USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA AS A CHANNEL OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION

USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA AS A CHANNEL OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION

Abstract

In this information and communication technology era, social media, especially Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, BBM, 2go, etc., have revolutionized and redefined the monopoly of news and information in the mass media (radio, television, newspaper and magazine industry). did. Because of improved citizen participation in news collection and distribution. This study looked at Kaduna State University students to explore the increasing trend of students using social media networks to find information. Social media has recently transformed citizens into not only information consumers but also information distributors. This is now known as “citizen journalism”. Most citizens have their own blogs, groups, and spaces on social media sites where they post news. Others submit articles to websites designed for citizen journalists and to well-known media houses that accept articles from citizen journalists. Although the questionnaire was developed as a research tool used to collect data from selected respondents, a survey research methodology was adopted. From the collected responses, we found that the majority of students have access to social media, one or he has access to two social media sites. The student logs into her WhatsApp, BBM and Facebook more regularly than other social media. Because of this, Kaduna State University students have a high level of social media usage. Most social media users spend her 6-10 hours on social media. The practice of citizen journalism should be encouraged by governments and private organizations to promote ICT development in the country. Governments must ensure that domestic website and blog owners comply with defamation, obscenity, and violation of privacy laws. This can be accomplished by establishing an organization whose sole responsibility is to directly monitor Internet materials for apparent content.

chapter One

Foreword

1.1 Research background

The Internet has changed the way people interact. Communication and access to information just got easier. The use of the Internet is no longer just for email communication, it is also a platform for people to interact. Today, you can attend an overseas classroom anywhere in the Kano region. Also, thanks to the Internet, you can testify directly before an international court in real time without having to travel. Sunitha and Narayan (2010) point out that today’s Internet is focused on blogs, podcasts, Facebook and Twitter. Tools and technologies, also known as social networks, are a new phenomenon. Social networking sites are web-based services that allow individuals to do this.

(1) creating a public or semi-public profile within a restricted system;

(2) create a list of other users with whom you share your connection,

(3) List of connections in the system and list of other connections “Boyd and Ellison, 2007”; view and cycle.

Social networks are rapidly gaining popularity in Nigeria as a means of interpersonal and public communication. Social networks are modern interactive communication channels where people connect with each other and exchange ideas, experiences, images, news and information of interest. Boyd and Ellison (2007) define social networks as:
“Individuals can create public or semi-public profiles within a limited system, clarify the list of other users with whom they share connections, and list their own connections and those of other users within the system.

They are the interactive networks that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has left in modern society through the Internet and communication devices. The Internet allows us to expand our network and increase our opportunities to communicate with a wider audience around the world. The interactive aura of new media is gaining unprecedented popularity. Also, the rapid adoption of social networking sites is unprecedented in the history of the media industry. Awake (2011) supports this point by pointing out: Similarly, it took radio 38 years to reach 50 million users, television 13 years to reach the same number of users, and the Internet four years to do so, while Facebook has 200 million. users in just 12 months. Social networking sites offer a variety of interactive platforms based on the intentions of their founders. For example, there are social, political, academic, business, sports, romantic, and religious platforms. In short, social networking sites have an inherent ability to educate, inform, entertain, and excite their audience. Onomo (2012) recognizes this capacity of the media, arguing that social networking sites “have become a ubiquitous tool for communication and idea-sharing, helping individuals and organizations with legitimate interests reach a surprisingly large audience.” “We were able to support it and traditional media couldn’t do it.” achieve. Most of the members of these social networks are young people still in school. Al-Rahma and Othman (2013) report that there is no doubt that social media is becoming more widely accepted, easier to use, and becoming the primary communication tool among students. Most of his teens in Kenya spend their time online browsing these social his networking sites using their smartphones, computers and other portable his devices such as her iPads and tablets. I’m spending Students of all levels of education access social networking sites at every opportunity to check their status on Facebook and trends on Twitter. The teen learned to multitask by moving from one SNS to her another. People use social media such as Facebook, Twitter, 2go, MySpace, and WhatsApp to establish and maintain relationships with others because social media is a platform for young and old to interact. (Boyd & Ellison, 2007). These social media sites allow users to create personal profiles and connect with other users of the site. Users can upload photos, post what they are doing, and send private or public messages to anyone. In this information age, social media sites seem to be rapidly gaining popularity, especially among young people (Pempek, Yermolayeva, & Calvert, 2008). It’s a personal way for people to interact with each other, and young people are taking advantage of this technological trend to improve their communication. In recent years, social networking (SNS) sites such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and LinkedIn have become the most visited websites in the world, with Facebook at the top of the list. With over 90 million active users in 2009, Facebook captured his 85% market share in US universities (Hendrix, Chiarella, Hasman, Murphy, & Zafron, 2009). In 2010, Facebook increased its traffic by almost 70% with over 115 million unique users. MySpace took his second place, followed soon by Twitter (Friedman, 2010; Nielsen Market Research, May 4, 2010). Today on Facebook he has over 800 million active users.

1.2 Problem Description

There are multiple media reports that Nigerians of all ages are victims or perpetrators of online fraud or fraud. and destroying the lives of foreigners (Gabriel, 2015). According to Gabriel (2015), “Whether they call it 419, Acquisition by Trick, OBT, or Yahoo-Yahoo, it’s the same story. committing scams that rob, destroy businesses and render lives meaningless. Research shows that many people (email and social media users), especially young people, are victims of such scams It has been shown that it has affected our lives in some way (Button et al.; Ngo-Ye, 2013; Idolor, 2012; Graziolo and Jarvenpaa, 2003; Nikitkov and Bay, 2008). It is on this premise that the researcher intends to investigate the effect of the rising trend in the use of social media networks by students in seeking information.

1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The main purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of the rising trend in the use of social media networks by students in seeking information, but to successfully complete the study; the researcher intends to achieve the following specific objectives:

i) To investigate the impact of social media on the accessibility of information by student

ii) To investigate if social media network serve as a reliable source of information to student

iii) To examine the role of social media in improving the academic performance of student

iv) To ascertain if there is any relationship between social media network and student academic achievement.

1.4 RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

To aid the successful completion of the study, the following research hypotheses were formulated by the researcher;

H0:
social l media network does not have any impact on the accessibility of information by students of higher learning

H1:
social l media network does have impact on the accessibility of information by students of higher learning

H02:
social media network is not a reliable source of information to students of higher institutions

H2:
social media network is a reliable source of information to students of higher institutions

1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

It is believed that at the completion of the study, the findings will be of importance to the students of higher institutions as the study seek to emphasize on the dangers of relying on information published on social network site, and the benefit accrue to students who make use of this site as a source of information. The study will also be beneficial to the owners of this social media network site, as the study will suggest possible ways of improving on the quality of information published on the site, the study will be useful to researchers who intends to embark on a study in a similar topic, as the study will serve as a reference point, finally the study will be useful to the students, teachers, lecturers, academia’s and the general public as the findings will add to the pool of existing literature

1.6 SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The scope of the study covers the rising trend in the use of social media networks by students seeking information in Nigeria higher institutions, but in the cause of the study, there were some factors which limited the scope of the study;

a) AVAILABILITY OF RESEARCH MATERIAL:
The research material available to the researcher is insufficient, thereby limiting the study

b) TIME:
The time frame allocated to the study does not enhance wider coverage as the researcher has to combine other academic activities and examinations with the study.

c) Organizational privacy:
Limited Access to the selected auditing firm

1.7 OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS

Social media

Social media are computer-mediated technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, career interests and other forms of expression via virtual communities and networks.

Social network

A social networking service is an online platform that people use to build social networks or social relations with other people who share similar personal or career interests, activities, backgrounds or real-life connections

Information

Information is that which informs. In other words, it is the answer to a question of some kind

1.8 ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY

This research work is organized in five chapters, for easy understanding, as follows

Chapter one is concern with the introduction, which consist of the (overview, of the study), historical background, statement of problem, objectives of the study, research hypotheses, significance of the study, scope and limitation of the study, definition of terms and historical background of the study. Chapter two highlights the theoretical framework on which the study is based, thus the review of related literature. Chapter three deals on the research design and methodology adopted in the study. Chapter 4 focuses on collecting and analyzing data and presenting results. Chapter 5 contains research summaries, conclusions, and recommendations