Influence of Social Media on Social Behaviour of Youth in the Tamale Metropolis, Ghana

Abstract

Social media usage among people is on the increase these days. With so many teenagers and adolescents using social media, it makes sense to be worried about the positive and negative repercussions on user behaviour. There is no denying the benefits and drawbacks of social media for student's academic and social lives. Social media's influence on students' social and academic lives is probably well-considered. This study is designed to examine social media usage and its effects on the academics and social behaviour of young graduates. The researcher decided to employ a mixed method to carry out an exhaustive and precise inquiry. The quantitative and qualitative research designs are the two main categories into which research designs are divided. A mixed technique approach that integrated qualitative and quantitative paradigms was employed to collect data. To gather demographic data from respondents, a quantitative design was used. The research methodology includes the population and sampling, study design, technique, data gathering instrument, data collection methods, and data analysis. The results show that recreational and relational goals are the main perceived advantages of social media. The study discovered that using technology can increase students' perceptions of stress in their lives and can result in a need or addiction to feeling connected. It also demonstrated a noteworthy influence on how students nowadays form bonds with their friends and family. The findings of this study may inform policymakers and other interested parties on trends in young people's social media usage, and problems associated with it, and suggest ways to encourage its effective and responsible use. The results of this study could support more in-depth research projects that try to develop intervention plans to optimize the advantages and minimize the hazards of social media use. The current study used mixed methods and therefore suggests that future research employs longitudinal methodologies to monitor how social media influence the evolving behaviour of students.