SOCIAL MEDIA AND STUDENTS’ ATTITUDE TOWARDS LEARNING AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN CALABAR MUNICIPALITY LGA OF CROSS RIVER STATE, NIGERIA

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to examine Social Media and Students’ Attitude Towards Learning Among Secondary School Students In Calabar Municipality Lga Of Cross River State. To achieve the aim of this study, three research questions were raised and three hypotheses were formulated to guide this study. The literature related to the variables under study were reviewed. General descriptions of data, Test of hypothesis, summary of results and discussion of the findings was adopted for this study. Ex-post facto research design was adopted for the study and the population of the study comprised of 4,229 of SS3 students. The study adopted stratified random sampling and simple random sampling techniques. with a simple of 202 students drawn from seven (7) public secondary school in Calabar municipality Local government area, cross river state, Nigeria. A researcher's developed instrument title “Social Media and Students Attitude Toward Learning Questionnaire (SMSALQQ)” was used for data collection which was validated by experts in Educational Measurement and Evaluation in UNICROSS and the reliability of the instrument was determined using the Cronbach alpha Coefficient. Each sub-scale using the Cronbach alpha approach yielded a reliability coefficient ranging from 0.74 to 0.86. The procedure for data analysis was descriptive (mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (independent and one-sample t-test). The findings revealed that YouTube does significantly influence students’ attitude toward learning. It was found that there is significant influence of Facebook on students’ attitude toward learning. Students who use online social networks can develop their knowledge based on extensive communications and knowledge sharing from the social network sites. Finally, It was revealed that Blogs usage does not significantly influence students’ attitude toward learning. Social media technologies have not only substantially changed the way organizations, communities, and individuals communicate and socialize with each other, but they have also changed the way people learn, share information, exchange knowledge, and create new ideas. It is therefore recommended that public and private schools across the state should establish various forms of social networking into school curriculum. The government should give reduced tariffs on you tube channels for students to utilize at affordable cost. While Bloggers should be conditioned by the government to reduce excessive use of internet site especially when it is against the societal norms and values of the schools.