Review of Related Literature and Studies

Related Literature

Using social media to enhance the learning process can take a number of forms, target

various skills, and utilize different tools. University educators propose that social media can have

a positive influence on interaction, engagement, knowledge building, and sense of community

(Rovai, 2001). However, there is also research that shows that these same tools can distract

learners from their studies and encourage procrastination and superficial thinking. The following

section will present some of the studies that addressed the relationship between social media and

academic performance and learning. This review presents a snapshot mainly on studies dealing

with the most popular social networking tools such as Facebook, rather than a comprehensive

review of all forms of social media.

Students and teenagers have especially recognized these social media platforms to be able

to contact their peers, share information, reinvent their personas and showcase their social live

(Nicole, 2007), Facebook users often experience poor academic performance. Social media has a

negative association with students’ academic performance which is much greater than the

advantages derived through the use of social media platforms. People around the globe have

been addicted to the internet which has given rise to more students using social media more often

than before (Karpinski ,2009). Addicted users love to use the internet to set back their personal

and professional responsibilities in which the final outcome is poor academic performance

(Nalwa & Anand ,2003). Social media platforms (Facebook, watzapp etc.) users usually devote

lesser time to their studies has to compared to nonusers did and subsequently has lower GPAs
Karpinski (2009. Among the major distraction of current generation that social media platform

(such Facebook, Watzapp etc.) remains a major distraction (Karpinski, & Duberstein ,2009),

There is a correlation between academic performance and the dependency on social media

platforms (Kubey, Lavin, and Barrows ,2001).Researchers have conducted different studies to

find out the influence of social platforms users, for instance a study on ‘’impact of Facebook on

undergraduates’ academic performance’’, stated that social platforms have negative impact on

students.

Students’ academic performance is affected the more they use Facebook. Social

platforms are mainly used by students for socializing activities rather than academic purpose

(Oye, 2012). In addition (Oye, 2012) said that majority of students feel that social platforms have

positive impact on academic growth (ISSN: 2289-6694, Page 16). “The consequences of internet

and social platforms on students’ academic growth’’ was seen that internet has spread its wings

to reach teenager’s school life. Internet, though take a lot of time, and have less impact on studies

(Young, 2006). Internet addiction is significantly and negatively related to students’ academic

growth, as well as emotional attributes (Jeong,2005). Social platforms which are being used

today with great desire and enthusiasm have altered the way of using internets in this modern age

by defining online tools and utilities which allow users for communication, participation and

collaboration of information online (Rather, 2013, p. 69). Today’s young generation, especially

teens and youth are using technology through innovative ways due to which they are referred to

as millennial and have changed the way they think, work and communicate even though they are

in formative years of their life. Today’s youth because of social platforms have become

technology addicts and are quite withdrawn. (Sandra Okyeadie Mensah, November, 2016)
 Related Studies

This section cites and discusses the foreign and local studies related to the present study. It

provides the researchers an understanding on how they conducted their research.

Foreign studies

The advanced and improved usage of social media platforms such as Facebook has

become a worldwide phenomenon for quite some time. Though it all started has been a hobby for

several computer literate’s individual has changed to become a social norm and existence-style

for students around the world.

The study conducted by Jain, Verma, Verma and Tiwari (2012), titled “the impact of

social networking in promoting education’’ revealed that students benefit from chatting with

other students, teachers and external sources to acquire knowledge. Positive effects of social

media on students’ academic life Students’ academic life has moved to a different dimension

since the introduction of these social media networks and several studies have affirmed that

social media plays an important role on students in higher education including the study

conducted by Wheeler, Yeomans and Wheeler,(2008); Rifkin, Longnecker, Leach and Ortia,

(2009). In their study, they recognized four (4) major advantages of social media usage by

students in higher education which included; enhancing relationship, improving learning

motivation, offering personalized course material, and developing collaborative abilities. Indeed,

social media has contributed greatly to facilitating learning in the 21st century.

Different researchers have conducted research to ascertain the influence of social media

on users; for example, moon (2011) in a study on “impact of Facebook on undergraduate

academic performance, averred that social media have negative impact on students. According to

the result, the more students use Facebook, the more it affects their academic performance.

Similarly, oye (2012), noted that most of the younger students use social networking sites mainly

for socializing activities, rather than for academic purpose. Oye, (2012) further observed that

most of the students do feel that social networking sites have more positive impact on their

academic performance. In another study conducted by Shana, (2012), it was revealed that

students use social network mainly for making friends and chatting. The result showed that only

26 percent of the students (respondents) indicated that they use social media for academic

purpose.

Local Studies

According to Wilson (2013), although social media do really have positive

impacts to an individual’s life or even to the whole community, too much using of these

would begin to interfere with their lives wherein he stated the psychologists refer this

as social media compulsion and addiction. He listed some of the symptoms of being a

social media addict and some of the most common are:

1. Spending too much hour daily in using it.

2. Losing sleep because of too much use.

3. Using these social media as an escape of the reality that is happening

around.

Knowing the symptoms would be really easy to anyone but trying to the stop the

addiction of using these would not be so easy because some people try to deny that
they have some of the symptoms due to their need and want of using social media in

making their lives pass by day to day.

The popularity of social media increased rapidly in the last decade. This is

probably due to the reason that college and university students as well as teens use it

extensively to get global access. This social media such as Twitter and Facebook have

become a raging craze for everyone nowadays (performancing.com).

The negative effects of these social media over weigh the positive ones. These

sites have caused some potential harm to society. The students become victims of

social network more often than anyone else. This is because of the reason that when

they are studying or searching their course material online, they get attracted to other

sites to kill the boredom in their study time, diverting their attention from their work.