MADU CHARLES OSINACHI

This study was carried out to identify the influences of social media on the academic achievement of students in University of Benin.. The research was carried out as a survey research using relevant literature from journals, magazines, books and the internet. Four research questions were raised and analyzed for the purpose of the study. A random sampling technique was used in selection of 50 chemistry students were randomly selected from the Faculty of physical science and Faculty of Education in the University of Benin. The data were collected with questionnaire instrument and analyzed using simple percentage. The result revealed that; the level of student addictiveness to social networks is relatively high and it affects their academic Achievement, whatsApp and Twitter are predominantly used by students and it helps them to disseminate information across, engaging in academic forums on Whatsapp and telegram reduces their rate of understanding, Social media addictions distract students from academic activities because the use of social media can be very addictive, female students make use of social media more, and they are more likely to get addicted to social media. Based on the results, it was recommended that, students should be educated on the influence of Social media on their academic performance, students should better manage their study time in and prevent distractions that can be provided by social media. There should be a decrease in the number of time spent by students when surfing the net, teachers should ensure they use social media as a tool to improve the academic performance of students in schools, the students should create a balance between chit-chatting and academic activities. More attention should be directed to research, the use of Social media networks by students should focus on the academic relevance of those sites instead of using them for negative purposes.