Social Media Usage and English Language Performance of Secondary Students in Ilorin, Kwara State

Abstract

The pervasive use of social media among students, facilitated by easy access to various devices connected to the internet, has led to concerns about its potential negative impact on the mental health of students and its implications on their academic performance. This study investigated the relationship between social media usage and academic performance among secondary school students in the English language, with implications for counselling among students in Ilorin, Kwara State. This study employed a descriptive survey research design to investigate the effect of social media usage on the academic performance of secondary school students in the English language. The study population included four hundred and twelve (412) private Senior Secondary School 2 students in Asa Local Government Area, Ilorin. A purposive, simple random and convenience sampling technique was utilized to select 210 samples from six (6) private schools in Asa Local Government Area in Ilorin. Two (2) research hypotheses were tested. The research instrument consists of a questionnaire adapted from the Social Media Usage and its effect on Youth Questionnaire developed by Bashir (2021). Analysis was done using multiple regression and two-way ANOVA at a 0.05 level of significance. The instrument went through a reliability test using Cronbach's alpha coefficient yielding a value of r = 0.87. The findings revealed no significant relationship between social media usage and academic performance; among male and female secondary school secondary school 2 students in English Language. It was recommended that students should be encouraged to use phones for academics, not just chatting, limit social media and expand academic social networking.