THIS ARTICLE WAS WRITTEN BY AMOS ALUNYO BELLO FOR THE NIGERIAN OBSERVER NEWS WEBSITE. SO, I DECIDED TO SHARE IT BECAUSE IT IS THE SINCERE AND BITTER TRUTH ABOUT EVERYONE STUDENT CHARACTER.The popularity of the Internet and online communication in Nigeria and the world at large has grown exponentially. Social networking websites enable users to remain connected. The popularity of social networking websites such as facebook, my space, twitter, 2go etc with millions of users accessing these websites is rising daily.
Research proves that it is safe to assume that majority of people taking the survey were in fact university level college students with no bias towards gender or race. The research was done over the course of a week to increase the variance and legitimacy of the experiment. After executing the experiment and gathering that seventy five per cent of the college students are registered with social networking sites and they spend less than ten hours a week socializing outside cyber-space or on their mobile phones.
Basically, we are going to look at the effect of social networking among Nigerian students/youths. Information technology, despite its positive gains comes with negative consequences, with so many networking sites displayed on the Internet. Most Nigerian students are tempted to abandon their homework, reading times in preferences for chatting online with their friends. Many Nigerian students are now addicted to the online rave of the movement with facebook, twitter, 2go, my space and many more.
According to research, the facebook service provider announced that it has over 500 million member mark and facebook users in Nigeria keep surging everyday. Research further showed that the number of facebook users in Nigeria was slightly over 400,000, but presently, there are over one million Nigerian facebook active users and over sixty three million mobile subscribers in Nigeria. One of its members is Nigerian president, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, who is quite active on facebook page. Over 144,000 people have access to his facebook page where he posts in English, his daily political activities.
This dangerous trend which if left unchecked could further affect an already collapsing education system in Nigeria. The reason students are performing badly in school these days might not be far-fetched. While we might be quick to blame the poor quality of teachers, you might have to think even harder if you have not heard of the facebook frenzy. Some parents will be quick to ask how? For some, facebook has become an obsession. Its popularity continues to grow around the globe and Nigeria is not left out.
It could be a good change that young Nigerians are embracing the I.C.T. (Information Communication Technology) trend but such change comes with its consequences. As many Nigerian students assignments and reading times suffer neglect while they spend more time chatting with their friends which affects their academic performances. But many Nigerian youths see it as a means to get into discussions with their peers and as a way to air their thoughts and hopefully to build relationships.
The downward slide in the performance of secondary school students is a further testimony to this fact. The last National Examination Council (NECO) result shows that 87 per cent of the candidates failed English Language and Mathematics, most especially English Language, as many students used social networking languages in writing examinations or in class tests.
Those students who do not have access to the Internet use their mobile phones even while lectures are on going and students can also access their facebook accounts on their mobile phones using a software known as :OPERA MINI”. It means while lectures are on, some students still chat with their friends online which affects their concentration. The resultant effect is that it affects their performances academically.
In the past, parents blamed mass failures on the inadequacies of teachers but as it now, much attention should be given to what students do at their leisure, you will find out that most of them are on the Internet cyber or busy with their mobile phone chatting with their friends. Some students can’t even do without accessing their account within an hour.
Social networking before now was used by student in making researches. But today, it is a different story. Watch any student you see in the café, you will notice that he or she is "facebooking" or tweeting. The trend is alarming and must be tackled urgently so that social networking will not disparage the future and primary aims of Nigerian students and youths alike.
SOURCE: http://nigerianobservernews.com/26022012/sundayobserver/features/features2.html
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