ADOPTION AND USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA FOR KNOWLEDGE SHARING AMONG STUDENTS OF UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN AND AL-HIKMAH UNIVERSITY

ABSTRACT This paper discussed the adoption and ease-of-use of social media networks as a source of sharing knowledge among students of the University of Ilorin and Al-Hikmah University. With the rising nature of social media in the academic life, the roots of information access, sharing and utilization by students have changed. But there is limited information on the difference between the adoption patterns and user experiences of students in the public and private tertiary institutions. This research hence examined how students embrace the use of social media platforms, the perceived ease-of-use associated with the use of the social media platforms in share of knowledge, the form of social networks used, type of information shared in the networks, as well as, difficulties experienced in using the media. The descriptive survey research design was used. The sample population included undergraduate students of both the universities (25,270) of which 341 students were sampled using simple random sampling as per the Krejcie and Morgan sample size determination table. The main tool of gathering data was a designed questionnaire and 218 questionnaires (63.9 percent) were properly filled and returned. Analysis of data was done by counting frequency, percentage and ranking. The results showed that academic activities on the use of social media have been adopted massively in institutions where YouTube, WhatsApp, telegram, and academic WhatsApp/Telegram groups have been found to be the most commonly used networks to share knowledge. The findings also revealed that students find social media to be much easier when compared to conventional modes of knowledge exchange based on its ease of use, ability to save time and user friendly interfaces. Academic materials which are usually shared by the students include lecture notes, assignments, research links, tutorials and academic updates. Regardless of these merits, the research found that there are issues like lack of internet connection, high cost of data subscription plans, distraction, misinformation, privacy, information overload and absence of trust, usually facing the knowledge sharing process. The paper comes to the conclusion that social media networks are significant in increasing knowledge sharing among university students, which provides convenient, fast, and cooperative learning opportunities. It suggests that higher education institutions should facilitate systematic academic application of social media, impart digital literacy, and create social media policies to facilitate safe and productive usage to harness the most educational advantages of social media platforms.