INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA USAGE ON SOCIAL ADJUSTMENT AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN JOS SOUTH LGA, PLATEAU STATE

Abstract

The study investigated the influence of social media usage on social adjustment and academic performance of secondary school students in Jos South LGA, Plateau State. Four research questions and four hypotheses guided the study. Descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. The population of this study consisted of 5,422 SS2 students. A sample of 357 was used for the study. However, 200 students successfully returned their questionnaire which was used for analysis. A researcher-made instrument titled “Social Media and Social Adjustment of Senior Secondary School Students Questionnaire” (SMSASSSSQ) was used to collect data for the
study. The SMSASSSSQ instrument was structured in a 4-point rating scale with the response options of Strongly Agree (SA) 4 points, agree (A) 3 points, Disagree (D) 2 points and Strongly Disagree (SD) 1 point. The null hypotheses were tested using t-test at 0.05 level of significance using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25. Based on the findings of this study, it was concluded that there is a significant influence of social media variables such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter and Snapchat on social adjustment and academic performance of secondary school students in Jos South LGA, Plateau State. In the light of the findings and conclusion drawn in this study, it was recommended among others that students should use Facebook positively to promote social adjustment and academic performance.