Age Factor in Business Education Students’ Use of Social Networking Sites in Tertiary Institutions in Anambra State, Nigeria

Abstract

There are diverse social networking sites which range from those that provide social sharing and interaction to those that provide networks for professionals within same and other fields. Social networking sites require a user to sign up, create a profile and begin sending short messages about what the user is doing or thinking. The study sought to establish from business education students in tertiary institutions in Anambra state Nigeria, hours of the day spent on social networking sites, social networking sited used and what they use social networking site for. Relevant theories and literature were reviewed. Population of the study was made up of 577 penultimate and final year business education students of four tertiary institutions in Anambra state. Proportionate sampling technique was used to select 236 students for the study. Three hypotheses guided the study. A structured questionnaire was used to gather information for the study. The data collection instrument was subjected to a reliability test which yielded a reliability coefficient of 0.80 using Cronbach alpha. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to test the hypotheses at 95% confidence interval. Findings revealed that business education students differed significantly on hours of the day spent using social networking sites and on what they use social networking sites for, but do not differ significantly on social networking sites they use as a result of age. Consequently, it was recommended, among others, that business education students of all age brackets should be taught to harness the educational potentials of social networking sites so as to effectively use these sites for educational purposes.