INFLUENCE OF SELECTED SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AMONG PUBLIC DAY SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN LARI SUB- COUNTY, KIAMBU COUNTY, KENYA

Abstract

In any particular country academic performance is vital for successful development of young people in the society. Through education, a country produces graduates who make up for social, political and economic development. The government of Kenya through the allocation of financial resources, provision of qualified teachers and a quality assurance department's establishment have demonstrated their commitment to providing quality secondary education. Despite their effort, the academic performance of students is still low. This has raised concerns to parents, teachers and other educational stakeholders on what influences academic performance of students. Over the years, education has evolved due to invention and usage of social media. Social media has transformed and impacted communication and learning among students by access of social media tools such as WhatsApp, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and other social sites. While such social networking is beneficial to students, the way they are occasionally used, time spent, information learned and shared on the tools are of major concern. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of selected social media tools on academic performance among public day secondary school students in Lari Sub-County, Kiambu County, Kenya. The study sought to investigate the influence of Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and TikTok use on academic performance. The study adopted Educational Productivity Theory and Uses and Gratification Theory. Descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. The target population of the study comprised of 9,429 subjects. A sample size of 378 respondents comprising of 336 students, 28 teachers and 14 parent representatives participated in the study. Data collection was done using questionnaires and interview. The validity of the instruments was enhanced through the expert judgment of the supervisors and other experts. Piloting was conducted in Limuru Sub-County. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data with the aid of Scientific Package for Social Sciences version 25.0. Reliability of the instruments was estimated by use of Cronbach alpha method where a reliability coefficient of 0.820 was obtained. Descriptive statistics were used for measures of central tendencies including mean and standard deviation. Research hypotheses were tested using Chi square at a significance level of α = 0.05. The study established that students spent more time on Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and TikTok. It was concluded that academic performance is negatively affected by the social media tools since students are not guided on the positive use of social media to improve academic performance. Based on the study, the researcher recommends the involvement of parents, teachers and other educators in controlling and checking what is shared on social media sites by students. It is hoped that the findings of this study may provide useful information to policy makers, teachers, students and other educational stakeholders on the influence of selected social media tools on academic performance of students.