Awareness and Use of Social Media by Undergraduates of Selected Universities in a State in Nigeria

The purpose of this study is to explore undergraduates’ awareness and usage of social media. A descriptive survey design was adopted with the use of questionnaire as the instrument for data collection. One thousand, one hundred and ninety-two (1,192) copies of the questionnaire were administered on the students, out of which one thousand, one hundred and eight (1,108) useable copies were retrieved, representing 93% response rate. The data were analysed using frequency counts, percentages and means. The results revealed that the respondents were aware of almost all listed social media platforms, with WhatsApp (99%) ranking highest, followed by Email (97.9%) and Twitter (95.3%). The frequently utilised social media platforms were WhatsApp ( = 2.72), Email ( = 2.61) and Facebook ( = 2.50). These platforms were mainly used for group discussions and tutorials with course mates; this gave a mean score of ( = 3.22); for sourcing current materials gave a mean score of ( = 3.21), and checking updates on current research gave a mean score ( = 3.18). The study concluded that social networking is not new to most undergraduates and that they use social media for academic purposes, self-expression and for establishing friendships with fellow students around the globe. It was recommended, among other things, that students should be aware of the fact that overindulgence in social media is addictive and time-wasting; moreover, lecturers should assist students in making more meaningful use of the social media by incorporating it into their academic work. Keywords: Social media, Uses and Gratification Theory, usage of social media, undergraduates DOI: 10.7176/IKM/12-2-01 Publication date: February 28 th 2022