Evaluation of the Effect of Social Media Networking Among Academics in University of Abuja

ABSTRACT
This study has examined evaluation of the effect of social media networking among academics in University of Abuja. The study seek to identify the social networking sites used by the undergraduate students; to determine the uses of the social networking sites and how long students spend on the social media and to ascertain social networking sites influence on student's study time and academic learning. The method of data collection for the study is through the administration of questionnaires which were personally distributed by the researcher. Three hundred and eighty five (385) questionnaires were distributed to the social media users, and two hundred and twenty (220) were completed and returned.. The study found out that respondents adequately use the social media very well and the respondents are well-informed users of social media sites like Whatsapp, Facebook, Youtube, Instagram, Snapchat, and etcetera; the studies also discovered that they make do of the social media for academic purposes like collaborating with other respondents, sharing study materials, and engaging discourse with teachers on class-related issues. The study therefore recommends that the students need to be trained on better usage of the social media as a tool that it is to serve their all-round growth, also to minimize time wastage on frivolities (chatting, cyber stalking, etc.) and other irrelevant engagements that are not of major importance in their academic lives and since it is apparent that social media technologies have become intrinsic part of the students’ lives, academic Institutions of higher learning should consider incorporating the use of social media technologies (SMTs) into the learning experience of the students as resources to support the educational communications between student and faculties.