THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL NETWORKS ON STUDENTS IN GHANA UNIVERSITIES
A large number of Ghanaian students are using one or more social network sites of their choice. These sites are becoming too popular in Ghana as they bridge connections to families and friends, in Ghana and out. This also gives enjoyment and leisure to oneself if alone.
Also, students find it fashionable and in-style to be a member of a social site. Some even ask the opinions of their friends on-site to help them make decisions on a certain issue. They trade the latest news in fashion, lifestyle, gadgets, and others.
There is also the possibility that through this networking connection, they might be connected to a recruiter or employer that might give them a job.
However, abbreviated spellings and abbreviations they use to communicate in social sites are found to surface even in their exam answers which affect their exam scores. Others even use the sites to release their pent-up emotions and feelings.
A study showed that almost 98% of students are involved in a social network. Male users are found to be the larger user of networking sites, more than double the number to that of female users. More than half of the respondents in the study stated that they only have one social site that they are using on a regular basis. It has also been found out that on a daily basis, students consume from six to 9 hours navigating these social tools. When asked to rate the activities that consume most of their time in school, only eighteen percent of the respondents answered “studying” , while forty-eight percent or almost half of the respondents answered “socializing”. This leaves the student almost little study time.
When asked what pulls them to allot so much of their time to surfing rather than studying, reasons mentioned were gaining additional friends, connecting with their current friends, locating old friends that disappeared, be a part of a love relationship, and communicate with other students or people with similar likes and dislikes.
A third of the users have reported that they have already met somebody in person after knowing them first in a certain social site, which poses a problem on safety of the students. Almost half of them said that they find it easier to be their real self when interacting through a site which creates the question of who they really are when they interact with others in person or in their regular life.
However, more than half of them recognize that misspent time is the primary negative effect of indulging themselves in utilizing social sites instead of studying. About twenty percent feel that their privacy is being sacrificed while fifteen percent sense that social tools increases their dependency on it instead of nurturing friendship in a more personal way.
The Chairman of the Internet Society of Ghana, Professor Nii Quaynor, appeals to users of social networking sites to learn more on its correct usage, and to use the social networks for anything that will contribute to the development of the country. He issued this appeal because he has observed that productivity of students is being negatively affected by the sometimes extreme use of these sites.
He advocates a regulatory board or a national policy that will manage the members of these social sites. He stressed that users should know how to control the messages they impart on the sites. He pointed out that anything posted on any social sites should be suitable for public viewing because, less the users forget, these social networking sites are broadcast publicly.
Professor Quaynor advised the students to make use of the site to look more for opportunities to better themselves rather than to simply use this for friendship purposes. He also counseled the parents not to let their children use the internet freely and without supervision as the internet has both negative and positive influences and effects on a student.
The previous General Secretary of ISOC Ghana, Mr. Eric Akumiah, seconded Professor Quaynor’s observation. He said that, as of the present, there are no significant positive influences a social tool can bring to a user. He especially pointed out Facebook as Twitter and LinkedIn are not popular in Ghana yet. He also supported the importance of a content policy to be launched to control user activity since a number of users are observed to have used the sites irresponsibly.
Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com
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