Exploring The Impact of Social Media in Academic Performance of High-School Students in India

Journal for Educators, Teachers and Trainers JETT, Vol. 13 (3); ISSN: 1989-9572 33 ISSN 1989 – 9572 DOI: 10.47750/jett.2022.13.03.004 Exploring The Impact of Social Media in Academic Performance of High-School Students in India A. Jagannathan1 D. Vezhaventhan2 Journal for Educators, Teachers and Trainers, Vol. 13 (3) https://jett.labosfor.com/ Date of reception: 12 Mar 2022 Date of revision: 18 May 2022 Date of acceptance: 20 May 2022 A.Jagannathan, D.Vezhaventhan (2022). Exploring The Impact Of Social Media In Academic Performance Of High-School Students In India Journal for Educators, Teachers and Trainers,Vol. 13(3). 33 –39 . 1PhD Scholar, Saveetha School of Law Web of Science 2Head of the Department, Department of Humanities & Social Sciences, Saveetha School of Law, SIMATS Web of Science Journal for Educators, Teachers and Trainers, Vol. 13 (3) ISSN 1989 – 9572 https://jett.labosfor.com/ Journal for Educators, Teachers and Trainers JETT, Vol. 13 (3); ISSN: 1989-9572 34 Exploring The Impact Of Social Media In Academic Performance Of HighSchool Students In India 1PhD Scholar, Saveetha School of Law Web of Science 2Head of the Department, Department of Humanities & Social Sciences, Saveetha School of Law, SIMATS Web of Science Email: [email protected], [email protected] ABSTRACT: The Social Media or the Social Networking sites are rapidly increasing among the Students especially in higher education. The lockdown imposed due to COVID-19 has made the Social media penetrate into the lives of every student. The social media has become the platform of official communication and made the students completely rely on mobile phone for all academic activities. Thus, the ultimate responsibility of using or misusing the Social Media is at the hands of the students. So, the study is attempts to examine the impact of Social Media in the academic performances of the students in higher education. This is an quantitative study based on a survey among high school students of private schools in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. The study used inferential statistics alongside the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) for testing the hypothesis and its significant relation with the variables. The study revealed that the usage of Social media has a dual impact, negatively (addiction) and positively impacts the communication among peers, teachers and knowledge sharing behavior which leads to good academic performance. The chalk and talk method has almost vanished and made both teachers and students to adapt to alternative learning methods. The study suggests adopting existing pedagogy or creation of a new style of learning integrating the Information Communication Technology (ICT) with traditional teaching methods. Keywords: Students, Social Media, Academic Performance, Higher Education, India INTRODUCTION: The Social media has penetrated the lives of individuals and communities both positively and negatively. The Social media is used for a wide array of services like brand management, marketing, knowledge sharing, connecting with peers or networking, etc. The COVID-19 imposed lockdown made the schools shut down their regular classes and forced to conduct online classes. This led to the full time access of mobile and/or laptops to the hands of the students to keep up with their academic activities. The Social media has certain platforms for knowledge sharing and edutainment purposes and at the same time it also has certain platforms for networking among peers and teachers. The students had options to use whatever they want. The Social media is not necessarily a evil because this has the option to provide access to a learner to whichever course they want despite their socio-economic conditions. Many E-Learning platforms provided free access to their courses for the benefit of learners during the lockdown periods. The Social media has become an integral part in everyone's life since lockdown. The process of teaching, learning, communication, research, job and exchange of information everything is being done with the help of social media only. This has changed the way of knowledge sharing, knowledge seeking and inter-personal communications. (Zhu, 2012) In his study have tested and proved that usage of Social media for collaborative learning has a significant impact on the academic performance and satisfaction of students. However, this study only questioned about the usage patterns of social media and its impact on academic performances of the high school students. The Social media is an outcome of ICT which facilitates sharing of ideas, thoughts and knowledge through the virtual networks and communities. The Social media include Social networking sites (Example: Facebook, Twitter, etc) and other platforms like Wikipedia, YouTube, blogs, instant messaging, data sharing/transferring sites, podcasts, etc. This also includes the E-Learning websites. Every invention has its own pros and cons. Similarly the social media also has both positive and negative impacts on the Students/People. The positive impact of Social media is the enhancement of knowledge seeking and knowledge sharing behavior. The Social media can be utilized effectively to communicate with any experts and seek conceptual clarity from various platforms, provide more knowledge to the students and influences Journal for Educators, Teachers and Trainers JETT, Vol. 13 (3); ISSN: 1989-9572 35 them to engage in a extracurricular activity and those who are already engaged in a similar activity use this to network their talents and potentials to mass audiences. The negative impact of Social media is the excessive use for connecting with peers or other non academic purposes. The addiction can be a real problem as it will highly toss the academic performance along with the mental health of the student. The cyber bullying, cyber stalking and other forms of illegal activities are also prone in these scenarios. The students must be aware about what they are getting involved into and also they must be educated about things like privacy. Education is the base for every aspect of human life. Since the education has came into this virtual mode controlling the usage limit by parents has become difficult. The Social media has the potential to do good as well as bad to the students. Especially the Adolescents in the high schools can use this for academic purposes and at the same time it can be misused for other activities. This study aims to explore the impact of Social media in academic performances of the high school students in India. To obtain this data, a questionnaire was framed and sought responses from 200 high school students of private schools in Chennai, Tamil Nadu and India. REVIEW OF LITERATURE: (Aagard, 2015) in their study mentions that the educational system is gradually integrating digital devices in the classroom assuming that these technologies will increase student's motivation to learn. The study concluded that due to the hyperlinked architecture, social media can be more distracting instead of focusing which might lead to negative academic impact on the student's performance. (Rudoy, Olshevskaya, & Kankhva, 2020) in their study analyzed the impacts created by Social media on the tourism industry. The study investigated the correlation between social media and tourism and examined the positive and negative impacts of social media in the tourism industry. The study recommended ethical social media management strategies over fake advertisements so that customer satisfaction would be decent as they know what to expect from the place. (Abdulqader & Almunsour, 2020) investigated the effects of Social media on Higher Education with a Case Study from Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University. The study found that 43% of the respondents stated that the use of Social media were beneficial in their academic performance whereas, the others believed social media had no impact over their performances. (Ansari & Khan, 2020) examined the role and effectiveness of social media in transferring the resources and communication with peers/experts across the world. The study employed latent variance based structural equation model approach for measurement and instrument validation. The study concluded with remarks that involving social media for collaborative learning facilitate students to be more creative and research oriented. (Gopalan, S, & D, 2022) gathered the Public opinion on the New Education Policy. The National Education Policy is the most recent change expected to be implemented gradually in the upcoming years. This policy aims to modernize education with lot of changes to the existing curriculum and the study has shown that there is significant welcoming to these initiatives. (Aleisa, 2022) explored the graduate student's experiences on using Social media as a learning space. The study was a thematic analysis on interviews, observations and artifacts offering a good description of respondent's experiences on using social media as a formal learning space. The study found that participant's ease of access in finding information is the major driver in using social media as a learning space. (Moreno, Niebla, & Serrano, 2019) addressed the problem of academic performance of psychology graduate students under current dynamics of higher education of Mexico. The study's results gave an understanding that personal and academic variables tend to have low influence on student outcomes. Further, the researchers recommended identifying the factors which relate to results shown by the students and analyzing them. (Vollum, 2014) exhaustively reviewed the existing literatures relating to social interaction in education, social media, social interaction and use of social media in personal r community health and physical education programs. Then the researchers found the K-12 settings in order to find if it has impact in creating healthy and informed decision makers in health education. The study found that social interaction can positively impact education. (Yadav & Srivastava, 2013) analyzed the impact of Social networking media on higher education. The study provides suggestions on how social media can be used as educational tool and the concerns to be kept in mind while utilizing such mediums. OBJECTIVES The study was conducted to explore the impact of Social media in academic performance of high school students in India. The objectives of the study were, 1. To understand the purpose of using Social Media 2. To find out the average time spent on these platforms 3. To explore the impact of Social media on academic performances of students 4. To examine the awareness of the pros and cons of Social Media Journal for Educators, Teachers and Trainers JETT, Vol. 13 (3); ISSN: 1989-9572 36 HYPOTHESIS: H1 - Academic performance is negatively impacted by engagement in Social Media H2 - Correlation between Academic performance and nature of activities in Social media RESEARCH METHODOLOGY: The study employs a quantitative research design as it aims to measure the impact of Social media in academic performance of the high school students of India. The study was conducted in the Chennai city which is the capital of the state Tamil Nadu. The respondents were high school students of private schools in Chennai. The students of government schools were excluded as most of the schools didn't conduct any online classes. The questionnaire was circulated among 200 high school students from ten different schools in Chennai. The samples were selected using convenience sampling technique. The researcher used tables, charts, inferential statistics and ANOVA (analysis of variance) to test the hypothesis. FINDINGS, ANALYSIS & DISCUSSIONS: The data collected using the questionnaire from the samples is analyzed below. The demographic details of the participants are discussed below. Out of the 200 respondents a majority of 63% were boys. The age of the respondents were not collected as there was not much variants between high school students. The students from Matriculation (Tamil Nadu State board) were a majority with almost 85%. Figure 1: Purpose of using Social Media The figure 1 shows that the majority of students use Social media for the purposes of networking/connecting with others and only 15% of the students use social media for academic purposes. This shows that the students are most excited about keeping up with their friends over utilising for educational purposes. Figure 2: Use of Social Media apart from Academic Purposes 15% 30% 12% 43% Purpose of using Social Media Academic purposes Entertainment Infotainment Connecting with others 5% 25% 30% 40% Use of Social Media apart from Academic purposes Less than a hour 1-2hrs 2-4hrs More than 4hrs Journal for Educators, Teachers and Trainers JETT, Vol. 13 (3); ISSN: 1989-9572 37 From the figure 2 it is seen that the majority 40% of students use Social media for more than 4 hours in a day followed by 30% who use between 2-4hours in a day. This data shows that nearly 3/4th of the students are engaged in Social media for more than 2hours in a day. The average duration spent on social media by internet users worldwide is about 145minutes (Daily Social media usage worldwide in 2019 & 2020, Statistics from www.statista.com) which means these high school students are excessively engaged in Social media. Figure 3: Average percentage of marks before & after lockdown From the figure 3 we can see that the average percentage of marks has decreased for majority of the students. The question asked them to compare the average percentage of the last exam they wrote in school before lockdown and to the average percentage of marks in the most recent exam. The reason behind this is in 2020 and 2021 the classes were conducted online and the students had more spare time and also more access to the social media and other technology. This shows that the usage of social media impacts the academic performance of the students. Figure 4: Social media is cheap and convenient tool for obtaining information There was absolute agreement among all the students saying that social media is cheap and convenient medium for obtaining information. Figure 5 S.No QUESTION YES NO 1 Are you aware about the E-Learning opportunities in Social Media? 100% 0% 2 Are you aware of cyber stalking, cyber bullying and other privacy related issues in social media? 80% 20% 3 Do you think prolonged use of Social media for non academic purposes impacts your academic performances? 47% 53% 4 Have you used YouTube or other platforms to get better clarity on the topics taught in 92% 8% 30% 70% Average % in the online education compared to school Increased Decreased 100% 0% Social media is cheap & convenient for obtaining info Yes No Journal for Educators, Teachers and Trainers JETT, Vol. 13 (3); ISSN: 1989-9572 38 schools? 5 Does your parents/ care takers restrict the duration for using mobile phones? 54% 46% The figure 5 shows the questions asked and the respondents answers in percentage. It is evident that every student is aware of E-learning opportunities and almost everyone has used the Social media to gain better clarity on the concepts. The parents restrict the usage of mobile phones in many families and it is understandable as most of the students are not aware that excessive use of social media for non academic purposes has negative impacts on their academic purposes. The first hypothesis is analyzed here, Table 1 Academic performance is negatively impacted by engagement in Social Media Sum of Squares Df Mean square F Sig Inter groups 1.821 1 1.821 8.182 0.005 Intra groups 36.493 198 0.223 Total 38.313 199 Table 1 shows the negative impact on academic performance caused by excessive engagement in social media. The Table 1 implies that there is a significant association between the time spent on Social media and the academic performance. The second hypothesis is analyzed here, Table 2 Correlation between Academic performance and nature of activities in Social media Sum of Squares Df Mean square F Sig Inter groups 0.299 4 0.075 0.312 0.869 Intra groups 38.544 195 0.239 Total 38.843 199 Table 2 shows the Correlation between Academic performance and nature of activities in Social Media. The data shows that when Social media is used for academic purposes it impacts the performance positively and in other cases it impacts negatively. Based on the findings, it is evident that social media has consumed an integral part of student's life which directly impacts the academic performance of the students. The data above depicts that social media has dual impacts on academic achievements of the students. The social media has become an integral part of the student's life in the past couple of years due to the lockdown restrictions and online learning module. The social media is currently both boon and bane. This has the potential to both positively (knowledge seeking behavior) and negatively (addiction) impact on the academic performances of the students. The adolescents are highly prone to get addicted if there is no control or monitoring by the parents. CONCLUSION: The Information Communication Technology has assembled everyone virtually in the social media to share their thoughts, concepts, ideas and network with peers and experts from across the world. The information is available at just a single tap on a mobile phone. The students are able to clear their doubts any minute with people whom they find comfortable in accessing and resolving the doubts. The proper use of social media for the student's future lies ultimately on the student's hand itself. Since the data shows that Social media has already excited most of the students the educational institutions must make sure that they innovate some ideas so that social network is not only used as an entertainment and communication medium but also for educational purposes. There must be assignments involving Social media and group of students so that even though it feels like they are spending time with peers and in the process of that enjoyment they must accomplish some assignments related to their academics. The results highlighted the advantages of using Social Media which has positively impacted the academic performance of the students. In case of unmonitored situations this might also negatively impact the process of learning. But, with these data the researchers come to a conclusion that it is high time that we realize the need for developing a new style of learning which integrates modern learning solutions into traditional system of teaching in schools. (Chen, Lambert, & Guidry, 2010) & (Hrastinski & Aghaee, 2012) in their studies have described how the Social media enhance academic performance and how it aids the official communication with students. The researchers also proposes that there must be a awareness program conducted among the high Journal for Educators, Teachers and Trainers JETT, Vol. 13 (3); ISSN: 1989-9572 39 school students to make them aware of social media misuse, cyber stalking and privacy related issues. The study recommends that there must be a monitoring mechanism by the parents/ care-takers to make sure that at least 70% of the time is utilized only for academic purposes. It is important to address this issue and by saying monitoring mechanism the research didn't mean moderating or restrictive access but instead there must be some activities in place which doesn't control the students directly but instead use some innovative methods to improve positive outcomes. The fun oriented learning assignments (co-curricular activities) can be given, for example group of students can be asked to create a page on some social media and they would be expected to create content on a particular subject and promote the educational content on social media. In this way the student in the name of education gets to utilize their spare time effectively and they are learning both the subjects and technology. If the school management has a potential to maintain such contents in their pages they can also promote themselves and this will be a big win-win situation for students, parents and management. These habits can go a long way to keep students on track gives them a feel of entertainment and at the same time they can be focused academically. The researcher recommends someone to take up studies on exploring the psychological well being of students who excessively use social media; ways to make students engage in fun oriented learning activities in their spare time. 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