Khan, M. (2012). Users’ Perceptions On Facebook’s Privacy Policies. ARPN
Journal of Systems and Software, 2(3), 119-121. Retrieved from
http://www.scientific-journals.org
Balakriashnan, V., & Raj, R. (2012). Exploring the relationship between urbanized Malaysian
youth and their mobile phones: A quantitative approach. Telematics and Informatics,
29(3), 263-272,
Bazuaye, S.E (2015). Library Outreach is the future! Public Libraries, 48 (2), 2-5, 24.

Bazuaye, S.E (2015). Library Outreach is the future! Public Libraries, 48 (2), 2-5, 24.

Bhat, A. (2018). Quantitative Research: Definition, Methods, Types and Examples. Available
at: https://www.questionpro.com/blog/quantitative-research/
Bik, M. B.,& Goldstein, M. C. (2013). An introduction to social media for scientists.
PLoSBiol, 11(4), Retrieved from
http://www.plosbiology.org/article/fetchObject.action?uri=info%3Adoi
%210.1371%2Fj ournal.pbio.1001535&representation=PDF
Bonačić, Mirjam,. (2010). Ali obstaja odvisnost od interneta? [Does exit dependence of
Internet?]. Retrieved from http://www.safe.si/ul/1259749064Odvisnost_od_interneta-
BonacicMirjam.doc,
Boyd, D., & Ellison, N. (2008). Social Network Sites: Definition, History and Scholarship.
Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 13, 210-230.
Brink, H. (2006). Fundamentals of research methodology for health care professionals: 2 nd
edition. Cape Town, Juta.
Browning, L., Gerlich, R., & Westermann, L. (2011). The new HD classroom: A “Hyper
Diverse” approach to engaging with students. Journal of Instructional Pedagogies. 1-
10. Retrieved from http://www.aabri.com/manuscripts/10701.pdf
Bryer, T., & Zavattaro, S. (2011). Social media and public administration: Theoretical
dimensions and introduction to symposium. Administrative Theory & Practice, 33(3),
325-340.
Cassidy, E., Britsch, J., Griffin, G., Manolovitz, T., Shen, L., & Turney, L. (2011). Higher
education and emerging technologies: Student usage, preferences, and lessons for
library services. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 50(4), 380-391.

8
 CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction
This chapter reviews relevant literature that relate to the topic of the study. The literature
review discusses, the concept and significance of social media for information sharing,
characteristics and types of social media, awareness of social media among students, use of
social media for information sharing and the challenges’ bedeviling the awareness and use of
social media for information sharing among student. The literature was obtained in books,
journals, conference proceedings, e.t.c. The review will be present under the following sub-
headings:
2.2 Concept and Significance of Social Media for Information Sharing
2.3 Characteristics and Types of Social Media
2.4 Awareness of Social Media Among Students
2.5 Use of Social Media for Information Sharing
2.6 Challenges’ Bedeviling the Awareness and Use of Social Media for Information
Sharing Among Student
2.7 Summary of the Review

2.2 Concept and Significance of Social Media for Information Sharing

Social media, social networking, online communication are words used interchangeably to
refer to social media. Social media have become well-known in today’s e-community as they
provide an open arena for people over the world to communicate, exchange ideas, share
knowledge, interests and send messages to each other regardless of geographic distance.
According to Bradley (2012) the term Social Media refers to “the use of web-based and
mobile technologies to turn communication into an interactive dialogue”. Kaplan & Haenlein
(2010) have described Social Media as “a group of Internet-based applications that build on
the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and that allow the creation and
exchange of User Generated Content”. Social media usher the characteristics of transforming
people from content readers into publishers. It is the shift from a broadcast mechanism, one-
to-many, to a many-to-many model, rooted in conversations between authors, people, and
peer Solis, (2010). Based on the above assertion, Social Media can be described as a group of

9
web-based and mobile applications that allow users to share and create knowledge in a real
time social interaction. It is user-centric, multi-purpose and it is not time and location bound.
Social Media consists of various user-driven marketing channels, e.g. Facebook, Twitter,
Blogs, YouTube, WhatsApp etc. According to Australian Electoral Commission (2011)
viewed social media as “online tools and Web sites that facilitate many-to-many
communications between users. Specific examples include Facebook and Twitter, but may
also include more regional or niche services, and more longstanding collaborative
environments such as web-based forums and wikis”. In this light, Constantinides and
Fountain (2008) also asserted that the social media is a system that aids the creation of
informal users’ network that facilitates the flow of information and knowledge by allowing
effective generation, dissemination, sharing, editing of informational content. This means that
social media is mainly used to share or convey or communicate information with a wide
range of individuals through the help of internet connectivity.
No doubt, social media have revolutionized the activities of librarians and the
library users in the area of information transfer. Librarians and their users can now transfer
information, news, pictures, discuss different topics/subjects, share information and exchange
files and pictures. Clark and Aufderheide, (2009) have rightly put it thus “Social media
provides an opportunity to enjoy user-to-user interaction distinguishes social media from the
traditional media which is characterized by top-down news dissemination arrangement”. The
advancement enables people to freely discuss new ideas and express their personal opinions
to the public. They engage in the online conversations and dialogues without being face-to-
face with other participants. People are used to keep up close relationships with a small
number of strong ties as opposed to making new connections with other individuals. Indeed,
Social media is becoming a vital part of everyday business, proving endless potentials which
can be of benefit to the students in their academic performance and daily life activities in a
variety of ways. If someone doesn’t have an account with any type of social media sites; that
person is missing out on the increase communication offer in this information era.
2.3 Characteristics and types of social media
Kaplan and Heinlein (2010) classified social media into six different classes as follows;
i. Collaborative project (Wikipedia). These allow the joint creation and sharing of
content between users with the underlining philosophy that the effort of many lead
to better outputs. The leading example here is Wikipedia

10
 ii. Blogs and micro blogs (twitter). Blogs can trace their history back to the ealies
days of internet, but they took of around 1997-98. Today there are estimated to be
more than 160 million blogs in existence, either active or abandoned in
cyberspace

iii. Content communication (YouTube). The sharing of content across different

media types such as videos on YouTube, photos on flickr and PowerPoint’s on
slides share.

iv. Social networking site (Facebook, 2go, BB chat WhatsApp etc.). These are
applications in which social networks members serve dual roles as both the
suppliers and the consumers of the content. Social network allows users to
connect with each other and exchange a wide variety of media content, be it film,
photos, test or audio files among others. Increasingly used by corporations as a
markets place to sell goods.

v. Virtual game world (world of craft). These games world allow user to appear
as a personal avatars and interact with others in two virtual worlds; games and
social worlds. Games require a user to follow some set of rules in the context of
massively multiplayer online role playing games (MMORPG). Examples here are
Microsoft’sb word, X Box and sonny’s play station. The users interact with each
other across the globe
vi. Virtual second world (second life). In virtual world users choose their behavior
and life as an averter in a three dimensional environment. The most prominent
virtual world is the second life.
Technology includes the blogs, pictures sharing, crowd sourcing, e mail, instances messaging
and voice over. These services could be integrated via social network aggregation platforms
2.4 Awareness of social media among students
There is no standard definition for “social media awareness” However, some critics have
argued that awareness can only be defined in the light of what is being manifested in all
forms of perception, knowledge and consciousness. In each expression, awareness is revealed
as the ability to perceive (perception), know (knowledge) or the state of being conscious
(consciousness) (Korletey j.t, 2014). On this wise, social media awareness is perceiving,

11
knowing and being conscious that social media exists in all forms of perception, knowledge
and consciousness. It is the state of having conscious knowledge about social media in a
perceived manner (Okiy, 2010). Studies carried out on the awareness of social media shows
that awareness have both positive and negative influence on utilization. In essence the
correlation between awareness and utilization of social media could be either negative or
positive. In a study carried out by Kwanya, Stillwell and Underwood (2012) on the awareness
of librarians toward the use of social media for information dissemination the study reveal
that 65% of the responded were highly aware of the use of social media for information
sharing. Xu, Ouyang and Chu (2009) also found out that social media tools can enable
collaboration, they offer improved section management through allowing instant
communication, and also improve accessibility and integration of cataloguing resources for
cataloguing departments. On the study carried out by Al-Daihani’s study (2010) explores that
the majority of Library and Information Science (LIS) students are aware of social media
applications and are making moderate use of Blogs, communication tools and social
networking sites. Shaheen’s study (2008) among students of the Pakistan revealed that the
use of social networking site indicates popularity- of Facebook among these youths more
often. The survey of Pew Internet (2010) says that Facebook is the most commonly used
social network among adults. Subrahmanyam, Reich, Waechter and Espinoza (2008) reported
the findings of study conducted to understand the role of Social Networking Sites in college
student’s lives. The figure and statistics shows how Facebook has a very influential role in
the lives of young adults. Despite the usefulness of social media, there is a growing concern
on their potential negative effect. Many students spend their time on social media at the
expense of their academic activities, these students seem to be too obsessed with social
networking rather than social learning, the end result of it is that when they graduate, they
become stagnated and unemployable because they lack the relevantly marketable skills for
technology enhanced social interaction required by most organizations, (Adebayo, 2015).
Indeed, Awareness is the first step towards deeper understanding of a particular thing.
Most people tend to gauge expertise by the level of knowledge and skill that a particular
individual possesses in a given field. Recent researches in the area of social media indicate
that most students are highly aware and use social media for social purposes such as charting
with family friends and colleagues. In order to gouge the level of awareness on the use of
social media among college students. A study was carried out by Smith et al. (2011) he
surveyed 446 Faculty members in the health sciences at a U.S. University and found that all

12
the responded in the study area portray a high level of awareness on the use of social media.
Similarly, in a study conducted by Mustapha (2012) awareness of social networking site
discovered that there is high awareness on the use of social networking site in the study area.
It is evidently clear from the above reviewed literatures that almost all students are aware on
the existence of social media, some use the medium to chat and communicate messages with
their friend from a distance, especially in this current era of information overload. Social
media in simple terms can be refers to as the popular social instrument of communication
adapted and use by Marjory of the world population. The application of social media by
student helps to re-shape their thoughts, provide them with vital information, news while
some use it for academic purposes. Indeed, social media have now become a vital tool in this
age of instant global communication, enabling the access of worldwide information via the
comfort of user living room.
The significance of social media in the area of information dissemination cannot be
overemphasis; this is because it enables libraries and librarians to decipher vital information
to their users remotely, making the true rule of librarianship “save the time of the user”. In
the opinion of Bell (2016) he posited that “Technological advancement has compelled
libraries to adopt interactive online media (social media) for their survival”. The increasing
trend of social media has affected the traditional mode of organizing information. Social
media provides innovative and interesting resources for librarians to serve their users quickly
and effectively as possible with new ways (Bradely, 2007). In the similar way, Keralapura
(2009) found that information technology influenced the functions of libraries and changed
the information seeking behavior of readers. Being self-motivated and service minded, this
was the responsibility of librarians to incorporate IT based resources and services to satisfy
the users in a better way. According to Arif and Mahmood (2010) social media is a tool that
libraries can use to promote their services or to provide a means of communication with their
clientele. From the discussion, it is obvious that social media has replaced the traditional
process of library functions and changed how users of the library seek for information. This
development allows librarians to serve their users in a more efficient and better improved
ways and substantive change in the revolutionary history of libraries. Social media tools
provide opportunities and challenges for more effective and efficient library services.
Social media has become a level playing ground for academics and students to
interact on issues pertaining to course work. Students also use this platform to share
information amongst themselves on any subject and topic. According to the study carried out

13
by Bell (2007) reveals that “academic libraries do not only use social media for
communication purposes, but had adapted their research strategies to this environment”. In
the same view, Ayiah and Kumah (2011) stated the importance of social media to librarians
and clients is that “social media will facilitate the collaborations and promote effective
communication between librarians and their patrons. It will generate a flow of information
excluded from search engines and library catalogue”. This statement conforms to what is
obtainable especially in libraries of developed societies who have already incorporated and
harness social media into their library services for effective information service delivery, but
quite a gap in Nigerian context, as librarians are still yet to tap the full potentials of social
media for information service delivery.
However, literatures have stated that librarians are well aware of social media even
though they hardly use or implement them. While other librarians are aware of some social
media tools, but don’t have knowledge of others. To justify this statement, a survey was
conducted by Kumar (2013) in order to evaluate the knowledge of librarians on social
networking, the findings revealed that librarians are aware of modern concepts of social
media, but they barely implement it. In a similar study, Bola and Unuoha (2011) found that
students are mostly aware of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, and still lack knowledge of
other social media tools. In a similar review, Charningo and Barnett- Ellis (2007) surveyed
the academic librarians in the United States about their knowledge of social media and found
that while librarians were overwhelmingly aware of the media tools, but most were not
involved with the social media. In the same vein, Salem (2009) found out that many
librarians have limited knowledge of social media tools, although they are regular users of
some popular social media application. Garoufallou and Charitopoulou (2011) found out that
librarians had heard of the term social media tools, further knowledge of the subject is
however limited. They further stated this lack of knowledge was apparent in the poor ways
that librarians exploited the social media features. Further survey conducted by Marshall
(2009) to assess the awareness of social media tools (Wikis, Blogs) among library and
information science professionals found that LIS professionals of colleges are well aware of
the modern concept and also make use of them. But they implement it very less as far as
rendering or library services are concerned (Thanuskodi, 2011).
In a study carried out by Bell (2010) on the “awareness of social networking site by
student teachers” the study indicates that 100% of the respondent reveals to have awareness
of social media and use it for a regular basis. Large number of the students spends a lot of

14
time on the sites to get information, engage in online chatting with friends, watch online
movies or use them for research. Some students have formed the habit of login to social
media sites at any time to the extent that, their academic works are affected negatively. They
sometimes find it difficult to concentrate and study effectively; due to much time spend on
social media. Egberongbe (2013) viewed that some people have become very smart because
of the information they get from social media sites, while some have become academically
poor, since it is easy to get almost any materials for school assignment.
Despite these critical reviews in providing insight into awareness of social media,
they are not comprehensive. No study had tried to investigate awareness of social media in
the study area. This study will therefore fill that gap.
2.5 Use of Social Media for Information Sharing Activities
Social media is a robust communication tool and information resource that has literally
transformed our society and the way we discuss. One of the purposes of using the social
media is in its efficiency in communication where one communicates to millions of people at
a point in time. For example, Romero (2011) stated that due to the concise format and
informal tone, social media such as Blogs can stir up interactions between persons. Scholars
concluded that social media can advance communication in quantity and may improve in
quality (Stuart, 2010). Today’s college students are exposed to all types of technologies in
many aspects of their lives (Browning, Gerlich, & Westermann, 2011). On a daily basis they
use desktop computers, laptops, E-readers, tablets, and cell phones to actively engage in
social networking, text messaging, blogging, content sharing, online learning, and much more
(Cassidy, Griffin, Manolovitz, Shen, & Turney, 2011). Social media have permeated all
generations of Internet users, becoming a prominent communications tool, particularly in the
student community. Thus, academic institutions and faculty are increasingly using social
networking sites, such as Facebook and LinkedIn, to connect with current and potential
students and to deliver instructional content. (Paul, Baker, Cochran, 2012)
On the contrary, some authors and researches disagree with the previous statement,
such as Lenhart, et al., 2010; Tiryakioglu & Erzurum, 2010; Chen & Bryer, 2010 says that
despite the popularity of social media for personal use only a low percentage of students and
faculty use them for academic practice. Social media sites, such as Facebook, Twitter and
Myspace, are used on a regular basis by many millions of people. The majority of this online
networking community is made up of college students. In fact, a recent survey of 3000
students from across the US revealed that 95% of college students use Facebook and 37% use

15
Twitter (Dahlstrom, de Boor, Grunwald, & Vockley, 2017). Reynol Junco (2012) in his
article named too much face and not enough books: The relationship between multiple
indices of Facebook use and academic performance. Found that the time spent on Facebook
and checking Facebook were negatively related to overall GPA, and time spent on Facebook
is slightly negatively related to time spent studying. In addition, the ability of time spent on
Facebook to significantly predict overall GPA shows that there may be negative academic
effects for students who use Facebook in certain ways.
In addition, Paul, Baker, Cochran, in 2012 wrote an article named effect of online
social networking on student academic performance. The researcher’s results revealed a
statistically significant negative relationship between time spent by students on OSN and
their academic performance. Time spent on OSN is shown to negatively impact academic
performance. As time spent on social networking sites increases, the academic performance
of the students is seen to deteriorate. This ties in well with the findings presented in Kirschner
and Karpinski (2010), which reveal that over-involvement or obsession with social
networking by students can have negative impacts on academic performance (Kirschner &
Karpinski, 2010).
Moreover, Rosen, Carrier, and Cheever 2013 wrote an article named Facebook and
texting made me do it: Media-induced task-switching while studying. They believe that this
area is a technologically rich world, where multitasking is the norm and is more prominent
among youth and college students. In their research they found out that students manage to do
their work and also interact with the virtual environment effectively. Facebook has nearly one
billion users worldwide (Smith, 2017) with more than 90% of teens (Common Sense Media,
2017) and college students (Junco, 2011) actively engaged. However, as results the authors
found that corroborating the work on the impact of social media on academic performance,
participants who accessed Facebook one or more times during the study period had lower
grade point averages. Furthermore, Junco (2011) discovered that sharing links and checking
up with friends on Facebook more often predicted higher college grades; making status
updates more often predicted lower grades; and that overall GPA dropped 12 points for every
93 min above the average of 106 min per day spent on Facebook.
The increase in the use of social media among students today cannot be over
emphasized. The internet has changed everything, with social networking making it more
flexible (Lewis, 2008). According to Boyd, (2007), what some computer literate people found
to be a hobby in the time past, has turned to a social norm and way of life for people around

16
the globe. Several students at all levels, now use social networking sites as means to
connecting their old friends and making new ones. Majority of them use social networking
sites for social connections and entertainment though they also use the sites for educational
and professional reasons (University of New Hampshire 2009). Social networking sites like
Facebook, Twitter, Skype and so on allow people to easily create their own online profile and
display an online network of friends. Through the social networking site, information,
pictures of activities such as birthdays, graduation, recent and special events could be shared.
Lenhart et al (2010) in Owusu Acheaw and Larson (2015) posited that about 57% of social
network users are between 18-19 years old and they have personal profile on multiple social
media websites. Asur and Huberman (2010) opined that social networking sites have affected
peoples’ social interaction by changing the way people interact face-to-face, how information
is received and the dynamics of people’s social groups and friendships. According to Zwart,
Lindsay, Henderson and Philips the benefits of using social networking sites include;
creativity among individuals; provision of greater access to information and information
sources; it allows individuals to have sense of belonging among other users; reduce barriers
to group interaction and communications such as distance and social/economic status; and
also increase technological competency levels of frequent users of social media. Adomi and
Ejirefe (2012) viewed facebook as what millions of students in different parts of the world
use to connect with one another and a forum for self-expression. Rainie, (2011) posited that
the use of social networking sites has been repeatedly found to be the highest among the
group of young adults. Lenhart, (2009) pointed out that approximately 61% of teens within
the age of 12-17 use social networking sites to send messages to friends on regular basis.
Kist, (2008) in a study conducted also revealed that approximately half of all teens who have
internet access are also members of social networking sites and they use the internet to make
plans and socialize with friends. Oskovei (2010) also viewed internet as advantageous to both
the students and teachers if used as tool with which knowledge could be created and
disseminated. In line with this, the University of New Hampshire (2009) reported that a
majority of students use social networking for social connections and entertainment, and also
use it for educational purpose.
According to Prensky, (2010) as cited in Abdullahi and Usman (2018):
The increase use of social media has become an international phenomenon in the recent
years. Teenagers and young adults have increasingly embraced these sites as a way to
connect with their peers, share information, reinvent their personalities, and showcase their
social lives. Users of social media are youngsters who were named digital natives (pp. 3)

17
Today, with the increasing significant of social media, libraries have discovered the need to
promote their resources and services through the medium. Social media have given libraries
and librarians new options in promoting their resources and services. Libraries now advertise
the resources and services on their Facebook pages, twitter and blog etc. social media provide
more opportunities to reach the library users and give them a chance to interact. Social media
allow patrons to promote program and events of the library by rating, reviewing and sharing
with their friends and neighbors. According to Gardner (2009) opined that institutions are
taking drastic steps to educate students on the use of social media, especially in the areas of
the privacy, legal issue and potential socio-economic and psychological dangers. In addition,
social media enhances a student’s sense of community, sharing and collaboration brings an
additional responsibility and workload, which some students find inflexible and rather
“forced” (Minocha, 2009). This technology uses web cams or voice-only software to hold
virtual seminars online. This is extremely useful for collaborations where, the partners live in
different parts of the globe. Through the use of social media students are able to express
themselves, communicate and collect profiles that highlight their talent and experience.
According to Konetes and McKeague (2011), came up with certain revelations about the uses
of the social media especially, facebook, The researchers reported that, ‘students are using
Facebook and other channels to develop their identities, beliefs and stances on various issues
such as politics, religion, and economy, as well as to pioneer and develop intimate
relationships.’’ Also, Gross (2010) noted that ‘‘students use social networking sites not only
for leisure and personal socialization but also as a platform for more meaningful and serious
deliberations, and students are using social networking for making friends, sharing links,
online learning, finding jobs to accomplish their economic, educational, political and social
being.’’ Researchers have fast realized the need to incorporate this into the educational
faculties, as a resource to support the educational communications between student and
faculties, even though institutions of higher learning have tried preventing students from
accessing technologies which is of less important to their academic benefit.

Social media is a powerful information dissemination tools and offer a way for
librarians and libraries to promote their activities, resources and services. It is in relation to
this that Suraweera, Razali, Chouhan, Tamang, Hubilla, Ratnayake, Rubosa, Malik, and
Mahesar (2010) found that librarians can use social media tools increasingly to provide
services to users in the form of library news, general information, links to recommended
internet resources, entertainment, research tips, creating awareness about library’s collection,

18
book discussions and communication among librarians. To further support this view, Kim
and Abbas (2010) in their study found that 55 libraries in Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT) made announcements on Twitter, including those about resources,
workshops, courses, etc. Facebook and Twitter are applied by librarians to build up academic
networks, catalyzing the exchange of knowledge, thus more capable and excellent tools in
syndicating and disseminating information (Cahill, 2009). In this current era, where
information has become a vital aspect of human development, social media use facilitates
information or knowledge gathering. In a related view, Poynter (2010) stated social media
applications are good at knowledge gathering that they have been utilized in research of
social sciences to gather professional knowledge and the responses from research objects.
Also O’Dell (2010) is of the view that with millions of users, social media offers
opportunities for libraries to reach out to communities and gather knowledge from the
interaction between librarians and users. Users can help create new library services by
contributing their knowledge through online network (Casey & Savastinuk, 2006).

In the other hand, Priolkar and Kumbhar (2015) studied the use of social media sites
by library professionals their study found out that library professionals majorly use Facebook
in disseminating information to users of the library. In the other hand Hong Kong, Chu and
Du (2013) studied the use of social networking tools in academic libraries. The study adopted
a survey questionnaire for data collection which was sent to 140 libraries. According to the
study, it was obvious that through the use of social media, library staff have been able to
establish a level of engagement with their colleagues. This has ensured that they are updated
with the latest news and new trends within their profession.

No doubt, social media are potential tools for promoting library resources and
services in the 21st century. However, Librarians must be fully aware and utilize social media
tools in their libraries if they still want to remain relevant to their users in this information
age. Despite the crucial need for the use of social media for information dissemination a lot
of challenges are bedeviling the effective use of the medium for information sharing in
Nigerian libraries. As Ezeani and Igwesi, (2012) has rightly observed “lack of awareness of
Social Media, lack of trained staff, lack of Government intervention, bandwidth problem,
technophobia, and unreliable power supply are the major problems hindering he effective use
of social media for information sharing in Nigerian libraries”. To support this finding, Ossai-
Ugbah (2012) also affirmed that consistent power failure increases the cost of running the

19
library making it difficult for library staff to use social media for marketing library and
information services in Nigerian libraries. In the same light, Shehu, Urhefe, and Aworo
(2015) in their study of accessibility and utilization of internet service in Nigeria libraries
highlighted several challenges faced by the staff while accessing the internet in Nigeria
libraries. The majority of the respondents indicated that power outage and
unavailability/inaccessibility of internet were some of the challenges facing staff while
accessing the internet in Nigeria libraries.
More recently, it is observed that Facebook could well serve as avenue for libraries
for outreach and collaboration purposes for students and other users, due to its wide use
among quite divers’ people. More generally, social networking tools could enhance
professional, scholastic and social collaboration.
It can therefore be discovered from the review that the level of awareness and use of
social media among student is very high; they use social media for both social and academic
purposes. But no study has been carried out to investigate the use of social media in the study
area. As such this study will attempt to fill in the gap.
2.6 Challenges’ bedeviling the awareness and use of social media for information
sharing among student.
The advent of modern information and communication technologies (ICTs) had resulted in
the introduction and breakthrough of social media as medium of communication, interaction
and information sharing among and between people on the Internet. However, despite the
numerous benefits of social media, a lot of challenges are militating and hindering it effective
usage. Basically, poor network, constant failure of electricity especially in the case of our
country Nigeria, privacy, and deception has been the major quagmire confronting the use of
the medium. Amina and Nnwane (2015) corroborate that quite a number of challenges
militate against the effective utilization of social media in Nigerian university libraries. Chief
among these are privacy concern, low level of technology penetration and network problem.
Other less significant challenges discovered shows that lack of awareness about the
functionalities and usability of social media for library service, epileptic power supply and
lack of social media skills. In addition to all those challenges, Adewojo and Mayowa-
Adebara (2016) reported that poor internet access and lack of organizational support towards
social media greatly undermine awareness and usage of social media.According to Lenin
(2010) Social media sites pose an equal threat to the security of personal information and
other concerned data. Hacking of the websites is the most common feature; with hacking

20
there is an imminent threat to the audience of social media. This turns to be another key
challenge posed by the social media. Privacy concerns include online information collection
techniques such as cookie technology involving extreme surveillance. The use and analysis of
data are also a concern due to unethical merging and data mining practices to profile
customers. The instant recording and permanence of activity, loss of control and ownership
of data also creates barriers to online activity (Tavani, 2011). Social networking users claim
to be concerned about risks to privacy, yet do little to safeguard their information (Dwyer et
al., 2007). Often users openly disclose detailed and personal information on these networks,
comfortable living a part of their lives online (Rosenblum, 2007). Similarly, a study was
carried out by kumar and kuyimi (2012) on the risks of using social media; there study
reveals that people remain unaware of information sharing policies, although the policies are
clearly stated. And if they have read them, they are not confirmed about the effect. This study
also shows that people do not know how their personal data can be shared. And they end up
sharing their private information with unauthorized people because of their ignorant attitude.
In addition, they noticed that complexity of privacy settings and lack of control provided to
the user is equally responsible for unintentional information sharing.
On the other hand, Asif and Khan (2012) wrote an article titled user’s perceptions on
Facebook privacy policies. Facebook knows an immense amount about its users. A fully
filled-out Facebook profile contains about 40 pieces of recognizably personal information,
including name; birthday; political and religious views; online and offline contact
information; sex, sexual preference and relationship status; favourite books, movies,
educational and employment history and finally picture. Facebook then offers multiple tools
for users to search out and add potential contacts. By the time one person fills information,
Facebook has a reasonably comprehensive snapshot both of who you are and of who you
know. With this information people might use it for negative cause and damage one person’s
life but if people read and understand the privacy and security options they might be less
exposed.
Additionally, O’Brien and Torres 2012 wrote an article named Social Networking and
Online Privacy: Facebook Users’ Perceptions. As a result, the researchers found that
Facebook users are alert and cautious when using the social networking sites. However,
Facebook users are not completely informed or aware of all activities concerning privacy on
the social networking sites. Though, low trust levels to date have not hindered activity on
Facebook and membership continues to rise. Facebook users seem willing to push aside trust

21
issues to achieve social interaction. The importance of trust in a social networking context is
clearly questionable and perhaps different determinants for online activity exist in different
online environments.
There are a number of barriers to trust in the online environment. These barriers include
perceived risk, website design and content, the user themselves and privacy concerns. Privacy
concerns are considered the greatest barrier of them all because ‘the internet, by design, lacks
unified provisions for identifying who communicates with whom; it lacks a well-designed
identity infrastructure’ (Leenes et al., 2008).
Beside the challenge of inadequate control on one’s information (privacy) when using
social media, Adeyemi (2012) on his part studied the challenges encountered by librarian
using social media for the dissemination of information and he posited thus, “a number of
challenges militate against librarians’ effective utilization of social media in Nigerian
University libraries” (p.5). He stated that it is embarrassing that stable power supply in the
country is still a mirage till date. in the same vein, Agboola (2013) observed that the issue of
epileptic power supply in most African countries has in no small measure affected the use of
social media applications by student as all the social media application are powered by
electricity but the supply of electricity in Africa is nothing to write home about. Supporting
this, Adeyemi (2012) stated that “power outage is a problem militating against
information/internet provision and use in African countries” (p.13). Ezeani and Igwesi (2012)
added bandwidth problems to this, noting that most institutions have limited bandwidth to
support this practice of internet connectivity. They concluded that poor connectivity can
frustrate effective online participation. Other problems encountered in the use of social media
for promoting library and information product and services are lack of technical knowledge
and expertise, high cost of ICTs, corruption and negligence, little government intervention,
resistance to change and a host of others. Bik and Goldstein (2013) stated “that a very
common challenge in the use of social media is the lack of technical knowhow and awareness
of the full functionalities of the various social media applications” (p.18). Reid (2007) noted
that most librarians in African countries are not aware of social networking services, and the
value of social media in informal scientific communication. Even the few that are aware are
still struggling in the use of social media for scholarly scientific communication. Bik and
Goldstein (2013) stated “that a very common challenge in the use of social media is the lack
of technical knowhow and awareness of the full functionalities of the various social media
applications” (p.18). Reid (2007) noted that most librarians in African countries are not aware
of social networking services, and the value of social media in informal scientific
22
communication. Even the few that are aware are still struggling in the use of social media for
scholarly scientific communication.
Despite the overwhelmingly challenges of poor power supply, technical knowhow and poor
network accessibility confronting librarians and other social media uses for information
sharing in libraries, addiction and other related health issues also constitute another meager
challenge bedeviling the use of social media. Young adults are the population most at risk for
the development of Problematic Internet Uses (PIU) because adolescents and young adults
have the highest rates of internet use and frequency (Lenhart et al., 2005; Shiffman, 2009;
Tokunaga, 2010). Thomas, (2011) wrote an article called addiction in Internet chatting: An
empirical study using the modified Technology Acceptance Model. His paper revealed that
excessive time on social network sites may lead to internet addiction. Students around the
world spend a lot of time on social network sites which this leads to major consequences.
Excessive time spent in this manner could lead to the problematic behavior known as Internet
addiction Griffiths, (2010). Internet addiction is viewed as a psychological dependence on or
a behavioral addiction to the Internet resulting in excessive usage (Kandell, 2010; Griffiths,
2010).
In addition, many researchers have argued that the attractiveness of the Internet could lead to
excessive use. Past research has described this phenomenon as Internet addiction (Griffiths,
2000; Soule et al., 2003; Widyanto and Griffiths, 2013). On the other hand, Young (2013)
argued that the Internet itself is not addictive, but highly interactive applications like online
chatting can be addictive. Moreover, Balakrishnan and Shamim (2013) wrote an article called
Malaysian Facebookers: Motives and addictive behaviors unraveled. The researchers
revealed students exhibit some addictive symptoms, namely, Salience (both cognitive and
behavioral), Loss of Control, Withdrawal and Relapse and Reinstatement. These symptoms
matched some of the addictive components of the Brown’s Addiction Behavior Framework.
The findings are similar to other studies that have revealed addictive behavior in using mobile
phones (Balakrishnan & Raj, 2012; Walsh et al., 2010), online games (Charlton & Danforth,
2007) and the Internet (Charlton, 2002).
As a result, the study identified the addictive symptoms by using Facebook among the
students; therefore, social networking sites affect health of the users. Furthermore, Mekinc,
Smailbegović, Kokić in 2013, wrote an article named should we be considered about children
use of the internet? Due to the researchers made by Young, as a result, she found internet
overuse can bring health problems known as a mental disorder which she named Pathological
Internet Use – PIU (Young, 1998). The American Psychological Association classified the
23
overuse of the internet services as an addiction. Now we can include the PIU in the group of
addictions together with drug and alcohol addictions, addiction to video games, gambling and
some of the eating disorders (Bonacic, 2010).
As a result, Kokic, (2013) found out the increased use of the internet, Facebook
profiles, publication of personal data are expression of signs of internet addiction among
scholars in the upper grades. According to the results of this study, using Facebook increases
the likelihood of addiction to the internet. While establishing new friendships and socializing,
children through the Internet can satisfy their need for contact, for belonging, however, the
excessive use of social networks brings the risk of developing an internet addiction.
A study by Ezeani and Igwesi (2012) found that utilization of social media in
Nigerian academic library is faced with several challenges and some of the challenges are
lack of awareness, as well as insufficient bandwidth and obsolete internet facilities which
they described as ‘moribund’ inhibiting factors in academic libraries. Also, a study by
Anunobi and Ogbonna (2012) cited in study of Okenedo, Azubuike and Adeyoyin (2013)
found the lack of needed facilities; and limited technological infrastructure (Njobvu &
Hamoova, (2016).

2.7 Summary of the review

The summary of the above literature review deals with the various types of social media
incurred in the processes of information sharing among students, its use and as well the ways
involved in the usage such social medias such as Whatsapp, facebook, twitter e.t.c. Indeed,
Awareness of social media is the first step towards deeper understanding of a particular
thing. Most people tend to gauge expertise by the level of knowledge and skill that a
particular individual possesses in a given field. Recent researches in the area of social media
indicate that most students are highly aware and use social media for social purposes such as
charting with family friends and colleagues. In order to gouge the level of awareness on the
use of social media among college students. The significance of social media in the area of
information dissemination cannot be overemphasis; this is because it enables libraries and
librarians to decipher vital information to their users remotely, making the true rule of
librarianship “save the time of the user”. In the opinion of Bell (2016) he posited that
“Technological advancement has compelled libraries to adopt interactive online media (social
media) for their survival”. The increasing trend of social media has affected the traditional
mode of organizing information. Social media provides innovative and interesting resources

24
for librarians to serve their users quickly and effectively as possible with new ways (Bradely,
2007).

25
 CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction
This chapter deals with the methodology used in the conduct of the study. However,

quantitative research methodology was adopted in conducting the study. This type of

methodology was employed because; the study involves collecting numerical data and in

breadth from the entire students of School of Health Technology, Kano. Muijis (2010)

described quantitative research methodology as that which provides information in breadth,

from a large number of units and it is also best for looking at cause and effect relationship in

the phenomenon. Hunter and Erin (2008) further describe this type of methodology as the

systematic empirical investigation of social phenomenon through statistical, mathematical or

computational technique. Therefore, the choice of quantitative research methodology for this

study is informed by its attribute which indeed corroborates with the mentioned aim of the

study. Moreover, the chapter was organized and presented under the following sub-headings:

3.2 Research Design

3.3 Preliminary Survey and it is Result
3.4 Population of the Study
3.5 Sampling Technique and Sample Size of the Study
3.6 Data Collection Instrument
3.7 Validity and Reliability of Data Collection Instrument
3.8 Method of Data Collection
3.9 Method of Data Presentation and Analysis

26
3.2 Research Design

The research design used for this study is survey method. Survey research method is

described by Ponto (2015), as "the collection of information from a sample of individuals

through their responses to questions. This type of research allows for a variety of methods to

recruit participants, collect data, and utilize various methods of instrumentation. Survey

research design can use quantitative research strategies (e.g., using questionnaires with

numerically rated items), qualitative research strategies (e.g., using open-ended questions), or

both strategies (i.e., mixed methods). As it is often used to describe and explore human

behavior, surveys are therefore frequently used in social and psychological research.

This type of design was adopted because; the goal of this research requires obtaining

quantitative data that involves large population of entire students of School of Health

Technology, Kano. Neumann, (2006) describe survey as popular and appropriate method

especially when the research involves large population. Survey is also a method where data is

collected through questionnaire (Zikmund, 2000). It is also a more appropriate method when

the goal of the research requires obtaining quantitative data and quantitative analysis

(Marshal, 2006). Therefore, the choice of survey design for this study is justifiable by its

attributes which corroborates with processes required to follow in conducting this type of

research.

Specifically, the type of survey used for this study was cross-sectional survey. Bhat

(2018), described Cross-sectional survey as that which is used in conducting a research in

which the researcher intends to collect data from a sample of the target population at a given

point in time. Using this method, the researchers can evaluate various variables at a particular

time. Data gathered using this type of survey is from people who depict similarity in all

variables. This is a type of survey according to Cohen, Manion and Morison (2007) that can

27
be used to investigate problem in its natural settings and produces a quick ‘snapshot’ of what

is going on with the variables of interest for our research problem at a particular point in time.

Therefore, the choice of this specific survey technique for this study is informed by its

attributes of allowing investigating awareness and use of social media among students of

school of health technology, Kano.

3.3 Preliminary Survey and Result

In preparation for the main study, a preliminary study was conducted in the School of

Health Technology, Kano which is located in the city of Kano, along Sani Marshal Road,

Brigade Kano with the aim of finding out (determining) the total number of students in the

schools across ND I and ND II respectively; by their course of study and gender distribution.

The survey was conducted between the month of July and August, 2018; using a self-

developed preliminary survey instrument by the researcher. The instrument was taken

directly to the principal of the school under study for approval to carry out the survey, who

then send me to his vice. The instrument was later sent down to all the academic departments

of the schools (one after the other) for their responses. The findings of the survey are

presented as follows:

28
Table 3.1: Classification of Students of School of Health Technology, Kano by their
Course of Study, Program and Gender

CORESE OF STUDY PROGRAME TOTAL

ND I [23]
Community
Health ND II [10]
(CH)
ND I [9]
Dental
Health ND II [10]
(DH)
ND I [15]
Pharmacy
Technician ND II [13]
(PH)

ND I [6]
Medical Laboratory
(ML) ND II [12]

ND I [13]
Health Information
Management ND II [12]
(HIM)

GRAND TOTAL 123

Source: Preliminary Survey; August, 2018

As indicated in table 3.1 there was a total of 123 students in the schools under study

as at 2018 academic sessions. These students comprised of 59 males and 65 females; across

five (5) diploma programs offering by the school. Where, Community Health NDI has Male

8, Female 15, ND II Male 3, Female 7; Dental Health ND I has Male 4, Female 5, ND II

Male 4, Female 6; Pharmacy Technician ND I has Male 8, Female 6, ND II Male 4, Female

6; Medical Laboratory ND I has Male 3, Female 6, ND II Male 7, Female 5; and Health

Information Management ND I has Male 7, Female 6, ND II Male 7, Female 5.

29
 However, the implication or ways in which this result will be used in the main study

is that, it will help in describing the population, determining the sample size for the study and

in the analysis and discussion of finding of the study. Most importantly preliminary survey is

particularly relevant, without which, obtaining the relevant information about total number of

the population of the study, their programs, level of study, gender etc. will be difficult, yet,

the main study may likely not to be successfully because of lack of accurate information from

the onset.

3.4 Population of the Study

The population of this study is all the One Hundred and twenty three (123) students of

the School of Health Technology, Kano as reported in the preliminary survey result. The

population is presented in table 3.2.

Table 3.2: Population of the Study

S/ Name of Department/Courses Total
N
1 Community Health 23
2 Dental Health 19
3 Pharmacy Technician 28
4 Medical Laboratory 18
5 Health Information Management 25
Total = 123
From table 3.2, the School of Health Technology, Kano and population of students

are: (i) Community Health (CH), with a population of 350 students; (ii)Dental Health (DH)

with 202 students; (iii)Pharmacy Technician (PT) with 51 students; (iv) Medical Laboratory

(ML) with 96 students; and (v)Health Information Management (HIM) with 186 students

totaling 885.

3.5 Sampling Technique and Sample Size

The sample size for this study is one hundred (260) students to be selected randomly out of

the 885 students’ population. The sample size was determined using the Kreicie and Morgan

30
(1970) table for determining sample for research activities. Abdulmaliq (2006), explain that

simple random sampling is a method in which choice of sample members are made in such a

way that all members of the population can be chosen into the sample hence anyone who is in

the sample is in it purely by chance.

3.6 Data Collection Instrument

Questionnaire was used as instrument for collecting data for this study. Brink (2006)

explains that “a questionnaire is a quick way of abstaining data from a large group of

respondents and it is one of the easiest instruments to use to test the reliability and validity”.

It therefore has the advantage of spread and coverage, that is, it is the most effective way of

reaching a very large number of people.

The questionnaire to be used for this study was developed by the researcher, based on

the variables of the study. The questionnaire was made up of five (5) sections, containing

nine (9) close ended questions. Section ‘A’ of the questionnaire elicit the demographic

information of the respondents, section ‘B’ elicit responses on awareness, source of

awareness and level of awareness social media Section ‘C’ elicit responses on purpose for the

use of social media; Section ‘D’ elicit responses on type of social media use, form of

information often shared and place often make use of social media; while, Section ‘E’ elicit

response on challenges of social media use among students.

3.7 Validity and Reliability of Data Collection Instrument

3.7.1 Validity
Gravetter and Forzano (2009) describe validity as the degree to which the study

accurately answers the questions it was intended to answer. Haruna (2010) stress that, there is

no way to determine content validity aside from expert’s opinion. As such the content

validity of the questionnaire will be provided by my supervisor in the Department of Library

31
and Information Science Bayero University, Kano in order to make it valid for measuring the

objectives of the study. Based on his observations and corrections, the contents of the

research questionnaire will be adjusted and modified to suit the purpose of the study which

will eventually found valid for the study.

3.8 Method of Data Collection

The data for this study will be collected by the researcher herself and also with the

help of the research assistant. The researcher and the research assistant will administer the

questionnaires to the respondents at their school and in their lecture halls. The questionnaires

may either be completed there and then in the present of the researcher or to leave it with the

respondents and come back to collect it by the researcher herself.

3.9 Method of Analysis

The data for this study will be presented in tabular form, and it will be analyzed using

descriptive statistics of frequencies and percentages. According to Sidhu (2007), descriptive

statistics is a set of tools used to summarized and consolidate a given data, which can either

be a representation of the entire population or sample.

32
References

Miles, D., & Huberman, M. (2005). Quantitative in e-learning: online participation and
student grades. British Journal of Education Technology, 36, 657-663.
Miles, M. B. &Huberman, A. M. (1994) Qualitative data analysis (2nd Ed) Thousand
Oaks,CA: Sage.
Mugenda, O.M and Mugenda, A.G (2003) Research Methods-Quantitative and Qulitative.
Acts Press.
Mugenda, O.M and Mugenda, A.G (2004) Research Methods-Quantitative and Qulitative.
Acts Press.
Nachmias Chava Frankfort and Nachmias David (2016). Research Methods in Social
Sciences. 5th Edition. Arnold Publishers: London.

33
 CHAPTER FOUR

DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS.

4.1 Introduction

This chapter deals with presentation, analysis and interpretation of data collected for

the study on ‘Awareness and Use of Social Media for Information Sharing Among Students

in School of Health Technology Kano, Nigeria’. The responses were presented in tables of

frequencies and percentages. Analysis of the data was done based on the research questions.

However, the data was presented, analyzed and interpreted under the following headings:

4.2 Response Rate

4.3 Demographic Information of the Respondent
4.4 Awareness of Social Media
4.5 Purpose of Social Media Use
4.6 Level of Use of Social Media
4.7 Challenges of Social Media Use
4.8 Discussion of the Findings

4.2 Response Rate

A total of 269 copies of questionnaire were administered to the respondents in School

of Health Technology, Kano. The response rate is presented in table 4.1:

Table 4.1 Response Rate

Questionnaires Useable Questionnaires Questionnaires Not

Administered Returned returned
F % F % F %
269 100% 260 96% 9 3.4%
Key: F = frequency, % = percentage

34
Table 2 indicate that, a total of 269 copies of the questionnaire were administered to the

respondents in their school; out of which 260 (96%) were duly completed, returned and found

useable for the study. Therefore, 96% response rate is a very good one and sufficient to

provide a very highly credible and reliable result of the study. Hence, data for this study was

analyzed based on 96% returned copies of the questionnaire. So, the higher the number of

response rate, the more credible the findings of the study are expected to be (Mugenda,

2004). Therefore, the findings of this study were analyzed based on the 269 returned and

useable copies of the questionnaire.

4.3 Demographic Information of the Respondents

This section presents the personal information of the respondents gender, age and

program of study. Summary of their demographic information is presented in Table 4.2:

Table 4.2 Demographic Information of the Respondents

Variables Frequency Percentage

Male 107 41.1 %

Gender Female 153 58.9 %
Total 260 100.0
19 – 22 years 96 36.9%
22 – 25 years 69 26.6%
25 – 28 years 45 17.3%
Age of Respondents 28 – 31 Years 32 12.3%
31 years and above 18 6.9%
Total 260 100.0
ND 1 127 48.9%
Program of Study of the ND 2 133 51.1%
Respondents Total 260 100.0

Key: ND 1 = National Diploma One, Students; ND 2 = National Diploma Two, Students

Table 4.2 indicates the gender, age bracket and program of study of the respondents. Data

shows that 153 (58.9 %) that almost two-third of the respondents were male while 107

35
(41.1%) slightly more than one third are female. This revealed that there were more female

registered library users than the fmale in School of Health Technology Kano, Nigeria.

With regards to the age range of the respondents, the table further indicates that 96(36.9%)

that is majority of them were between 91-22 years. This is an indication that the respondents

are in their youthful age that fall into the “digital native” category based on social media

obsession.

The respondents of the study were only the diploma students, ND II were the majority, as

they constitute 51.1%, followed by ND I students, who constitute 48.9%. Therefore,

testimony about awareness and use of social media for information sharing or otherwise

would predominantly be based on ND II students’ responses.

4.3 Awareness of Social Media

This section provides details on awareness of social media, which comprise of source

of awareness and level of awareness of social media among students of School of Health

Technology, Kano. Summary of their responses are presented in the following tables:

Table 4.3 Awareness of Social Media

Awareness Frequency Percentage
Yes 260 (100%)
No 0 (0%)
Total 260 100.00

Data on table 4.3 indicates that most students of School of Health Technology, Kano are

aware of social media. It was discovered that 237 (91.1%), that is almost the entire

respondents were aware about social media, while only 23 (8.9%) are not aware of social

media.

Based on this finding, it can be said that awareness about the development in social media

technology is pervasive among students and has even reached Kano state, Nigeria. Hence, the

need for libraries to use it as a means of reaching out users for their information needs.

36
37
Table 4.4 Source of Awareness of Social Media

Source of Awareness Yes No

School library - 260 (100%)
Friends and colleagues 242 (93.0%) 18(7.0%)
Use of the Internet 248 (95.3%) 12 (4.7%)
General studies education 50 (19.2%) 210 (80.8%)
Workshops and seminars 94 (36.1%) 166 (63.9%)

Regarding source of awareness, data on table 4.4 revealed that Students of School of Health

Technology, Kano did not get awareness of social media through their libraries, but rather

through other sources. 242 (93.0%) that is almost the entire respondents got aware of social

media through friends and colleagues, as well as the Internet. This is followed by 94 (36.1%)

who got their aware through interactive forums such as workshops and seminars.

Furthermore 50 (19.2%) got their awareness through the general study program of their

school.

Table 4.5 Level of Awareness of Social Media

Level of awareness about social media

Type of social media aware of Highly Aware Moderately Not Aware
Aware Aware
Blogs - 12(4.7) - 248(95.3)
Facebook 237(91.1) - 23(8.9) -
Twitter 206(79.2) 10(3.9) 44(16.9) -

YouTube 216(83.0) 14(5.3) 30(11.7) -

WhatsApp 226(87.0) - 34(13.0) -

The level of awareness about social media among Students of School of Health Technology,

Kano is generally high except for blogs. Table 4.5 revealed that 237(91.1%) are highly aware

of Facebook, followed by 226(87.0%) that are aware of WhatsApp, 216(83.0%) stated that

they are highly aware of YouTube while 206(79.2%) stated they are aware of Twitter. Thus,

apart from blogs it can be deduced that the awareness of twitter among the aforementioned

types of social media is just fair and still needs to be improved upon.

38
4.7 Purpose of Social Media Use

This section provides detail on the respondents’ purposes for using social media. The

summary of their responses are presented in Table 4.7:

Table 4.6 Purpose for Use of Social Media

Purpose for use of social media Yes No

For update information 256(98.4%) 4(1.6%)
Research purpose 252(97.0%) 8(3.0%)
Briefing purpose 252(97.0%) 8(3.0%)
Stimulus purpose 247(95.0%) 13(5.0%)
News and current awareness purpose 254(97.7%) 6(2.3%)

Table 4.6 indicate that almost the entire Students of School of Health Technology, Kano

utilize social media for various information sharing purposes, 256(98.4%) stated that they use

social media for sharing and obtaining the update information, 254(97.7%) used social media

for News and current awareness purpose. Data further revealed that 252(97.0%) use social

media for sharing information about research and briefing purposes. 247(95.0%) stated that

they use social media to share and obtain Stimulus information.

4.8 Level of Use of Social Media

This section provides the detail on level of use of social media, which comprise of type of

social media use, form of information shares and place use the social media to share the

information among students of School of Health Technology, Kano. Summary of their

responses are presented in table 4.8:

39
Table 4.7 Level of Awareness of Social Media
Level of Use of Social Media
Type of Social Media Use Very highly Not very
Moderate Irregularly highly
Blogs - 12(4.7) - 248(95.3)
Facebook 237(91.1) - 23(8.9) -
Twitter 206(79.2) 10(3.9) 44(16.9) -
YouTube 216(83.0) 14(5.3) 30(11.7) -
WhatsApp 226(87.0) - 34(13.0) -

The level of use of social media among students of School of Health Technology, Kano, is

very high except for Blog. Data on table 4.3 revealed that 237(91.1%) that is almost the entire

respondents are to a very large extent highly using Facebook, followed by 226(87.0%) using

WhatsApp; 216(83.0%) YouTube, and 206(79.2) use twitter. only12(4.7) are moderately

using blog. This may be due to their low level of awareness about it.

Table 4.8 Form of information use to share

Form of information use to share Yes No

Text messaging 256(98.4%) 4(1.6%)
Video of tutorials 247(95.0%) 13(5.0%)
Voice recorded information 247(95.0%) 13(5.0%)
Manuscripts 252(97.0%) 8(3.0%)

Concerning the form of information, the students of School of Health Technology, Kano use

to share with social media, data revealed that 256(98.4%), that is almost all the respondents

do share information in text message form, followed by 252(97.0%) manuscript. While,

247(95.0%) shared the Voice recorded information and video tutorials respectively.

40
4.11 Challenges to use of Social Media

This section provides detail on challenges of social media use for information sharing

among students of School of Health Technology, Kano. Summary of their responses are

presented in Table 4.11:

Table 4.11 Challenges to use of Social Media

Challenges Yes No
Lack of strong and reliable internet bandwidth 228(87.7%) 32(12.3%)
Lack of management/institutional support 236(90.8%) 24(9.2%)
High cost of internet subscription 248(95.3%) 12(4.7%)
Lack of training on social media for education 228(87.7%) 32(12.3%)

Table 4.8 revealed challenges the students of School of Health Technology, Kano are facing

in using social media for information sharing. It was discovered that 248(95.3%) that is

almost all the respondents attested facing problem of high cost of internet subscription.

Which may be attributed to the reason that they are subscribing to the internet by themselves

not by their library or the school itself. However, 236(90.8%) indicated the challenge of lack

of institutional/school support on the use of social media for their information sharing and

education, followed by 228(87.7%) suffering from the challenge of lack of strong and reliable

internet bandwidth, as well as training on social media use for various information sharing

and educational purposes.

4.12 Discussion of Findings

Unarguably, knowledge about social media and its importance in the information sharing and

education has become part and parcel of peoples’ daily live most especially the students. This

is affirmed by this study as it was found that most students of School of Health Technology,

Kano are highly aware of social media and uses it for various information sharing purposes

that comprises of sharing and obtaining the update information, news and current awareness

purposes, information about research, briefing and stimulus purposes among others. Also,

this finding uphold the assertion of Constantinides and Fountain (2008) in which they

41
proclaim that social media is a system that aids the creation of informal users’ network that

facilitates the flow of information and knowledge by allowing effective generation,

dissemination, sharing, editing of informational content. The study so also confirmed that

students of School of Health Technology, in Kano Nigeria belongs to “digital natives”, this is

simply because they are highly aware of social media as only the few social media

unawareness was reported. Essentially, awareness was high for Facebook, WhatsApp,

YouTube, which indicates that there is the need to create more awareness of twitter and blogs

especially by incorporating the use of them for information sharing and education among the

information providers.

In spite of the high awareness discovered, the study shows that the School of Health

Technology, in Kano State did not contribute towards the awareness of social media among

its students. This is because, they do not become aware of social media through their school

library; rather, through other sources such as friends/colleagues, the Internet and other

interactive forums like the workshops and seminars. Unlike the study of Kwanya, Stillwell

and Underwood (2012), where the library/librarians were responsible for creating awareness

of academic social networking sites through e-mails they send to their users. This study

therefore revealed that the School studied have not taken steps towards aligning with world

best practice of using social media to attract their users to the library in this era of competing

patronage between search engines and libraries. Which this finding is contrary to the

postulation of Bell (2016) where he posited that “Technological advancement has compelled

libraries to adopt interactive online media (social media) for their survival”. Where it is a

known fact that the increasing trend of social media has affected the traditional mode of

sharing information and other services in libraries. By implication of this finding, School of

Health Technology, Kano may lose its value to social media supported search engines if

immediate effort is not taken to incorporate social media services to their libraries.

42
The study indicates that social media is the right tool for libraries to network itself with its

users; it serves as a tool that has bridged communication gap of information need among

students of school studied. This is true because, various types of social media are used by

students due to their functionality towards satisfying information sharing and generation

purposes. That is why, level/extent of use of Social media used by the School of Health

Technology Students in Kano State depends on the form information sharing purposes they

intend to satisfy. The study revealed that School of Health Technology Students are

motivated towards high use of social media such as Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube and

twitter, for sharing various form of information such as text message, manuscript, voice

recorded information and video tutorials of lectures. Where privacy, security and reliable

internet bandwidth is assured of. Unlike the concerns raised by Adebayo (2015), School of

Health Technology Students in Kano State are an exception to the use of social media for

non-educational needs, rather their use of social media is anchored towards sharing

information in the area of sharing and obtaining information for educational purpose.

There are some major challenges faced by the School of Health Technology Students in Kano

state, these challenges also have operational implications for any Library that intends to

incorporate social media to provide library services. These challenges are similar to those

outlined by Adewojo and Mayowa-Adebara (2015) and Amina and Nnwane (2015). They

include; lack of strong and reliable internet, lack of management support, high cost of internet

subscription and training on the use of social media for satisfying educational information

needs. Apart from the afore mentioned challenges, School of Health Technology, Kano

should also bear in mind that; privacy and security in use of social media are very important

factors that will motivate use of social media for assessing library services, this should be

well considered if utilization of social media for library service provision is to be achieved.

43
Reference

Mugenda, O.M and Mugenda, A.G (2004) Research Methods-Quantitative and Qulitative.
Acts Press.
Constantinides J.and Fountain G.(2008) Social media, social life: How teens view their
digital lives. Retrieved 16 June 2013 from
http://www.commonsensemedia.org/sites/default/files/research/socialmediasociallife-
final-061812.pdf.

Adewojo, A. A. & Mayowa-Adebara, O. (2016) Social Media Usage by Library Staff in

Academic Libraries: The case of Yaba College of Technology, Lagos State, Nigeria.
Information and Knowledge Management 6(1): 43-49
Kwanya, R. Stillwell A. &Underwood J.(2012), Determining sample for research activities.
ducational and psychology measurement. Available at: http//www.fns.usda.gov

44
 CHAPTER FIVE

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 Introduction

This chapter presents the summary of the study, summary of the major findings in line

with the research questions stated in chapter one and make conclusion and recommendations

based on the major findings of the study as follows:

5.2 Summary of the Study

This study is made up of five chapters. Chapter one covers the introduction to

background of the study which gives an overview of the concept, importance of social media

most especially for information sharing among students; description of School of Health

Technology in Nigeria, statement of the research problem, research questions, research

objectives, significance of the study, scope and limitations of the study, as well as the

operational definition of research terms used in the study.

In chapter two, literature and studies related to the present study were reviewed and

organized under the concept and significance of social media for information sharing,

characteristics and types of social media, awareness of social media among students, use of

social media for information sharing, challenges’ bedeviling the awareness and use of social

media for information sharing among student and summary of the review

Chapter three deals with research methodology, where the quantitative research

methodology, using survey design and specifically the cross-sectional survey were employed

for the study.

Chapter four of the study comprised of data presentation, analysis and interpretation.

The data was presented using descriptive statistics of frequencies and percentages, and the

interpretations and analysis were done based on the result found from the data.

45
 Chapter five presents the summary of the study, summary of the major findings of the

study, conclusion and recommendations about the study.

5.3 Summary of the Major Findings

The study found that:

1. Most students of School of Health Technology, Kano are highly aware of social
media.
They became aware of social media not through their school library; but,
rather through their other sources such as friends/colleagues, the Internet and other
interactive forums like the workshops and seminars. The type of social media that
they are highly aware of are Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube and twitter.

2. They use social media for various information sharing purposes that comprises of
sharing and obtaining the update information, news and current awareness purposes,
information about research, briefing and stimulus purposes among others.

3. Their level of use of social media is very high most especially the Facebook,
WhatsApp, YouTube and twitter.

4. The study also found that, the students of School of Health Technology, Kano are
facing numerous challenges in their use of social media. The challenges are high cost
of internet subscription, lack of management/institutional support and lack of strong
and reliable internet bandwidth.

5.4 Conclusion

Numerous importance and purpose of use have made the level of awareness of social media

very high and the use of it so ubiquitous, especially among students. The students of School

of Health Technology, Kano are highly aware of social media, most especially the Facebook,

WhatsApp, YouTube and twitter. They use social media for various information sharing

purposes that comprises of sharing and obtaining the update information, news and current

46
awareness purposes, information about research, briefing and stimulus purposes among

others. Thief among these purposes is obtaining and sharing information about research. The

study therefore opposes previous studies that indicated that unguided use of social media

among students mostly leads to using it for non-educational purposes. In spite of this, they

became aware of social media and share relevant information not by their school library, but

through interactive forums and other avenues. By and large, the School studied have not

taken steps towards aligning with world best practice of using social media to attract their

users to the library in this era of competing patronage between search engines and libraries.

5.5 Recommendations

Based on the objectives and findings, the study recommended that:

1. The Management of the School should encompass awareness about using social

media for sharing relevant information,

2. The Management of the School should furthermore enlighten its students/users on the

importance of social media in achieving various education and other information

sharing purposes, especially through advocacy program,

3. The Management of the School should encourage to a high level, the use of various

Blog and Twitter platforms among its user community for information sharing and

generation,

4. The management of school studied should make a resolve to support the use of social

media for providing library information services, especially by providing strong and

reliable internet bandwidth to support and cushion the effect of high cost of internet

47
 subscription felt by students’ user group. Otherwise, it may lose patronage to

competing search engines that can offer what the library does.

5. There is need to include social media based programme in the curriculum to enable

students acquire basic and specific search skills necessary to operate the social media

also enlightened on the importance of online resource for their academic success to

propel them to use different social media and types of search engines for retrieve of

information.

6. Efforts should be made at providing stable power supply and adequate training on the

use of some social media for information acquisition and knowledge seeking.

48
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53
 APPENDIX A

Department of Library and Information

Sciences,
Bayero University, Kano
PMB 3011
26 /09 /2019

Dear Respondent,

QUESTIONNAIRE ON AWARENESS AND USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA FOR

INFORMATION SHARING AMONG STUDENTS IN SCHOOL OF HEALTH
TECHNOLOGY, KANO

I am an undergraduate student of the above named University writing my final year project

titled “Awareness and Use of Social Media for Information Sharing Among Students in

School of Health Technology Kano, Nigeria.” The aim of this study is to investigate the

level of awareness and purpose for use of social media among students of this school.

Surely, your kind response to this questionnaire is essential to the study. Therefore, all the

information that you will provide, will be treated confidentially and only for the purpose of

this study. Thank you in anticipation of your cooperation.

Yours Sincerely,

Nafiu Adamu Ali

(EDU/15/LIS/00028)

54
 APPENDIX B
SECTION A: DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION
1. Gender: a. Male [ ] b. Female [ ]

2. Age: a. 16- 20 [ ] b. 21 – 25 [ ] c. 26 – 30 [ ] d. 31 – 35 [ ] e. 36 and above

[ ]

3. Program: a. HND I [ ] b. HND II [ ] c. ND I [ ] d. ND II [ ] e.

Certificate

SECTION B: AWARENESS OF SOCIAL MEDIA

4. Are you aware of social media? a. Yes [ ] b. No [ ]

5. If yes to question four above, through what source do you became aware of social
media?

Source of Awareness of Social Media Yes No

School library
Friends and colleagues
Use of the internet
General studies education
Conferences, workshops and seminars
Others (please) specify

6. What is your level of awareness of social media?

Level of awareness about social media

Type of social media aware of Highly Aware Moderately Not
Aware Aware Aware
Blogs
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
WhatsApp

55
 SECTION C: PURPOSE OF SOCIAL MEDIA USE

7. For what purpose do you use social media?

Purpose for use of social media Yes No

For update information
Research purpose
Briefing purpose
Stimulus purpose
Current awareness purpose
Others specify

SECTION D: LEVEL OF USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA FOR INFORMATION

SHARING
8. What is your level of use of social media for information sharing?

Level of Use of Social Media

Type of social media use Very Not
highly Moderate Irregularly very
highly
Blogs
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
WhatsApp

SECTION E: CHALLENGES OF SOCIAL MEDIA USE

9. What are the factors affecting your use of social media for information sharing in this
school?

Challenges Yes No
Lack of strong and reliable internet bandwidth
Lack of management support
High cost of internet subscription
Lack of training on social media for education

Thank you for the cooperation.

56