ACADEMIC AND NON-ACADEMIC USE OF SOCIAL NETWORKINGSITESBYELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY EDUCATIONSTUDENTSINOGUN STATE

Abstract

This study investigated the academic and non-academic use of social networking sites byElectrical and Electronics Technology Education students in universities in Ogun State, Nigeria. The study was guided by four research questions. A descriptive survey research designwasadopted, and the entire population of 85 students across two universities participated in the study. Data were collected using a questionnaire titled Social Networking Sites Usage Questionnaire. The instrument was validated by three experts. Cronbach Alpha was used to establish the internal consistency of the instrument, and it showed a reliability coefficient of 0.88. Data were analysedusing frequency counts, percentages, means, and standard deviation. Findings revealedthat
WhatsApp is the most preferred social networking platform among the students, followed by Facebook, Telegram, Instagram, and X, with LinkedIn being the least utilized. The analysis showed that students predominantly engage in non-academic activities such as social interaction, entertainment, and stress relief. Academic engagements such as consulting lecturers or participating in academic forums were minimal. Most students spent between 30 minutes to1hour daily on academic-related use of social media, but a large majority spend between5to7hours on non-academic use. The study concluded that although social networking sites have academic potential, they are currently underutilized for educational purposes by Electrical and Electronics Technology Education students in Ogun State. It was recommended that universities should integrate social networking tools into instructional delivery and incorporate digital literacy into the curriculum in order to maximize the academic benefits of social media.