Thesis (M.A. (Media studies)) --University of Limpopo, 2016. / Students today are surrounded by vast amounts of technological gadgets that enable
communication with friends very easy. Social networking sites, social media and
internet have become part of the lives of the students today and the means to their
social happiness. This is emphasised by the growing concern over the use of these
social networking sites and a growing fear that these sites might actually be causing
much damage to the fundamental learning abilities of these students. The purpose of
this study was to investigate the impact of the use social networking sites among the
students of the University of Limpopo. Qualitative and quantitative research methods
were used in this study to explore the traits of the use of social networking sites from
the perspective of the students and the lecturers. The data was collected using survey
with structured questionnaires for the students and the face-to-face interview with the
lecturers to explore their perception over the use of social networking sites. A total of
three hundred and nineteen (319) questionnaires were distributed randomly among
the students of University of Limpopo and the researcher received two hundred and
ninety seven (297) filled questionnaires. Four face-to-face interviews were carried out
at the offices of the lecturers that participated in the study.
The study revealed that the social networking site Facebook is used more among
students and that cell-phones are their means of accessing the internet and social
networking sites. The lecturers however pointed out that there is a need for concern
with the constant availability of technology at the reach of these students. However,
there is a gradual positive development as the students are becoming more and more
self-aware that their use of these sites has portends a negative impact on their
academic performance. While there are very remote incidents of text language in
academic writing contrary to the students’ perception, the lectures believe that student
writing quality exists and that what is often perceived as social networking sites
language turns out to be innocent spelling errors.
Key words
Social networking sites, technology, procrastination, distraction, academic
performance
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:ul/oai:ulspace.ul.ac.za:10386/2042 |
| Date | January 2016 |
| Creators | Koma, Thato Serotho |
| Contributors | Kupa, M. A., Oyedemi, T. |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | xiii,137 leaves |
| Relation |
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