PERCEPTION ON THE INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE HEALTH AND WELL-BEING OF STUDENTS

ABSTRACT

This study focused on the Perception of the influence of social media on the health and wellbeing of students in the University of Benin. Five research questions were raised to guide the study, for the purpose of understanding how social media influences the health and well-being of students.

The study adopted the descriptive survey research design. The population of the study drawn from the total number of students in the University of Benin which is 47,861 and a sample size of 156 respondents was used for the study. The questionnaire was given to the project supervisor and two other lecturers in the Department of Health, Safety and Environmental Education. The instrument was administered by the researcher after careful explanation to the respondents and retrieved immediately.

After the collation of the instrument, the data was analyzed using frequency and percentage, findings from this study revealed that social media is being excessively used by students and it has effects on their academic performance. It was observed that obsessive social media use can result in anxiety, depression and this can be due to the need for positive validation or approval from other peers on social media.it was also observed that idleness and lack of recreational facilities increase the use of social media by the students.