The influence of social media on students of second-cycle institutions in Tamale and its implications

https://doi.org/10.35912/jshe.v4i3.1939
Published: May 14, 2024

Abstract:

Purpose: This study investigated the influence of social media on students in second-cycle institutions in Tamale. It concentrates on its relationship with academic performance, learning ability, writing skills, and gender disparities in usage patterns.

Methodology/approach: A purposive sample method was employed to select 150 students from secondary schools in Tamale. Data were collected through surveys and interviews using both qualitative and quantitative approaches to explore how social media affects students’ academic experiences.

Results/Findings: Findings from this study indicate that the use of social media has a significant impact on students’ learning abilities, writing skills, and academic performance. A significant number of learners reported becoming distracted with reduced concentration because they spent excessive time on the sites, leading to possible health challenges and a sedentary lifestyle. The results also indicated that gender differences exist in social media usage patterns, among others, which affect school performance.

Limitations: One limitation of this research is that it had a small sample size and may not represent all students found within second-cycle institutions. This further implies that this research is constrained to a particular geographical area, limiting its generalizability.

Contribution: This study contributes to the understanding of how social media influences students in second-cycle institutions, highlighting the need for educators and policymakers to establish guidelines for responsible social media use to enhance academic success and mitigate its negative impacts.

Keywords:
1. social media
2. academic performance
3. learning ability
4. writing skills
5. gender difference
Authors:
1 . Taufic Yabang Mohammed
University for Development Studies, Tamale, Ghana
2 . Kukura Yirinibe Philip
University for Development Studies, Tamale, Ghana
3 . Kanita Labaran
University for Development Studies, Tamale, Ghana
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How to Cite
Mohammed, T. Y., Philip, K. Y., & Labaran, K. (2024). The influence of social media on students of second-cycle institutions in Tamale and its implications. Journal of Social, Humanity, and Education, 4(3), 205–217. https://doi.org/10.35912/jshe.v4i3.1939
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Issue & Section
Vol. 4 No. 3 (2024): May
Articles
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

References

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    Agarwal, M., Bishesh, B., Bansal, S., & Kumari, D. (2021). Role of social media on digital distraction: a study on university students. Journal of Content, Community and Communication, 13(7), 125-136.

    Alam, M. K. (2021). A systematic qualitative case study: questions, data collection, NVivo analysis and saturation. Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management: An International Journal, 16(1), 1-31.

    Alnjadat, R., Hmaidi, M. M., Samha, T. E., Kilani, M. M., & Hasswan, A. M. (2019). Gender variations in social media usage and academic performance among the students of University of Sharjah. Journal of Taibah University Medical Sciences, 14(4), 390-394.

    Astatke, M., Weng, C., & Chen, S. (2023). A literature review of the effects of social networking sites on secondary school students’ academic achievement. Interactive Learning Environments, 31(4), 2153-2169.

    Babbie, E. R. (2005). The Basics of Social Research: Thomson/Wadsworth.

    Bandura, A., & Walters, R. H. (1977). Social learning theory (Vol. 1): Englewood cliffs Prentice Hall.

    Bawa, J., Odame, E. D., Kwarteng, A. H., Ayim, A., & Kolugu, M. K. (2021). Social Media Usage and Coping Strategies among University of Ghana Undergraduate Students. The Journal of Social Media for Learning, 2(1), 055-070.

    Belal, A. (2014). Influence of digital social media in writing and speaking of tertiary level student. BRAC University.

    BENTLEY, A. (2021). EXCESSIVE USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA: THE IMPACT ON ADOLESCENT MENTAL HEALTH.

    Bonds-Raacke, J., & Raacke, J. (2010). MySpace and Facebook: Identifying dimensions of uses and gratifications for friend networking sites. Individual differences research, 8(1).

    Case, C. J., King, D. L., & Case, J. A. (2019). Profiling Social Media Usage and Trolling Incidence: A Gender Examination of Undergraduate Business Students. Paper presented at the Proceedings of International Academic Conferences.

    Chan-Olmsted, S., Wolter, L.-C., & Wang, R. (2017). Toward a multidimensional framework of media engagement: Conceptualizing consumer experience and connection with media content in a digital environment. Paper presented at the Emma conf 2017. European Media Management Associafion. https://www. media-management. eu/ocs/index. php/emma/emma2017/paper/view.

    Chen, J., & Wang, Y. (2021). Social media use for health purposes: systematic review. Journal of medical Internet research, 23(5), e17917.

    Dzwigol, H. (2020). Methodological and empirical platform of triangulation in strategic management. Academy of Strategic Management Journal, 19(4), 1-8.

    Fakir, M. K. J. (2023). Cyberbullying among University Students: A Study on Bangladeshi Universities. Journal of Social, Humanity, and Education, 3(2), 119-132.

    Fiadzawoo, J. K., Ismail, M., & Yegblemenawo, S. A. M. (2021). Students’engagement With Social Media And Its Ramifications On Their Participation During Lectures At The Faculty Of Education, Uds-Tamale. Journal Of Education Review, 13(1).

    Fiadzawoo, J. K., Mahama, E. S., & Attati, F. (2022). Online News Patronage Among Students Of University For Development Studies, And Its Pedagogical Perspectives For Language Teachers. European Journal of Education Studies, 9(5).

    Habes, M., Alghizzawi, M., Khalaf, R., Salloum, S. A., & Ghani, M. A. (2018). The relationship between social media and academic performance: Facebook perspective. Int. J. Inf. Technol. Lang. Stud, 2(1), 12-18.

    Hanlon, A., & Jones, K. (2023). Ethical concerns about social media privacy policies: do users have the ability to comprehend their consent actions? Journal of Strategic Marketing, 1-18.

    Harikrishna, M., Ramesh, P., Sait, H., Emad, S., & Somani, K. (2023). Survey on Impact of Social Media on Students. REST Journal on Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence, 2, 2583-5564. doi:10.46632/jdaai/2/2/3

    Herring, S. C., & Kapidzic, S. (2015). Teens, gender, and self-presentation in social media. International encyclopedia of social and behavioral sciences, 2(3), 1-16.

    Hossain, M. A., & Yasmin, F. (2022). Emergency Online Teaching-Learning Model in the Context of Higher-Level Education due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Journal of Social, Humanity, and Education, 2(4), 327-341.

    Hou, Y., Xiong, D., Jiang, T., Song, L., & Wang, Q. (2019). Social media addiction: Its impact, mediation, and intervention. Cyberpsychology: Journal of psychosocial research on cyberspace, 13(1).

    Jones, J. A., & Donmoyer, R. (2021). Improving the trustworthiness/validity of interview data in qualitative nonprofit sector research: The formative influences timeline. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 50(4), 889-904.

    Karpinski, A. C., Kirschner, P. A., Ozer, I., Mellott, J. A., & Ochwo, P. (2013). An exploration of social networking site use, multitasking, and academic performance among United States and European university students. Computers in Human Behavior, 29(3), 1182-1192.

    Khan, D., Banerjee, S., & Gupta, R. K. (2020). Socio-Cultural Effects of Social Media on Students Life. Global Journal of Research in Management, 10(2), 63.

    Khan, S., Sultan, A. A., & Alsamarai, S. (2019). Social media and its adverse effect on academic performance of students. Bulletin of Social Informatics Theory and Application, 3(1), 38-44.

    Kolan, B. J., & Dzandza, P. E. (2018). Effect of social media on academic performance of students in Ghanaian Universities: A case study of University of Ghana, Legon. Library Philosophy and Practice, 0_1-24.

    Kothari, C. R. (2004). Research methodology: Methods and techniques: New Age International.

    Loo, C. W., & Choy, J. (2013). Sources of self-efficacy influencing academic performance of engineering students. American Journal of Educational Research, 1(3), 86-92.

    Mason, A. N., Narcum, J., & Mason, K. (2021). Social media marketing gains importance after Covid-19. Cogent Business & Management, 8(1), 1870797.

    McGowan, B. S., Wasko, M., Vartabedian, B. S., Miller, R. S., Freiherr, D. D., & Abdolrasulnia, M. (2012). Understanding the factors that influence the adoption and meaningful use of social media by physicians to share medical information. Journal of medical Internet research, 14(5), e2138.

    Nasir, K. B., & Neger, M. (2022). Students’ attitude towards online education system: A comparative study between Public and Private Universities in Bangladesh. Journal of Social, Humanity, and Education, 2(2), 167-183.

    Nkhi, S. E. (2023). An Investigation into the Impact of Digital Social Media on the Writing and Speaking Skills of Tertiary Level Students in one Institution in Lesotho. J-SHMIC: Journal of English for Academic, 10(1), 83-93.

    Nutakor, A. E., & Israel, P. C. (2022). Influence of Social Media on Students' Academic Writing and Performance: A Study within Ghanaian Senior High Schools Setting. Social Education Research, 29-41.

    Nwazor, J. C., & Godwin-Maduike, C. C. (2015). Social media and academic performance of business education students in South-East Nigeria. Journal of Education and Practice, 6(25), 127-134.

    O'Keeffe, G. S., & Clarke-Pearson, K. (2011). The impact of social media on children, adolescents, and families. Pediatrics, 127(4), 800-804.

    Orkin, A. M., Rao, S., Venugopal, J., Kithulegoda, N., Wegier, P., Ritchie, S. D., . . . Upshur, R. (2021). Conceptual framework for task shifting and task sharing: an international Delphi study. Human resources for health, 19(1), 1-8.

    Owan, V. J., Owan, M. V., & Eneje, S. (2020). Undergraduates’ utilization of social networking media and sexual behaviours in higher education: A case study. Owan, VJ, Ekpe, MB, & Eneje, S.(2020). Undergraduates’ Utilization of Social Networking Media and Sexual Behaviours in Higher Education: A Case Study. Pedagogical Research, 5(2).

    Owusu-Acheaw, M., & Larson, A. G. (2015). Use of social media and its impact on academic performance of tertiary institution students: A study of students of Koforidua Polytechnic, Ghana. Journal of Education and Practice, 6(6), 94-101.

    Parlak Sert, H., & Ba?kale, H. (2023). Students' increased time spent on social media, and their level of coronavirus anxiety during the pandemic, predict increased social media addiction. Health Information & Libraries Journal, 40(3), 262-274.

    Rahman, M. M., & Al Amin, M. (2023). Factors affecting depression and suicidal tendency among the students for the educational process. Journal of Social, Humanity, and Education, 3(3), 185-196.

    Rahmat, N. H., & Haron, H. (2021). An Investigation of Avoidance Behaviour in Writing. International Journal of Education, 1391, 87-1054.

    Raut, V., & Patil, P. (2016). Use of Social Media in Education: Positive and Negative impact on the students. International Journal on Recent and Innovation Trends in Computing and Communication, 4(1), 281-285.

    Seabrook, E. M., Kern, M. L., & Rickard, N. S. (2016). Social networking sites, depression, and anxiety: a systematic review. JMIR mental health, 3(4), e5842.

    Sinanan, J., & Gomes, C. (2020). ‘Everybody needs friends’: Emotions, social networks and digital media in the friendships of international students. International Journal of Cultural Studies, 23(5), 674-691.

    Sivakumar, R. (2020). Effects of social media on academic performance of the students. The Online Journal of Distance Education and E-learning, 8(2), 90-97.

    Smith, K., & Langer, S. (2023). The Impact of Parental Bereavement on Young People: A Thematic Analysis of Using Online Web Forums as a Method of Coping. OMEGA-Journal of Death and Dying, 87(3), 921-940.

    Surkyn, H., Sandra, D., & Vandekerckhove, R. (2023). When correct spelling hardly matters: Teenagers’ production and perception of spelling error corrections in Dutch social media writing. European Journal of Applied Linguistics(0).

    Talaue, G. M., AlSaad, A., AlRushaidan, N., AlHugail, A., & AlFahhad, S. (2018). The impact of social media on academic performance of selected college students. International Journal of Advanced Information Technology, 8(4/5), 27-35.

    Ting, T. T., Lee, K. T., Lim, S. M., Lai, C. C., Omar, M. A., Alin, J., & Meri, A. (2023). Assessing the identity of digital technology in education in the age of digital communication. Online journal of communication and media technologies, 13(4), e202353.

    Wang, Y., McKee, M., Torbica, A., & Stuckler, D. (2019). Systematic literature review on the spread of health-related misinformation on social media. Social science & medicine, 240, 112552.

    Williams, A. L., & Merten, M. J. (2009). Adolescents' online social networking following the death of a peer. Journal of Adolescent Research, 24(1), 67-90.

  1. Adamu, I. G., Olayinka, A. A., & Usman, M. (2024). Factors influencing students academic performance: Case of Mai Idris Alooma Polytechnic Geidam. Journal of Social, Humanity, and Education, 4(2), 141-152.
  2. Agarwal, M., Bishesh, B., Bansal, S., & Kumari, D. (2021). Role of social media on digital distraction: a study on university students. Journal of Content, Community and Communication, 13(7), 125-136.
  3. Alam, M. K. (2021). A systematic qualitative case study: questions, data collection, NVivo analysis and saturation. Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management: An International Journal, 16(1), 1-31.
  4. Alnjadat, R., Hmaidi, M. M., Samha, T. E., Kilani, M. M., & Hasswan, A. M. (2019). Gender variations in social media usage and academic performance among the students of University of Sharjah. Journal of Taibah University Medical Sciences, 14(4), 390-394.
  5. Astatke, M., Weng, C., & Chen, S. (2023). A literature review of the effects of social networking sites on secondary school students’ academic achievement. Interactive Learning Environments, 31(4), 2153-2169.
  6. Babbie, E. R. (2005). The Basics of Social Research: Thomson/Wadsworth.
  7. Bandura, A., & Walters, R. H. (1977). Social learning theory (Vol. 1): Englewood cliffs Prentice Hall.
  8. Bawa, J., Odame, E. D., Kwarteng, A. H., Ayim, A., & Kolugu, M. K. (2021). Social Media Usage and Coping Strategies among University of Ghana Undergraduate Students. The Journal of Social Media for Learning, 2(1), 055-070.
  9. Belal, A. (2014). Influence of digital social media in writing and speaking of tertiary level student. BRAC University.
  10. BENTLEY, A. (2021). EXCESSIVE USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA: THE IMPACT ON ADOLESCENT MENTAL HEALTH.
  11. Bonds-Raacke, J., & Raacke, J. (2010). MySpace and Facebook: Identifying dimensions of uses and gratifications for friend networking sites. Individual differences research, 8(1).
  12. Case, C. J., King, D. L., & Case, J. A. (2019). Profiling Social Media Usage and Trolling Incidence: A Gender Examination of Undergraduate Business Students. Paper presented at the Proceedings of International Academic Conferences.
  13. Chan-Olmsted, S., Wolter, L.-C., & Wang, R. (2017). Toward a multidimensional framework of media engagement: Conceptualizing consumer experience and connection with media content in a digital environment. Paper presented at the Emma conf 2017. European Media Management Associafion. https://www. media-management. eu/ocs/index. php/emma/emma2017/paper/view.
  14. Chen, J., & Wang, Y. (2021). Social media use for health purposes: systematic review. Journal of medical Internet research, 23(5), e17917.
  15. Dzwigol, H. (2020). Methodological and empirical platform of triangulation in strategic management. Academy of Strategic Management Journal, 19(4), 1-8.
  16. Fakir, M. K. J. (2023). Cyberbullying among University Students: A Study on Bangladeshi Universities. Journal of Social, Humanity, and Education, 3(2), 119-132.
  17. Fiadzawoo, J. K., Ismail, M., & Yegblemenawo, S. A. M. (2021). Students’engagement With Social Media And Its Ramifications On Their Participation During Lectures At The Faculty Of Education, Uds-Tamale. Journal Of Education Review, 13(1).
  18. Fiadzawoo, J. K., Mahama, E. S., & Attati, F. (2022). Online News Patronage Among Students Of University For Development Studies, And Its Pedagogical Perspectives For Language Teachers. European Journal of Education Studies, 9(5).
  19. Habes, M., Alghizzawi, M., Khalaf, R., Salloum, S. A., & Ghani, M. A. (2018). The relationship between social media and academic performance: Facebook perspective. Int. J. Inf. Technol. Lang. Stud, 2(1), 12-18.
  20. Hanlon, A., & Jones, K. (2023). Ethical concerns about social media privacy policies: do users have the ability to comprehend their consent actions? Journal of Strategic Marketing, 1-18.
  21. Harikrishna, M., Ramesh, P., Sait, H., Emad, S., & Somani, K. (2023). Survey on Impact of Social Media on Students. REST Journal on Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence, 2, 2583-5564. doi:10.46632/jdaai/2/2/3
  22. Herring, S. C., & Kapidzic, S. (2015). Teens, gender, and self-presentation in social media. International encyclopedia of social and behavioral sciences, 2(3), 1-16.
  23. Hossain, M. A., & Yasmin, F. (2022). Emergency Online Teaching-Learning Model in the Context of Higher-Level Education due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Journal of Social, Humanity, and Education, 2(4), 327-341.
  24. Hou, Y., Xiong, D., Jiang, T., Song, L., & Wang, Q. (2019). Social media addiction: Its impact, mediation, and intervention. Cyberpsychology: Journal of psychosocial research on cyberspace, 13(1).
  25. Jones, J. A., & Donmoyer, R. (2021). Improving the trustworthiness/validity of interview data in qualitative nonprofit sector research: The formative influences timeline. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 50(4), 889-904.
  26. Karpinski, A. C., Kirschner, P. A., Ozer, I., Mellott, J. A., & Ochwo, P. (2013). An exploration of social networking site use, multitasking, and academic performance among United States and European university students. Computers in Human Behavior, 29(3), 1182-1192.
  27. Khan, D., Banerjee, S., & Gupta, R. K. (2020). Socio-Cultural Effects of Social Media on Students Life. Global Journal of Research in Management, 10(2), 63.
  28. Khan, S., Sultan, A. A., & Alsamarai, S. (2019). Social media and its adverse effect on academic performance of students. Bulletin of Social Informatics Theory and Application, 3(1), 38-44.
  29. Kolan, B. J., & Dzandza, P. E. (2018). Effect of social media on academic performance of students in Ghanaian Universities: A case study of University of Ghana, Legon. Library Philosophy and Practice, 0_1-24.
  30. Kothari, C. R. (2004). Research methodology: Methods and techniques: New Age International.
  31. Loo, C. W., & Choy, J. (2013). Sources of self-efficacy influencing academic performance of engineering students. American Journal of Educational Research, 1(3), 86-92.
  32. Mason, A. N., Narcum, J., & Mason, K. (2021). Social media marketing gains importance after Covid-19. Cogent Business & Management, 8(1), 1870797.
  33. McGowan, B. S., Wasko, M., Vartabedian, B. S., Miller, R. S., Freiherr, D. D., & Abdolrasulnia, M. (2012). Understanding the factors that influence the adoption and meaningful use of social media by physicians to share medical information. Journal of medical Internet research, 14(5), e2138.
  34. Nasir, K. B., & Neger, M. (2022). Students’ attitude towards online education system: A comparative study between Public and Private Universities in Bangladesh. Journal of Social, Humanity, and Education, 2(2), 167-183.
  35. Nkhi, S. E. (2023). An Investigation into the Impact of Digital Social Media on the Writing and Speaking Skills of Tertiary Level Students in one Institution in Lesotho. J-SHMIC: Journal of English for Academic, 10(1), 83-93.
  36. Nutakor, A. E., & Israel, P. C. (2022). Influence of Social Media on Students' Academic Writing and Performance: A Study within Ghanaian Senior High Schools Setting. Social Education Research, 29-41.
  37. Nwazor, J. C., & Godwin-Maduike, C. C. (2015). Social media and academic performance of business education students in South-East Nigeria. Journal of Education and Practice, 6(25), 127-134.
  38. O'Keeffe, G. S., & Clarke-Pearson, K. (2011). The impact of social media on children, adolescents, and families. Pediatrics, 127(4), 800-804.
  39. Orkin, A. M., Rao, S., Venugopal, J., Kithulegoda, N., Wegier, P., Ritchie, S. D., . . . Upshur, R. (2021). Conceptual framework for task shifting and task sharing: an international Delphi study. Human resources for health, 19(1), 1-8.
  40. Owan, V. J., Owan, M. V., & Eneje, S. (2020). Undergraduates’ utilization of social networking media and sexual behaviours in higher education: A case study. Owan, VJ, Ekpe, MB, & Eneje, S.(2020). Undergraduates’ Utilization of Social Networking Media and Sexual Behaviours in Higher Education: A Case Study. Pedagogical Research, 5(2).
  41. Owusu-Acheaw, M., & Larson, A. G. (2015). Use of social media and its impact on academic performance of tertiary institution students: A study of students of Koforidua Polytechnic, Ghana. Journal of Education and Practice, 6(6), 94-101.
  42. Parlak Sert, H., & Ba?kale, H. (2023). Students' increased time spent on social media, and their level of coronavirus anxiety during the pandemic, predict increased social media addiction. Health Information & Libraries Journal, 40(3), 262-274.
  43. Rahman, M. M., & Al Amin, M. (2023). Factors affecting depression and suicidal tendency among the students for the educational process. Journal of Social, Humanity, and Education, 3(3), 185-196.
  44. Rahmat, N. H., & Haron, H. (2021). An Investigation of Avoidance Behaviour in Writing. International Journal of Education, 1391, 87-1054.
  45. Raut, V., & Patil, P. (2016). Use of Social Media in Education: Positive and Negative impact on the students. International Journal on Recent and Innovation Trends in Computing and Communication, 4(1), 281-285.
  46. Seabrook, E. M., Kern, M. L., & Rickard, N. S. (2016). Social networking sites, depression, and anxiety: a systematic review. JMIR mental health, 3(4), e5842.
  47. Sinanan, J., & Gomes, C. (2020). ‘Everybody needs friends’: Emotions, social networks and digital media in the friendships of international students. International Journal of Cultural Studies, 23(5), 674-691.
  48. Sivakumar, R. (2020). Effects of social media on academic performance of the students. The Online Journal of Distance Education and E-learning, 8(2), 90-97.
  49. Smith, K., & Langer, S. (2023). The Impact of Parental Bereavement on Young People: A Thematic Analysis of Using Online Web Forums as a Method of Coping. OMEGA-Journal of Death and Dying, 87(3), 921-940.
  50. Surkyn, H., Sandra, D., & Vandekerckhove, R. (2023). When correct spelling hardly matters: Teenagers’ production and perception of spelling error corrections in Dutch social media writing. European Journal of Applied Linguistics(0).
  51. Talaue, G. M., AlSaad, A., AlRushaidan, N., AlHugail, A., & AlFahhad, S. (2018). The impact of social media on academic performance of selected college students. International Journal of Advanced Information Technology, 8(4/5), 27-35.
  52. Ting, T. T., Lee, K. T., Lim, S. M., Lai, C. C., Omar, M. A., Alin, J., & Meri, A. (2023). Assessing the identity of digital technology in education in the age of digital communication. Online journal of communication and media technologies, 13(4), e202353.
  53. Wang, Y., McKee, M., Torbica, A., & Stuckler, D. (2019). Systematic literature review on the spread of health-related misinformation on social media. Social science & medicine, 240, 112552.
  54. Williams, A. L., & Merten, M. J. (2009). Adolescents' online social networking following the death of a peer. Journal of Adolescent Research, 24(1), 67-90.