Impact of Social media on Academic Performance of School Students

Abstract

Social media is growing fast among the young generation of the world. School-age students are
much involved with social media. So, social media will have an impact on student's personal and
academic lives. Therefore, this study aims to find out the impact of social media on the academic
performance of students. The survey method was adjusted to collect the relevant data for the
study. A random sampling technique was used for data collection.1000 students were selected
randomly . The statistical technique was then applied to analyze the data. It was concluded that
despite public views about student social media abuse in society, most students were interested in
using social media positively for their academic purposes. This indicates that social media
influences students' academic performance. However, the results of ANOVA showed that there
are significant differences between academic performance and the impact of social media among
students.

Keywords - Academic Performance, Social media, school students

Introduction

Technology has paved a path of development from all corners of the world. Because the world is
celebrating communication with the help of ICT and has turned into a global village. Social
media is an exclusive gift of ICT that plays a central role in everyday life. Technology is
exposing humanity to a better way of doing things. Social media and students have developed
such a bond, which has led to numerous benefits, but since each object has its advantages and
disadvantages, social media has both positive and negative effects on the everyday life of
students, eventually showing the consequences of their school performance.

Social networks like Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp Messenger, Google Talk, Google Messenger
etc. are examples that the students are prone to. Social networking sites are online communities
of internet users, and academic excellence plays an important role in an individual's placement,
be it in an academic institution or job placement. So the people of this era are very concerned
about how to improve their academic performance.

The revival and generation of ideas with the rest of the world, with the individuals of common
ideas, and the exchange of information from all fields has led to the expansion of the knowledge
base of the students. But no doubt students who are more tech-savvy, apart from taking
advantage of using social media, are also addicted to the websites and have turned into a hobby
of browsing. So, not only are students striving to catch up with the race of the technology world,
but they are also trying to be all-rounders by following more social media tactics that affect their
academic performance both positively and negatively.

Literature Review

Acheaw & Larson (2015): The paper examines the impact of social media on academic
performance and also identifies the benefits derived from the use of social media. The paper
takes up both research questions and hypotheses for the study. It is suggested that students should
encourage using their phones to supplement their research. The study found that the majority of
students had cell phones with internet access. Students were found to spend 30 minutes to 3
hours a day on cell phones. It is also found to have a negative impact on student academic
performance.

Mensah & Nizam, (2016); in their paper aim to examine the impact of social media on student
achievement in Malaysia. Pearson's correlation coefficient is used and correlated to students'
academic performance. The paper used both descriptive and explanatory research designs. It has
been found that there is a positive and significant relationship between connections between
friends and people and students' academic performance. It is concluded that social media
platforms have a significant impact on student's academic performance and are taught time
management to determine student success or failure.

Gilbert et al. (2018); attempt to analyze the impact of social media on student academic
performance. The study assumes that students use social media for communication and learning.
On average, students spend at least an hour on social media every day. This would have both
positive and negative effects on their academic performance. 60 students were sampled for data
collection, adopting Solvins' formula to obtain an accurate sample size. It was found that the
students' main motives were chatting with their friends and spending their free time on their
relaxation. About 20% of the time is spent on social media purposes. They also admitted that
social media use has impacted their lives, with few stating that there is no such impact. It was
concluded that students' free time is acquired entirely through social media, where things seem to
be more interesting than the mentor's lecture. Undoubtedly, social media has tremendous benefits
in terms of student academics, but using it properly can only lead to a brighter future. It should
be borne in mind that the right use of social media can propel the future, but the wrong way can
become a victim for the youth.
Zahid, et al. (2019); paper attempted to examine the influence and relationship between social
media and student academic performance. To resolve the misconception related to social media,
it is necessary to identify the problems of people using social media. Various factors determine
the academic performance of students, but in this modern age, social media is worth mentioning
as it is the most popular factor. The paper concluded with the positive aspect of students' use of
social media as it has helped them to share and generate new ideas, and students, who are an
asset to any country, play a central role in social development.

Objectives

1. To find out what impact the use of social media has on the academic performance of
students.
2. To find out the difference between the time spent on social media and the academic
performance of the students.
3. To find out the difference between social media usage time and students' academic
performance.
4. To find out the difference between the most frequent usage of the social media platform
and the academic performance of the students.
5. To find out the difference between the purpose of using social media and the academic
performance of the students.
6. To find out the difference between the impact of social media on education and students'
academic performance.

Hypotheses

1. There is no influence between social media and the academic performance of the
students.
2. There is no difference between the time spent on social media and the academic
performance of the students.
3. There is no difference between social media usage time and student academic
performance.
4. There is no difference between the most frequent use of the social media platform and
the academic performance of the students.
5. There is no difference between the purpose of using social media and the academic
performance of students.
6. There is no difference between the impact of social media on education and student
academic achievement.
Method and Procedure

This study aims to learn more about the impact of social media on students' academic
performance. The researcher followed the survey as the method of the present study. The
questionnaire was developed and made available to the students. The answers of students were
calculated. Academic performance was calculated based on their annual academic scores of the
previous class. The data collected in this way was fed into corresponding statistical evaluations
of the data with the help of SPSS.

Sample and Sampling Size

The sample of the present study consists of 1000 high school students.500 students studying in
class 9th and 10th and 500 students studying in class 11th and 12th. The random Sampling
Technique was employed by the investigator to select the sample. A Google form questionnaire
was developed and made available to students.

Research Tools

The effectiveness of the evaluation largely depends on the accuracy of the measurement in each
research. The measuring accuracy in turn depends on the precision of the tool. Effects of Social
Media on Students Academic Performance Scale (ESMAPS) was prepared and developed by the
investigator and used to collect the data for this study. The tool “Effects of Social Media on
Student Academic Performance” was determined to be reliable and valid

Statistical Techniques

Following statistical techniques were employed for testing the research hypothesis;

1. Descriptive statistics namely mean, standard deviation, percentage and s.d for both
variables.
2. t-test and f-test (Anova)were applied to find the significant difference and impact.

Analysis and Interpretation of Results

H 1: There is no influence between social media and students' academic performance.

Table-1 - Influence between social media and Students' academic performance

 variable N Mean of academic S.d
performance

Before starting the 1000 233.6 35.6

use of social media

After starting the use 1000 297.2 73.5

of social media

t-value = 24.6

Table 1 - shows that there is a positive influence between year academic performance (before
starting to use social media) and academic performance (after starting to use social media) at a
significant level of 0.01. This indicates that social media influences students' academic
performance. Therefore, social media contributes to improving the academic performance of
students.

H2 -There is no difference between the time spent on social media and the academic
performance of the students

Table -2 - Time spent on social media and academic performance of students

Time spent N Percentage Mean of s.d

academic
performance

Less than 1 hour 123 12.3 % 197.19 4.4

1-2 hour 265 26.5% 233.27 18.5

3-4 hour 498 49.8% 326.14 35.6

5-6 hour 114 11.4% 427.26 12.4

Total 1000 100% 297.2 73.5

f-value = 2080.3
Respondents representing 12.3% indicated that they spent less than 1 hour, 265 respondents, the
26th .5% representing spent between 1 and 2 hours, 498 respondents representing 49.8% spent
between 3 and 4 hours and the final group of 114 respondents representing 11.4% said they spent
between 5-6 hours a day on social media sites. Table 2 above shows that the students who spent
between 5 and 6 hours a day on social media sites perform better academically than the others.

H3: There is no difference between using time on social media and the academic performance of
students.

Table 3- Using time on Social media and the academic performance of students

Using time n Percentage Mean s.d

During free time 150 198.88 5.4

While at school 738 297.39 52.4

Spare time 112 427.61 12.2

Total 1000 297.2 73.5

f-value=816.7

When respondents were asked when they use social media sites, 150 respondents, representing
15%, said they use them during their free time, 738 respondents, representing 73.8%, said they
use them "during school" and 112 respondents, accounting for 11.2%, use Spare Moment on the
social media sites. Table 3 above shows that the students who used Spare Moment on social
media sites perform better academically than the others.

H4: There is no difference between the most frequent use of the social media platform and the
academic performance of the students.

Table 4 - Use of social media platform form and academic performance of students
 Most use N Percentage Mean of s.d
platforms academic
performance

Facebook 441 44.1% 262.71 42.1

Instagram 63 6.3 % 211.82 3.7

Twitter 140 14.0% 236.51 10.WhatsApp

Sapp 356 35.6% 378.89 38.8

Total 1000 100 % 272.48 73.5

From Table 4 above, respondents indicated the following as their most common use of the social
media platform. Facebook 441 represents 44.1%, Instagram 63 represents 6.3%, Twitter 140
represents 14% and WhatsApp 356 represents 35.6%. respectively. The analysis shows that
Facebook is the most used social media platform. It shows that the students who used WhatsApp
perform better academically than the others.

H5: There is no difference between the purpose of using social media and students' academic
performance.

Table - 5 Purpose of Using Social Media and Academic Performance of the Students

Purpose of N Percentage Mean of s.d

using academic
performance

Academic 800 80% 320.9 62.72

Non-academic 200 20 % 202.4 7.88

Total 1000 100 % 523.3 73.5

t-value = 26.65
In Table 5 above, among the total of 1000 students surveyed, when asked about the purpose of
using social media has improved their academic performance, 800, which is 80%, answered in
academic purpose and e, and 200, which is 20%, answered the non-academic area. It shows that
the students used for academic purposes perform more academically than non-academic ones.
The implication is that using social media for academic purposes will improve their academic
performance.

H6: There is no difference between the impact of social media on students' education and
academic performance.

Table - 6 Impact of Social Media and Academic Performance of the Students

Impact on N Percentage Mean of s.d

Education academic
performance

Positive 788 78.8 % 317.65 67.9

Negative 212 21.2 & 221.16 31.7

Total 1000 100 % 538.81 73.5

t-value = 20.1

From Table 6 above, out of the total of 1000 students surveyed, 788, which corresponds to
78.8%, answered positively to the question about the impact of social media on their educated
ion, and 212, which corresponds to 21.8%, answered no. It shows that the students who have
used social media have an impact on student education. The implication is that social media use
had a positive impact on their academic performance.

Conclusion

The study was conducted to examine the impact of students' use of social media on their
academic performance. Results of the study found that most students had mobile phones with
internet capability and were aware of the existence of social media. As a result, the students who
spent between 5 and 6 hours a day on social media sites have more academic achievement than
the others. In addition, the study found that the students who used Spare Moment social media
sites performed better in school than the others. It shows that the students who used WhatsApp
perform better academically than the others. It shows that the students used for academic
purposes perform more academically than non-academic ones. Social media has a positive
impact on the academic performance of students who use it for educational purposes The study
further found that most students use social media sites to chat for academic purposes and it
helped improve their academic performance.

References

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Performance of Tertiary Institution Students: A study 0f Students of Koforidua Polytechnic,
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Amin, Z., et.al. (2016), “Impact of social means of student’s academic performance”,
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2319-801X, Vol 5, Issue 4, Pp: 22-29.

Mensah O.S. & Nizam I,(2016),“ The Impact of Social Media on Students Academic
Performance- A case of Malaysia Tertiary Institution”, International Journal of Education,
Learning and Training, Vol 1, No. 1, pp:14-21.

Talaue, M.G., et.al. (2018), “The impact of social media on academic performance of selected
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