Abstract:
This study examined the influence of social media towards improvement of academic
performance in secondary schools in Arusha City. Specific objectives of the study were; to find out the purpose of students to use social media sites, to establish the time spent by students on social media sites per day and to explore the academic benefits obtained as the result of using the social media sites. The theories adopted were; uses and gratification theory, educational productivity theory and media equation theory. The study employed descriptive research design with qualitative and quantitative approaches. This study used; purposive and simple random sampling techniques. Questionnaire, interview and observation was the methods for data collection. The total population of the study was four hundred twenty-four (424). The sample size of the study was fifty (50) respondents, which involved four (4) head teachers, four (4) academic teachers and forty-two (42) student-responders. The data from interviews were analyzed by using content analysis and data from questionnaire were analyzed by using descriptive statistics which involved frequencies and percentages generated through SPSS computer software. This study established that, most of secondary students use social media sites for academic purpose and non-academic purposes. Students spend between five hours and above on social media sites. Students benefit academically by rise their understanding on the topic learned in class. This study concludes that; students spend a lot of time on social media sites per day for academic and non- academic purposes. The time that students spend on social media seems to help them improve academically, especially to those who are using social media sites more for academic matters rather than non-academic issues. The study recommends that; school managements and parents should join their effort to educate secondary students regarding the benefits of social media sites on academic performance when used properly. Policies of using social media for academic excellence in secondary schools should be implemented.
