SOCIAL MEDIA USAGE AND ATTITUDE OF STUDENTS TO LECTURES IN PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES IN SOUTH-WESTERN NIGERIA: THE DIMENSIONS AND PROSPECTS

Abstract

Over the years, social media has become an active technological tool in Nigeria. It is a news and communication channel that has made dissemination of information easy, with a snap of the finger on cellphones for teeming population; especially among the technologically savvy youths / students in various institution of higher learning. Higher education curriculum do emphasize integration and use of technology in teaching and learning, despite low policy implementation. This paper investigated the influence of social media usage on the attitude of students to lectures, in private universities. It also discussed its implications on academic performance and counselling. The paper adopted the use of descriptive survey research design approach. Three hundred (300) questionnaires (187 online and 113 manual) of twenty (20) items, were used to collect data from students across the nine (9) faculties in the randomly sampled six (6) private universities in the South-Western States of Nigeria. Data was analyzed using SPSS App / Percentages. Findings from the study revealed that students’ subscribed to the efficacy of social media on their studies (75.9%) than for fun (24.1%). It also revealed that students’ confessed to have adequate knowledge of social media as the major influence of their academic performance (67.2%), while 32.8% disagreed.  The study therefore concluded that the irresistible usage of social media among students (youth) has significantly contributed to the recorded poor attendance at physical classroom lectures. The study recommended that the use of social media for meeting with students after physical classroom / online classrooms should be encouraged and integrated in instructional delivery process in tertiary institutions, to enhance knowledge and skills acquisition for sustainable national development.