Social Media Usage and Its Impact on Academic Performance on Tertiary Education Students in the Bono Region of Ghana

Abstract

This study examined the impact of social media usage on academic performance among students in Colleges of Education. Quantitative method and descriptive survey design were used in this study. Simple random sampling technique was adopted to select 200 students to participate in the study. Questionnaires were used to elicit data from respondents. Data collected were analyzed using SPSS. The following were major findings: the study revealed that the majority of students used WhatsApp and Facebook for making friends and chatting. Majority of the students indicated that social media sites affected their academic performance negatively because they were distracted from their studies. Also, students shared ideas, discussed and shared examination questions among themselves on social media sites. The researcher recommends creation of awareness on applications that are academic oriented so that the students can utilize them whenever they are online such as google drive, drop box, iBook among others.