Influence Of Social Media On The Writing And Reading Ability

Social media particularly Facebook and Twitter usage contribute to students positively and negatively depend on the users and the purpose for it use, it is on this thrust that the research examined the influence of social media on the writing and reading ability of Bowen University undergraduates. The study examined the influence of the social media on the reading culture of students in Nigerian Universities with Bowen University as a case study. The research aimed at identifying the activities, time allotted and the influence that social media have on students reading and writing culture. Also, the study"s main objective is to arrive at a means through which the curriculum of schools can incorporate the use of social media in the teaching and learning process. A descriptive survey was used for the study. Fifty respondents were included in the study with a questionnaire used to gather data for the study. Research findings show that the social media has a great influence on students" reading hours as it affects their performance in academic activities especially their reading. Also, the number of hours devoted to reading is quite low compared to the time allotted to chatting on the social media. It was recommended that the internet should be carefully monitored and incorporated into the teaching and learning process in schools, also the government should provide well equipped libraries in schools.

Introduction

1.1 Background to the Study

The study focuses on the influence of social media on the reading and writing culture of students in Nigerian universities. It is common to find students more socially involved with friends through the social media than reading books and writing in order to get information on their academics except when necessary. Students are much more interested in the social aspect of these social media sites more than their relevance for academic pursuits.
People are living in a global world and everyday they are adopting new technologies, information, lifestyle, language and so on. And nowadays digital social media (facebook, twitter, yahoo messenger, google plus,) are very popular among young generations and they are influenced more by them. They think what they are pursuing in the digital social media is up to date and if they follow those trends, people will find them smart. However nowadays there are influences of digital social media in language acquisition of young learner. Young people are now most of the time connected with the people through digital social media, so intentionally or unintentionally they are following that trend of language acquisition.

Marshall McLuhan (2003), in his book, The Book of Probes, comments, "All media exist to invest our lives with artificial perceptions and arbitrary values" (p.199). In fact, the Media plays a significant role in people"s everyday routines, actions and reactions. Digital social media in many ways influencing people"s life as it expands our social circle and explore new horizon through online connection, though it is changing the approach of communication. The young generations nowadays often use facebook, twitter, google plus, skype, yahoo messenger etc. With the prevalence of smart phones and popularity of texting, students are able to connect with their friends, family members, and with others. As people are able to meet different people of different country, they are learning new language through their conversation in social media. 80 percent of teen users are now frequenting social media sites, and they are using many different types of communication in the world of social media,like Netspeak, overuse of abbreviations or slang. So there is no doubt that our real world social lives have got some changes. Therefore some parents are worrying about their children"s future language acquisition which is a very promising reality.

Reading and writing are essential tools for lifelong learning. Thus, it is important for students to develop a good reading and writing culture so as to perform excellently in their academic endeavours. The reading skill for students is critical for academic performance and personal growth. It is an important component of student"s ultimate literacy development. Ezeji, (2012), citing Holte (1998), agrees that reading adds quality to life and provides access to culture and cultural heritage. He points out that reading empowers and emancipates citizens, and brings people together. According to Rubin (2002), reading is an integrative process that starts with the reader and includes the affective, perceptual, and cognitive domains because the whole process of reading has to do with a learner"s level of development and interest.

It is pertinent to note that students who engage in in-depth writing have developed self-confidence and they know that their ability to read can widen their academic horizon. Improving access to relevant information and promoting writing culture are prerequisites for literacy skills, widening education and learning opportunities, and helping people to address the causes of poverty.

Consequently, the emotion the reader has when reading any information resource, either online or offline, will help the reader know exactly what he or she is reading. Reading and writing can be said to be the bedrock of most forms of learning activities culminating into literacy. The declining interest in reading among students in higher institutions is a challenge to education stakeholders like teachers, policy makers and administrators, as it affects the standard and the quality of graduates sent into the labour market. The ministry of education in Nigeria needs to launch a readership promotion campaign from the primary to the tertiary level which can help to inculcate the culture of reading in students to enhance a better reading culture among all and sundry.

Therefore, the study will take a look at the activities engaged by students during their leisure hours and to what extent the use of these media sites affect their reading and writing abilities. Also, the study will investigate the effect of the social media on students" ability and their overall performance in academic activities.

1.2 Statement of Problem

With over 100 social networking sites in existence and over a billion registered users on these sites, social networks today seem to have become a way of life. From this ever increasing number of networking sites and users emerges a behavior that has become a part of popular youth culture across continents and is increasingly popular amongst youth in Asia. According to Hiradhar & Gray (2008) MySpace, one of the best-known social networking sites now has some 110 million users. Other popular sites include Friendster (58 million); Hi5 (70 million); Linkedin (20 million);
Facebook, which is now number nine in the top twenty list of web sites in the USA (over 69 million); Xanga (40 million) and; Flickr (9.6 million). Research by Boyd (2008) showed that tertiary level students were more likely to access social networking sites on the internet at their schools than anywhere else. He also states media reports have suggested that some tertiary schools in Botswana have banned access to these sites. It is clear that all most all the student of tertiary level is connected with the digital social media and they spend most of the time in those social networking sites. Therefore there is no doubt digital social media is influencing the writing and reading of the students of tertiary level. "Online social networks most commonly refer to the way that people are connecting online, as well as the platform they are using to do this" (Tyson, 2009, p.10). So the students are getting platform to practice their productive skill (English writing and reading) in the SNS.

It is interesting to note that students who excel academically read extensively because reading actually activates the mind and make us more creative. To be capable of doing this, students must develop an in-depth reading and writing culture; they must have the ability to understand texts. Carson, (1992) suspects the existence of a one-to-one correlation between avid reading and intellectual accomplishment because those learners who read a lot of materials have the capability to excel in their academics more than those who read only for examination purpose. Reading and writing are not taught separately as most other subjects or courses in the curriculum; it is rather subsumed in English language. This may be responsible for the purported low quality of graduates produced by Nigerian tertiary institutions. However, Olukemi (2010) advises Nigerian youths to imbibe the reading culture in all their endeavours. She laments that lack of reading culture among youths nowadays has greatly affected the quality of graduates being produced by the nation"s higher institutions.

Therefore in the research paper it will find, how digital social media influences the writing and speaking of tertiary level students, how it motivates and helps the student to improve their English writing and reading.

1.3 Objectives of the Study

The main objective of this study is to investigate the influence of the social media on the reading and writing culture of students in Bowen University.

Specifically, the study aims at identifying the following:

The activities students engage in at home, school or in their hostels.

The time students devote to reading books, magazines, playing games, watching chatting with friends and listening to music.

The Influence of the social media on the students" reading hours.

The influence of the social media on the students" writing ability.

1.4 Research Questions

What are activities students engage in at home, school or in their hostels?

What time do students devote to reading books, magazines, playing games, watching chatting with friends and listening to music?

What is the Influence of the social media on the students" reading hours?

What is the influence of the social media on the students" writing ability?

1.5 Significance of the Study

This research is carried out in order to cover some areas not earlier investigated by previous works. Most of the literature reviewed on this subject matter will concentrate more on the negative aspect of the social media as it relates to students.

Also, previous studies have failed to look at the ways in which these social media outlets can be harnessed and used as an effective tool that can enhance the reading culture of students. Furthermore, new social media applications have been developed and therefore the need to incorporate these new trends like badoo, 2go, ebuddy and others in a research work because of their influence on youths.

This study will be of benefits to students as it will enhance the reading and writing abilities of students. It will also help as a resource material for academicians and researchers that will carry out research related to this study.

1.6 Scope of the Study

The study will be looking at the influence of the social media on the reading and writing culture of students in Bowen University. An examination of how the social media influences or affects the students" reading and writing of their books and the number of hours devoted to these social sites fall within the scope of this study. The study equally covers some of the positive social media outlets that students make use of often and the attendant effect on their study. This work is restricted to undergraduate students of Bowen University.

1.7 Organization of Study

The study is divided into five chapters. Chapter one deals with the study"s introduction and gives a background to the study. Chapter two reviews related and relevant literature. The chapter three gives the research methodology while the chapter four gives the study"s analysis and interpretation of data. The study concludes with chapter five which deals on the summary, conclusion and recommendation.

Conclusion and Recommendation

5.1 Conclusion

Based on the research findings, it is concluded that reading should be inculcated in the students by incorporating the internet into the leaching and learning process. Because of its popularity, the internet if effectively managed can enhance the reading culture of the students in no small way. Also, the study revealed that adequate books if provided in the school libraries will enhance the reading ability and stimulate interest among learners.

This research will go a long way in finding a lasting solution to the over bearing influence of the social media on students reading culture by looking at ways through which these electronic means can be incorporated into the curriculum in order to help improve the fast culture of reading among youths especially those in tertiary institutions. The findings from this study will also help the teachers in finding ways through which students can be made to read books and also ways through which the positive aspects of the social media can be incorporated into the school curriculum. This study is of scholarly importance. Students undergoing research works similar to the present study and other scholars alike will find this work as a reference material or a spring board for their own research.

5.2 Recommendations

The following recommendations are made based on the research findings:

The internet should be adequately monitored and incorporated into the teaching and learning process in schools because of its influence on the way the students read and study.

The federal Government should establish functional libraries which are adequately catered for and well equipped with current biographic material which will in turn stimulate the interest and increase the reading habits of students.

Reading should be promoted through partnership and collaboration between the public and private sectors such as publishers, booksellers, librarians, teachers and all employers of labour to encourage readership campaign.

Parents should as a matter of fact encourage reading by buying the children books as gifts during their birthdays and when they pass examinations.

Libraries should strive to create an environment conducive to reading so as to make the school children feel at home and comfortable.

Schools should organize debates and essay competitions for students. This exercise will help in generating reading interest and the habit of gathering information.

Parents should set out time for watching television, playing video games and chatting with friends and also surfing the internet so as to avoid distraction from the social media.

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