INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA GADGETS ON STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN BIOLOGY IN CALABAR SOUTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, CROSS RIVER STATE, NIGERIA

ABSTRACT The study investigated the influence of social media gadgets on academic performance of SS 1 students in biology in public secondary school in Calabar south Local Government Area, Cross River State, Nigeria. To achieve this, three research questions and hypotheses were raised. The purpose of the study was to investigate the influence of Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter usage on academic performance in Biology. Literature review was done according to the variables in the study. A sample of 180 SS1 biology students was randomly drawn from four secondary schools in the study area. The selection was done through purposive and simple random sampling techniques. The ex-post facto research design was used for the study. Two instruments were used for data collection. The instruments were face validated by the supervisor and experts in the Faculty of Education, University of Calabar. Cronbach alpha and Kuder-Richardson formula were used to establish the reliability of the instrument. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and multiple regression were the statistical techniques adopted to test the hypothesis under study. The result of the analysis revealed that Facebook usage and Twitter usage have significant influence on academic performance in biology, while YouTube usage have no significant influence on the academic performance of biology students. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended that students should be encouraged on the usage of the social media for useful academic purposes.