INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA USE ON COGNITIVE AND BEHAVIOURAL OUTCOMES OF UNDERGRADUATES IN FEDERAL UNIVERSITY, OYE-EKITI, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study investigate the Influence of social media use on cognitive and behavioural outcomes of undergraduates in Federal University, Oye-Ekiti, Nigeria. A  descriptive research design  was used to examine the influence of the attendant variables. Four (4) research questions and hypotheses were raised and analyzed. Four hundred and forty-nine (449) undergraduate students were randomly selected from five faculties in the school. Standardized instruments were administered to the participants. Descriptive statistics and, t-test was used to analyze the data. The study revealed that social media use significantly influences students’ attention span; that social media use significantly impacts students’ ability to concentrate on academic tasks; that social media use substantially influences students’ information retention and that indicating that social media use substantially influences students’ quality of sleep. Based on these results it was recommended that Universities managements should implement health and digital literacy initiatives to teach students how to use social media responsibly, focusing on how it affects cognitive abilities and sleep patterns among others.