ABSTRACT
The study ascertained the effects of social media on
youths with particular reference to Ebonyi State University students. The
design used for the study was survey research design. The population of the
study comprised all the students in Ebonyi State University, (400) respondents
were used as the sample of the study; while the theory used was Hypodermic
Needle Theory.
The information gotten reveals that more than half of the
students in Ebonyi State University are ignorant of the risks and disadvantages
involved in making use of social media. The over-indulgences in it had made
some students to loose focus in school, and become victims at the end. Based on
these findings, it is recommended that the greater initiative in education and
parents are required to work together to equip the students with the skills and
awareness to use it safely, effectively and appropriately.
INTRODUCTION
The Overview of Social Media
Social
media is a term used to collectively describe a set of tools that foster
interaction, discussion and community, allowing people to build relationships
and share information through networks.Andreas
Kaplan and Michael Haenlein defined social media as “a group of internet-based
applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web
2.0 that allow the creation and exchange of user-generated content.
Furthermore, social media depend on mobile and web-based technologies to create
highly interactive platforms via which individuals and communities share,
co-create, discuss and modify user-generated content. It introduces substantial
and pervasive changes to communication between organizations, communities and
individuals.
Social media popular tools include but not limited to
the following:
·
Facebook
(networking)
·
Twitter
(networking)
·
YouTube (photos
and videos)
·
Flickr (photos
and videos)
·
Blogs (posting
articles)
·
Foursquare.
Social Media Key Principles and
Characteristics:
I.
Social media is
not just a broad cast channel, sales or marketing tool, it is also about
conversation, connecting with personalities and building relationships.
II.
Social media not only allow one to hear or
read what people say about him, but enable one also to respond.
III.
It is compelling,
useful and relevant.
IV.
Authenticity,
honesty and open dialogue are keys.
SIX TYPES OF SOCIAL MEDIA ARE:
1.) Social Networks: These are services
that allow one to connect with other people of similar interests and
backgrounds. Usually, they consist of a profile, various ways to interact with
other users, ability to set up groups etc. The most popular Facebook and
Linkedln.
2) Media Sharing: Services that allow one to upload and share various
media such as pictures and videos. Most services have additional social
features such as profiles, commenting etc. The most popular are YouTube and
Flickr.
3) Microblogging: They are services that focus on short updates that
are pushed out to any one subscribed to receive the updates. Twitter is the
most popular.
4) Blog Comments and Forums: Online forums allow members to hold conversations by
posting messages. Blog comments are similar except they are attached to blogs
and usually, the discussion centers around the topic of the blog post.
5) Social New: They are services that allow people to post various
news items or links to people to post various news items or links to out side
articles and then allow it’s users to “vote” on the items. The voting is the
core social aspect as the items that get the most votes are displayed as the
most prominent. The community decides which news items get seen by more people.
The most popular are Digg and Reddit.
6) Book Marking Sites