STATISTICAL ANALYSIS ON THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AMONG POLYTECHNIC STUDENT

ABSTRACT This study investigated the relationship between social media usage and academic performance among students of Niger State Polytechnic, Zungeru. The main objective was to determine whether students’ engagement with social media platforms has a significant effect on their academic outcomes. Data were collected from a sample of students using structured questionnaires, and the relationship between the variables was analyzed using Pearson correlation and ANOVA. The Pearson correlation coefficient revealed a weak positive relationship (r = 0.241) between social media usage and academic performance, suggesting that increased engagement with social media is slightly associated with improved academic outcomes. However, the ANOVA results indicated that this relationship was not statistically significant (F(1,2) = 0.735, p = 0.482), implying that academic performance does not significantly predict social media usage among the sampled students. The findings suggest that while social media may offer some educational benefits, other factors likely play a more substantial role in students’ academic achievement. The study recommends that students be encouraged to use social media purposefully and in moderation to maximize its potential benefits without compromising their academic performance