INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS DRESSING HABIT IN THE FACULTY OF EDUCATION, UNIVERSITY OF BENIN, BENIN CITY, EDO STATE

ABSTRACT

This research study investigated the influence of Social Media on undergraduate dressing habit in the Faculty of Education in University of Benin, Benin City, Edo State. The study was directed at the population of 6435 students and 193 lecturers in the Faculty of Education in University of Benin, Benin City, Edo State. Lecturers and students will be considered across different levels through stratified random sampling technique across the eight (8) Departments in the Faculty of Education. A descriptive survey design was used for the study. A total of two hundred and forty (240) respondents formed the study sample which comprised of one hundred and fifteen (115) male respondents and one hundred and twenty-five (125) female respondents across 100 levels to 400 level in the Faculty of Education in University of Benin, Benin City, Edo State. The study employed a descriptive survey design in order to obtain information from a representative sample of a targeted population. The instrument used in this study was validated by the researcher’s supervisor and two (2) experts in measurement and evaluation from the University of Benin. The test and retest reliability method was used to established the reliability of the instrument by administering the instrument on thirty (30) students who were not part of the study. To establish the reliability of the instruments, it was administered to the 30 undergraduate students once and thereafter Cronbach statistical tool was used to ascertain the internal consistency which yielded an alpha value of 0.79. Four (4) research questions which were raised to guide the study were answered descriptively using frequency count, simple percentage, mean and Standard Deviation while inferential statistic of Chi Square Test of independent sample was used to test the two (2) hypotheses formulated for the study. An extreme review of related literature was carried out to shed more light into the problem under investigation. Result from the analysis of the study revealed that there was a significant influence of celebrity’s dress sense on the dressing habit of UNIBEN students and that there was a significant influence of Social Media on dressing habit among male and female UNIBEN students. The study concludes that celebrity’s dress sense and social media have strong influence on the dressing habit of UNIBEN students. The mass media is one of the strongest agents of socialization; social media should confront rather than support indecent dressing. Colleges and Universities who have introduced dress codes for their students should enforce the dress codes on them, collaborating with the school management and security personnel of the institutions.