CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

The internet is an interconnected computer networks that use the standard

internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide. It consists of

millions of private, public, academic, business and government networks that

range from local to global scope that are linked by a broad array of electronic,

wireless and optical networking technologies. The advancement of media

technology has had a great influence on the way people now communicate on a

daily basis.

The use of the social media among the youth of today is growing by the day

and gaining more and more popularity among students. It is a way to make

connections, not only on campus but with friends outside of school. Social

networking is a way that helps people feel they belong to a community. Its

increased popularity has raised concern over how the time spent and student

activities on these sites could impact their performance in school.

Social networking media is about sharing or communicating with other

people. It has spread its wings to various other fields and education is one of
the new sectors where the concept of social media is making a great role

(Anonymous, 2014). They are communication channels or tools used to store,

aggregate, share, discuss or deliver information with friends and colleagues

using the internet (Reynolds, 2015). They involve the use of web-based

technologies to transform one-way communication into an interactive online

dialogue (Dixon, 2012). It is a creation and exchange of user-made content. At

school or in any office, social media used by students and teachers to share

original content the articles or the publications. Students, in particular, use it

and provide an opportunity to seek to questions they may have related to their

course. Thus, the use of social media has extended throughout the community

(Roblyer, et al., 2010).

Several studies have been carried out by different researchers to assess how

the use of social media impact student academic performance. Choney, (2010),

MehMood & Taswir, (2013), Kist (2008), Jacobsen & Forste, (2011), believe that

the use of technology such as internet is one of the most important factors that

can influence educational performance of students positively or negatively. It

stated that many parents and guardians are worried that students now spend

too much time on Facebook and other social media sites and do not have

enough time to study

Owusu-Acheaw, & Larson (2015) did a study to assess students’ use of social

media and its effect on academic performance of tertiary institutions students

in Ghana with a focus on Koforidua Polytechnic students. Questionnaire was

used for collecting data. The study revealed that majority of the respondents

had mobile phones which also had Internet facility on them and had knowledge

of the existence of many media sites. The study further confirmed that most of

the respondents visit their social media sites using their phones and spend

between thirty minutes to three hours per day. In addition the study revealed

that the use of social media sites had affected academic performance of the

respondents negatively and that there was direct relationship between the use

of social media sites and academic performance.

Hasnain, et al (2015) carried out a research to study the relationship between

the use of social media and students’ academic performance in Pakistan. The

results suggest, social media has an inverse relationship with academic

performance. Social media platform used in a positive manner it can help

students and youth in gaining knowledge that can be used to enhance their

academic performance

Emeka & Nyeche (2016) also did a study on the Impact of Internet Usage on

Academic performance of under- graduate students using University of Abuja,

Nigeria as a case study. Survey method using questionnaires as the instrument

for data collection was adopted. The result revealed that the use of Internet is a
beneficial tool to students and enhances their skills and capability which will

assist them in studies and professional life.

Mensah & Nizam (2016) carried out a study to examine the impact of use of

social media on students’ academic performance in Malaysian Tertiary

Institution. In other to measure social media platforms a questionnaires were

developed based on past literatures. The variables considered were time

appropriateness, time duration, Nature of Usage, Health Addiction, Friend-

People connection, security/privacy problems and student academic

performance.

According to Kubey et al., (2010), impairment of educational performance

and internet dependency are correlated by utilizing synchronous

communication programme including internet sites and forums. Jocabsen and

Forste (2011), found a negative relationship between the use of various media,

including mobile phones, and self-reported GPA among first year university

students in the United States. In Taiwan, Yen at el. (2009), identified an

association between mobile phone use and respondents and report that

respondents have allowed phone use to interfere with their academic activities.

Similarly, Hong et al. (2012), reported that daily use of mobile phones is

correlated with self-reported measure of academic difficulty among a sample of

Taiwanese university students. In a survey of Spanish high school students

Sanchez-Martinz and Otero (2009), found a correlation between “intensive”

mobile phone use and school failure.

Review of Related Studies

In this day and age, social media constantly surrounds us. People are

always on their phones or laptops updating statuses, posting pictures, liking

things, and messaging back and forth with friends. Although social media is

extremely beneficial in several ways (i.e., self expression, communicating with

long-distance friends, self-identity, emotional support, and so on), it does have

a negative impact on mental health.

Recently a study was conducted by the Royal Society of Public Health and

the Young Health Movement, which surveyed nearly 1,500 young adults

around the ages 14-24 from Northern Ireland, England, Scotland, and Wales.

For this survey participants were asked to rate 14 mental health and

wellbeing-related issues for different platforms of social media. The mental

health and wellbeing-related issues consisted of items like: quality and amount

of sleep, feelings of loneliness, bullying, fear of missing out (FOMO), anxiety,

emotional support, depression, self-expression and so on.

The results of the study showed that there are both positive and negative

impacts of social media platforms. Some of the positive impacts of social media
platforms include, that it is great for making and maintaining relationships

with people, self-expression, self-identity, emotional support, and community

building. While on the other hand, the negative impacts of social media

platforms include issues like increased levels of depression and anxiety, poor

sleep quality, dissatisfaction with body image, cyber bullying, and FOMO.

In general these negative impacts of social media are typically attributed to

unrealistic depictions in posts that cause viewers to feel inadequate. This

feeling of inadequacy and low self-esteem can lead to the negative impacts that

were just listed above (i.e., increased levels of depression, anxiety, body image

dissatisfaction, and so on). Social media can easily make people feel as if they

are not good enough which can then lead to negative feelings and desiring to

alter yourself or your life. These negative feelings and the desire to alter

yourself or your life is harmful to one’s mental health. Additionally other

research has found that the more often you spend on social media and the

more social platforms that you are on can also lead to increase negative

feelings and rates of depression and anxiety.

Based on the results from the 14 health and wellbeing-related questions, the

study went ahead and displayed the overall net impact of each social media

platform on health and wellbeing. YouTube was rated the most positive for

health and wellbeing, followed by Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, and finally

Instagram was found to be the most damaging for one’s health and wellbeing.

It has been noted by many that there seems to be a problem with viewing

image content since both Instagram and Snapchat were rated so negatively and

are social media platforms hugely focused on images.

In terms of trying lessen the amount of negative impact from social media,

the Royal Society of Public Health and the Young Health Movement are

proposing a couple of ideas. The first is having social media platforms keep

track of the amount of usage done by a user and providing pop-ups stating

that viewing more content may be harmful. This would most likely also help

lessen the addiction that some people have to social media, and lessen the rate

of depression and anxiety. Another proposal is having social media platforms

highlight when photos of people have been digitally manipulated (this includes

photoshop and filters). This would help with body image and levels of

depression and anxiety.

There is no way to know for sure if the proposed ideas will ever be put into

action, so that is why it is important to be weary of your social media usage

and the feelings it may be causing you. If you feel as if you are constantly

checking social media or are feeling anxious or depressed after viewing your

social media, it may be important to take a step back from your phone or

laptop screen and take a break from using social media. It is also as equally
important to spend time evaluating what you are putting on social media as

well, as some content may be harmful or damaging to others. Overall though,

remember that it is most important to do what is best for your mental health

and wellbeing.

Furthermore, a study conducted by Karpinski and Duberstein (2009), of

Ohio Dominican university on college students who use social network have

significantly lower grade point averages (GPAs) than those who do not. They

also mentioned that among various unique distractions of every single

generation, Facebook remains a major distraction of current generation.

According to Kubey et al., (2010), impairment of educational performance and

internet dependency are correlated by utilizing synchronous communication

programme including internet sites and forums. Jocabsen and Forste (2011),

found a negative relationship between the use of various media, including

mobile phones, and self-reported GPA among first year university students in

the United States. In Taiwan, Yen at el. (2009), identified an association

between mobile phone use and respondents and report that respondents have

allowed phone use to interfere with their academic activities. Similarly, Hong et

al. (2012), reported that daily use of mobile phones is correlated with self-

reported measure of academic difficulty among a sample of Taiwanese

university students. In a survey of Spanish high school students Sanchez-

Martinz and Otero (2009), found a correlation between “intensive” mobile

phone use and school failure.

However, other studies like Ahmed and Qazi (2011), Hanqittai and Hsich

(2010), Pasek and Hanqittai (2009), conducted on the same topic revealed no

correlation between social media and students’ academic performance. A study

conducted at Whittemore school of Business and Economic on one thousand,

one hundred and twenty seven students revealed that there is no correlation

between how much time is spent on social networking sites and grades (Martin,

2009). Again, University of New Hampshire (2010) study also revealed that

students’ use of social media sites do not affect grades.

A recent survey showed that approximately ninety percent of teens in the

United States have Internet access, and about seventy-five percent of these

teens use the Internet more than once per day (Kist, 2008). This study also

showed that approximately half of all teens who have Internet access are also

members of social networking sites, and use the Internet to make plans and

socialize with friends (Kist, 2008). In September 2005, out of the total adult

internet users (18-29 years) 16% were using social networking site but this

percentage increased to 86% in May, 2010