1

IMPACT OF SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES ON STUDENTS ACADEMIC

PERFORMANCE

An Investigation on the Impact of Social Networking Sites on the Pre University Science

Students of the Montego Bay Community College Academic Performance

Jonelle S. Nicholson

Montego Bay Community College

 2

IMPACT OF SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES ON STUDENTS ACADEMIC

PERFORMANCE

Table of Contents:

Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………3

Literature Review ……………………………………………………………………………….5

Data Collection…………………………………………………………………….……………..8

Presentation of Data……………………………………………………………………………..10

Analysis of Data …………………………………………………………………………….…...20

Discussion of Findings ……………………….……………………………………….…………23

Conclusion/Limitations of the Research/Recommendations …………………………..…….….25

References……………………………………………………………………………………….26

Appendices ……………………………………………………………………………...………28
 3

IMPACT OF SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES ON STUDENTS ACADEMIC

PERFORMANCE

INTRODUCTION

Relevance of topic

Over the years technology has increased substantially and has become a part of many peoples’

lives, particularly for the younger generation today. Many students are constantly online engaging

in research, chatting with friends or most often on social networking sites. This study aims to

determine if students’ use of social networking sites has positively or negatively impacted their

academic performance.

Problem Statement

Social networking sites provide an avenue for students to access a wide variety of information and

knowledge easily. As such if students engage in its use appropriately, they would be able to take

advantage of its benefits and advance in their academic endeavors, all in all improving their well-

being and human development. However, if students abuse its use and neglect their academics

then a fall in their advancement in life, due to inadequate education, may result in a decline in

human development.

Educational Value

The findings from this study will help the students and teachers of the Montego Bay Community

College become aware of advantages and disadvantages of Social Networking sites. Students will

become more conscious on the impact of social networking on their academic performance and as

such will engage in its use more productively in the future. The lecturers at MBCC would become
 4

IMPACT OF SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES ON STUDENTS ACADEMIC

PERFORMANCE

cognizant of its impact on their students’ academic performance and if necessary formulate rules

and regulations for its use in the classroom suitably.

 5

IMPACT OF SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES ON STUDENTS ACADEMIC

PERFORMANCE

Literature Review

Social media has really become an integral part of people in daily lives (Boyd & Ellison, 2007;

Hakoyama & Hakoyama, 2011). Raacke & Raacke-Bonds (2008), Williams & Merten (2009) and

Raffterty (2009) indicated that people have a social networking sites account based on difference

reasons (making new friends, following famous people, sharing personal information, commenting

the events, etc.). According to Hughes (2009) in his report Higher Education in a Web 2.0 World,

defines social media as a collection of Internet websites, services, and practices that support

collaboration, community building, participation, and sharing.

In this study, social networking and social media are used interchangeably. The goal of social

networking is to encourage new ways to communicate and share information. Observations

showed, however, that many students have been blaming various social networking for it affects

adversely their study habits and poor academic performances.

Social networking became popular between 2004 and 2006, after Facebook and MySpace were

created. Facebook has over 500 million members and it is still growing. Approximately 85% of

undergraduate students are Facebook users (Schneider, 2009). Although this facility is used by

people of all age groups, but the predominant social networking site users are young adults; three

quarters of adult internet users under age 25 have a profile on these sites. The popularity of these

sites is attracting more and more adult users. In 2005, only 8% of adult internet users had an online

profile, and number quadrupled to 35% on 2007 (Lenhart and Madden, 2007).

Junco, Merson and Salter (2010) discusses the excessive use of social media tools by college

students has led to debate over whether or not it has changed the very shape and structure of
 6

IMPACT OF SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES ON STUDENTS ACADEMIC

PERFORMANCE

students’ social behavior and academic practices, and has thus caused leading educators to redefine

their understanding of interpersonal communication and study dynamics.

A study carried out by Eke, Omekwu and Odoh (2014) investigated the use of Social Networking

Sites among the undergraduate students of University of Nigeria, Nsukka. A descriptive survey

research design was employed for data collection as they distributed questionnaires to a sample

size of 150 undergraduate students of university of Nigeria Nsukka who were selected via random

sampling techniques. Through this survey they were able to conclude that the students’ main use

of SNSs was for recreational reasons rather than academic. They highlighted SNSs were

predominantly engaged for the use of chatting with friends, watching movies and listening to

music.

Research by Helou and Rabim (2014) examined the influence of social networking sites on

students’ academic performance in Malaysia. Helou and Rabim collected data through a survey.

They randomly distributed 30 questionnaires consisting of 31 questions to undergraduate and

postgraduate students of the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. They suggested that Social

Networking Sites have more of a positive impact on academic performance rather than negative.

They identify that SNSs can be used for various academic activities such as communicating with

the faculty and university authorities, communicating with lecturers and supervisors, discussion.

According to Hay (2011), the more time spent on social networking sites, the less they may be

good for students’ social lives, in the way that it may cause them to be more illiterate; short forms,

and even the limited amount of characters one is allowed to type on certain statuses, don’t help

expand the writing portion of a student’s mind resulting in lower grade averages and less time
 7

IMPACT OF SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES ON STUDENTS ACADEMIC

PERFORMANCE

spent on studies. However, the positive is also that an interactive world‛ full of ideas and insight

and opinions can act as an aid for school work in the sense that students have a wide range of

people’s information, knowledge, and experience to learn from and to report on.
 8

IMPACT OF SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES ON STUDENTS ACADEMIC

PERFORMANCE

Data Collection
This study took on the form of applied research as the investigation was carried out to find answers

to a practical problem. In order to gain information on this topic, both primary and secondary

resources were used. The primary data collection source that was used in this research came in the

form of a questionnaire via Google Forms while the secondary data collection source came in the

form of books and the internet.

The Data Collection Instruments

With respect to the primary source of information, the students of the year two Pre-University

Science students of Montego Bay Community College were the targeted population used to

create the sample for research. They were chosen because they were the easiest group to contact

via WhatsApp groups and also because of their field of study which is considered one of the

hardest areas of study proved them to be the most practical group to provide data on the topic of

investigation. The sampling procedure used to select the students of the sample was simple

random sampling.

The survey was a done online using Google Forms and a link was sent around to different

WhatsApp groups and a correspondents of twenty two students was received. The questionnaire

encompassed fifteen questions; with fourteen being closed ended questions and one being an open

ended question.

The secondary sources of information used were already published data which included

textbooks, journals and publications found on the internet. They were used as a means of gaining
 9

IMPACT OF SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES ON STUDENTS ACADEMIC

PERFORMANCE

a better understanding on the concepts and definitions associated with the topic which was being

researched.
 10

IMPACT OF SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES ON STUDENTS ACADEMIC

PERFORMANCE

Presentation of Data

Figure 1 A pie chart representing the age ranges of the student.

Figure 2 A pie chart representing the different sex of the students who participated.
 11

IMPACT OF SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES ON STUDENTS ACADEMIC

PERFORMANCE

Figure 3: A pie chart representing the students who engage in SNS..

 12

IMPACT OF SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES ON STUDENTS ACADEMIC

PERFORMANCE

Figure 4: A pie chart representing how many SNS students participate in.

Figure 5: A bar graph representing the different SNS students participate in.
 13

IMPACT OF SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES ON STUDENTS ACADEMIC

PERFORMANCE

Figure 6: A pie chart representing the hours students spent on SNS per day..
 14

IMPACT OF SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES ON STUDENTS ACADEMIC

PERFORMANCE

Figure 7: A pie chart representing the main device students use to access SNS.

Figure 8: A pie chart representing students who use SNS during a class.
 15

IMPACT OF SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES ON STUDENTS ACADEMIC

PERFORMANCE

The use of Social Networking Sites' in class

15
16

14

12
number of students

10 Entertainment

8 Share Information
Educational
6

4
1 1
2

0
Uses

Figure 9 A bar chart displaying the reasons for students’ use of Social Networking Sites in
class

Figure 10: A pie chart representing students who use SNS at home.
 16

IMPACT OF SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES ON STUDENTS ACADEMIC

PERFORMANCE

Figure 11 A cone chart displaying the reasons for students’ use of Social Networking Sites
at home
 17

IMPACT OF SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES ON STUDENTS ACADEMIC

PERFORMANCE

Figure 12: A pie chart representing the impact that SNS has on the students who participated.
 18

IMPACT OF SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES ON STUDENTS ACADEMIC

PERFORMANCE

Justification for Positive impact Justification for Negative Impact

Easy communication to share info with I spend too much time here instead of
friends, learn in an interactive manner studying

It keeps me informed I am easily distracted by it

I find information imminently I've been Time consumption

able to apply to my studies

You can create study groups Time consuming

Memes help relieve stress Well honestly there is no impact but I guess it
makes me distracted but I usually make up
for That

Along with entertainment. I use social It can be a distraction at times when trying to
networks to find fun ways to approach study
study information such as Studyblr,
StudyInspo on pinterest and tumblr

Helps me to communicate with my Takes up some my time

classmates more efficiently about school
matters

Share class notes and group work I’m saying negative since my academic
efficiently performance has dropped since becoming
social media active.

Use the sites to do research hence to help It at times distract me after using it I get a
with assignments nonchalant feeling towards school work and
not wanting to do any

It helps to get and share information They distract me from my studies.

among friends

Assists in providing me with extra content Allows me to relax and work more efficiently
with regards to my studies but it allows for major procrastination

Figure 13: A table revealing students’ justification for the impact of SNS’s on their academic
performance.
 19

IMPACT OF SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES ON STUDENTS ACADEMIC

PERFORMANCE

Do you think social networking sites can help to improve your academic performance?
Please justify your answer.

Yes. Because it is a good place to share information between friends.

No
Stay awake to get work done. SNS keeps u active and not sleepy while trying to get work done
Yes, if an individual filter their social media to get information that is mostly educational and has
a community that can assist them with their academic tasks, they can improve their academic
performance.
In one-way, social media can serve as a serious distraction. However, if it was utilized by
schools to convey academic information the possibility exists that more people will learn and
understand concepts
Yea I do...it allows us to connect with others rather than actually meeting in person.
for study groups and interaction with teachers
Yes
Yes
Yes, they can. No justification required.
Yes.
Yes and No, depending on how it is use
Yes. It is a way to maintain communication with classmates outside of school and can be used
for video calling friends to study and obtaining information like class notes or homework from
them.
No....there's hardly anything academically on social networks
Online study groups, Google Docs enables you to write on documents simultaneously with
others.
It's is a distraction but said person is mature enough then these sights can be used education wise
to improve academic performance
Yes. YouTube for example has numerous videos better explaining concepts taught in class;
Google provides justification for answers teachers vaguely give etc.
Can get information
Yes, I do believe so it’s really and truly how one manages their time and how balance they are as
an individual themselves, to just ensure that play isn't affecting work.
It facilitates learning in a more interesting and innovating way
It is possible as they promote communication with others and can provide information about the
studies.
Yes, because it is easier to connect with the lecturer and share information among friends

Figure 14: Responses to whether or not SNS can improve academic performances and justified
reasons.
 20

IMPACT OF SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES ON STUDENTS ACADEMIC

PERFORMANCE

ANALYSIS OF DATA

Figure 1 displays a pie chart of the age ranges of students of the Pre-University year 2 Science

students. According to the figure majority of 72.7% of students are between the ages of 15-18

years and 27.3% are between ages 19-21. Figure 2 illustrated a pie chart of the different sex that

participated. 36.4% of the correspondents are males and 63.6% are females.

Figure 3 is a pie chart that shows that all who participated in the survey use some form of social

networking site. This may be because students have wide access to technology as such inclining

them to engage in the use of SNS.

Figure 4 displayed a pie chart of the number of Social Networking Sites used by students.

According to the figure, 81.8% of respondents are engaged in 3 or more SNS while the lowest

18.2% of respondents engaged in 2 SNS. This may be because of the wide assortments of SNS

available online and the ease of creating an account.

Figure 5 showcased a column chart of the types of social networking sites used by students.

According to the figure Snapchat was the most popular networking site among the students with

majority of 95.5% choosing the option. Instagram came a close second with 81.8% of students

choosing this site. Whilst the least favoured SNSs included Google+, Tumblr, Facebook and

Pintrest. This may because on Snapchat everyday moments, embarrassing videos, and unflattering

selfies reign supreme. Younger people’s social status is more strongly associated with their social

media activity.
 21

IMPACT OF SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES ON STUDENTS ACADEMIC

PERFORMANCE

Figure 6 highlighted the number of hours spent by students on SNS in a typical day. The figure

revealed that 63.8% of respondents used SNS more than 5 hours a day while the least being 5.4%

of respondents who agreed on 1 hours a day. Figure 7 represented a pie chart of the devices used

the by the students to access SNSs. According to the figure an overwhelming 100% of respondents

used smartphones to access SNSs. This suggests that the most widely used technology among

students is a smart phone. Therefore, it can be seen that students use social networking sites quite

frequently throughout a day through the use of their smart phone.

Figure 8 represented a pie chart showing student who use SNS during class. 77.3% yes and 22.7%

said they do not use it. Figure 9 is a bar chart that illustrates the reasons why students use Social

Networking Sites in class. The figure revealed that the main reason for its use in class was for

Entertainment as 88.24% of respondents who confessed to using SNS during class agreed on this

option. The least common reasons included Educational and Sharing Information at 5.88% each.

Figure 10 is a pie chart which represents students who engages in SNS at home. (20) 90.9%of

respondents said and (2) 9.1% said no. Figure 11 illustrated a cone chart of the reasons why

students use Social Networking Sites at home. The figure disclosed a similar a trend to the reasons

for its use in class. Entertainment was still the leading reason for the use of SNS at 80%. Social

Connections was Accordingly, educational and informational remained the inferior reasons for the

use SNSs, with both reasons contracting to 10%. These results may be due to the fact that students

find entertainment more appealing than education especially in the comfort of their home.

Figure 12 showcased a pie chart of the impact in which social networking sites has on students’

academic performance. According to the figure 50% of students agreed that SNS’s has a positive

impact on their academic performance and the other 50% indicated a positive impact. Figure 13
 22

IMPACT OF SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES ON STUDENTS ACADEMIC

PERFORMANCE

showed a table on students’ justifications on their chosen impact of SNS on their performance. For

the respondents who chose a positive impact, most justified their answer by declaring it as a source

of information. The respondents who chose a negative impact shared a common justification where

they stated that SNSs served as a distraction from their studies Therefore from this study it can be

concluded that Social Networking Sites have a negative impact on students’ academic performance

because it proves as a distraction from studying habits.

Figure 13 shows responses to whether or not SNSs can aid academic performances. Responses

included both positive and negative feedback with majority responding agreeing it is solely on

how one filters their use, majority also agreed that online study groups and sharing information

among friends is one major way SNS aid academic performance.

 23

IMPACT OF SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES ON STUDENTS ACADEMIC

PERFORMANCE

DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS

From this study it was indicated that students at the Montego Bay Community College engage in

the use of Social Networking Sites. Moreover the study found that the majority of the students

were between the ages of 15-18 years. This supports Lenhart and Madden (2007) who stated in his

report that SNS’s are predominantly used by those under 25.

The study showed that the use of SNS is really popular as more than 60% of respondents indicated

spending more than five hours throughout a day on Social Networking Sites. Moreover the study

revealed that among the students smart phones are the preferred device used to access social

networking sites.

Majority of the students whether at home or in class indicated that their main reason for using

Social Networking Sites was for Entertainment, like looking at memes and scrolling through

Instagram and Social connections, such as keeping in touch with family and friends. Eke, Omekwu

and Odoh (2014) indicated from their study that amongst college students SNSs are predominantly

used for the purpose of chatting with friends, watching movies and listening to music.

It has been made clear that SNS’s can impact a students’ academic performance in many ways.

From this study 50% felt that Social Networking Sites has had a negative impact on their academic

performance and the other 50% felt that it made a positive impact. These negative respondents

expressed a common justification for its negative impact as most viewed Social Networking Sites

as a distraction from their studies and the positive impact was commonly through sharing

information. Helou and Rabim (2014) suggests that Social Networking Sites had more of a positive

impact on academic performance rather than negative. They identified Social Networks Sites as
 24

IMPACT OF SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES ON STUDENTS ACADEMIC

PERFORMANCE

an avenue for various academic activities such as communicating with the faculty and university

authorities, communicating with lecturers and supervisors, discussion. It is recommended to

increase the level of awareness and enthusiasm among students on how to use social networking

sites to their academic advantage.

 25

IMPACT OF SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES ON STUDENTS ACADEMIC

PERFORMANCE

CONCLUSION

The effects of social networking sites on the students were examined in this study. The prevalence

of SNS’s among students was found to be remarkably high with its level of use being more than 5

hours of a students’ typical day. In the results acquired, it may be concluded that social media

facilitates the academic experience with the majority of the participants but need to control and

manage their time unless it will affect the use of social media negatively on the academic

performance of students.

LIMITATIONS

Respondents didn’t answer some questions completely and this in turn affected the conclusion

made by the researcher as a full set of data was not collected from the sample to appropriately

represent the views of the population.

RECOMMENDATIONS

 It is recommended to increase the level of control parents and the institution has on

students’ social networking use. Parents should manage students’ use of SNS’s at home by

developing an unambiguous schedule stating appropriate times for its use. The institution

should modify the use of the school’s internet connection in such a manner that students

could only access educational social networking sites.

● It is recommended to increase the level of awareness and enthusiasm among students on

how to use social networking sites to their academic advantage. This may include

workshops and campaigns.

 26

IMPACT OF SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES ON STUDENTS ACADEMIC

PERFORMANCE

REFERENCE

Adam, C., Helou, I., & Mahamat, M. (2014). The influence of social networking sites on

students’ academic performance in Malaysia International Journal of Electronic Commerce

Studies,

Arjun. M and Juna. B (2015) Int. J. Soc. Sci. Manage. Vol-2, issue-4: 339-342 A Study On the

Impact of Social Networking Sites among Higher Secondary Students

Boyd, D. M., & Ellison, N. B. (2007). Social network sites: Definition, history, and scholarship.

Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 13(1), 210- 230

Eke, H., Odoh, J. & Omekwu C. (2014). The Use of Social Networking Sites among the

Undergraduate Students of University of Nigeria Nsukka Library Philosophy and Practice1195.

Retrieved from : http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/1195

Gok, T. (2016). The effects of social networking sites on students’ studying and habits.

International Journal of Research in Education and Science (IJRES), 2(1), 85- 93.

Hakoyama, M., & Hakoyama, S. (2011). The impact of cell phone use on social networking and

development among college students. The American Association of Behavioral and Social

Sciences Journal, 15, 1-20.

Hay, L. (2011). Social Networking Sites Affecting Students and their Study Habits. Retrieved

from
 27

IMPACT OF SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES ON STUDENTS ACADEMIC

PERFORMANCE

Horrigan, J. (2009, March). The mobile difference: Wireless connectivity has drawn many users

more deeply into digital life. Washington, DC: Pew Internet & American Life Project. Retrieved

from http://www.pewinternet.org/~/media//Files/Reports/200 9/The_Mobile_Difference.pdf.

Judilla, A., Gemora, R.(2015). Influence of Social Networking on the Study Habits and

Performance of Students in a State University. Journal of Social Sciences & Humanities

Research, 1(2).1-12

Junco, R., Merson, D. and Salter, D. W. (2010). The Effect of Gender, Ethnicity, and Income on

College Students' Use of Communication. Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking,

13(6).

Lenhart and Madden M (2007) Social Networking & Teens

Raacke, J., & Bonds-Raacke, J. (2008). MySpace and facebook: Applying the uses and

gratifications theory to exploring friend-networking sites. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 11(2),

169-174.

Rafferty, F. (2009). Boys should be boys-is it that simple? Education Journal, 116, 32-33.

Schneider and Norm (2010) Facebook, Other Social Network Sites Could Lead to Lower Grades

for Students. http://www.associatedcontent.com/article.1650000/faceb

ook_other_social_network_sites.html

Williams, A. L., & Merten, M. J. (2009). Adolescents’ online social networking following the

death of a peer. Journal of Adolescent Research, 24(1), 67-90.

 28

IMPACT OF SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES ON STUDENTS ACADEMIC

PERFORMANCE

APPENDIX

Questionnaire

My name is Jonelle Nicholson and I am a Caribbean Studies student at the Montego Bay

Community College. This study is being conducted to determine the impact of social networking

sites on the academic performance of the students at the Montego Bay Community College. The

findings from this study will aid in the completion of the researcher’s CAPE Internal

Assessment. Your cooperation will be greatly appreciated.

Please read each question carefully. Then offer your response by placing a tick in the box

provided, near your preferred answer. Some questions require a short written response; please

provide these answers on the lines indicated. This survey is anonymous, as such you are not

obligated to state your name anywhere on the questionnaire.

Thank You.

* Required
1. What is your age range? *
o 15 -18
o 19 -21
o 22+

2. What is your sex? *

o Female
o Male

3. Do you engage in the use of social networking sites? *

o yes
o no
 29

IMPACT OF SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES ON STUDENTS ACADEMIC

PERFORMANCE

4. How many social networking sites do you use? *

o 1
o 2
o 3
o 4
o 5+

5. Which social networking sites do you engage in? (More than one option can be selected) *
● Facebook
● Twitter
● Instagram
● Pintrest
● Tumblr
● Google+
● Snapchat
● Whatsapp

6. If you use other Social networking sites are you please state.

7. How many hours do you spend on social networking sites per day? *
o 1 hour
o 2-4 hours
o 3-5 hours
o 5+ hours

8. What device do you use most to access social networking sites?*

● Smartphone
● Tablet
● Laptop/Personal computer

9. Do you use Social networking sites in class? *

o No
o Yes
10. Please explain why? *

11. Do you use SNS's at home? *

 30

IMPACT OF SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES ON STUDENTS ACADEMIC

PERFORMANCE

o Yes
o No

12. Please explain why. *

13. What impact does social networking sites have on your academic performance? *
● Positive
● Negative
14. Justify your answer above. *

15. Do you think social networking sites can help to improve your academic performance?
Please justify your answer. *
 31

IMPACT OF SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES ON STUDENTS ACADEMIC

PERFORMANCE