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Social networking have become a first-hand means through which individuals can interact and communicate with friends and family who do not live close to them. Awake (2011) expounded that social networking has become immensely known. Also, it took thirty years for radio to reach fifty million users, thirteen years for television to draw the same number of people and four years for the internet to do so, but it took Facebook only 12 months to attain two hundred million users.
In Nigeria, there is high number of social network users. According to social bakers, a Facebook statistics site, Nigeria ranks 35th in the world in the number of people who uses Facebook. The site also estimated that Facebook has an estimate of over 4 million Nigerian users.
(Konetes and McKeague, 2011) came up with certain revelations about the uses of the social networking sites especially, Facebook, the researchers reported that, ‘‘students are using Facebook and other channels to develop their identities, beliefs and stances on various issues such as politics, religion, economy and work, as well as to pioneer and develop intimate relationships.’’
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Social networking sites offer numerous communicating platforms based on the aims of their originators. Some of these platforms may include, political, social, businesses, sports, academic, romantic and religious platform. In other words, the social networking site by their nature has the enablement to educate, inform and entertain the populace. Onomo (2012) accredited these abilities by saying that social networking sites has become ‘‘a well-known tool for interaction and exchange of ideas/information and helping individuals and organizations with every strategy to reach a remarkably numerous audience that could not have been reached by ordinary traditional media.”
Thus, since beginning, social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Skype, and Instagram etc. have captivated millions of users. Many of these users have been made to consider these sites as parts of their daily activities. Currently, there is an excess of social networks with various features meant to suit the different interests of different users. Some are accessed by computer alone while others can be used with mobile phones and other electronic gadgets. The first identifiable social networking sites was launched in 1997 was SIX DEGREES. It enabled its users to create profiles, identify their friends and in 1998, it introduced the friends list where users had the choice to query for old and new friends. However, this was without the provision for its users to upload their display/profile pictures.
Some other social networking sites were founded to support social interaction among their users but did not have many features like SIX DEGREES. Other social networking sites like Friendster and Myspace formed a computer-generated community, which would help its followers identify both old and new ones and shape their personal profile through the internet. After two years, Jack Dorsey Launched Twitter as an online blogging site, while the most current 2go was created in 2008 by Michael S. Egan (Charles O.Omekwu, 2014). And so, just like radio and television, social networking has extended everywhere in Nigeria and are certain to be developing as the new media for communication. In other words, from the analysis carried out by the investigator from the World Internet Statistics (2012) it was found that out of the total population of over 200 million people in Nigeria, about 6 million numbers of people used Facebook as of 2012.
Social networking sites can be the best way to connect people with related interests and goals, like a virtual meetings where friends hang out. There is indication of a large range of benefits to users associated with the use of Social networking sites be it students or others who need it. These are just some of the several helpful things that have aided to social networking popularity among researchers because they can share information, discuss different topics and exchange documents. However, from the study carried out by Konetes and McsKeague (2011) came up with certain disclosures about the uses of the social networking sites specifically, Facebook. The research concluded that ‘‘students are using Facebook and other channels to develop their identities, beliefs and stances on various issues which may include; religion, politics, and work as well as to forge and develop intimate relationships.’’
Social media refers to the means of communication among people in which they create, share, interchange and comment among themselves in different networks. Andreas M (2010) are of the opinion that social media is a group of internet based application that builds on the ideological foundation and allows the creation and exchange of users – generated content. There has been a rapid increase in the use of mobile social media which has created a new opportunity for browsing.
In view of the effect of internet usage and social media, Nielsen, (2012) concluded that, students continually spend more time on the social media than any other social networking site. The amount of time (in total) that is spent daily on social media across mobile devices has increased by 37%, 121 billion minutes in July 2012 likened to 88 billion minutes in July 2011.
Mobile Social Media
Social media used with mobile devices is referred to as mobile social media. Social media can be defined as a series of mobile marketing application that facilitates the conception and exchange of user-generated content. Owing to the fact that mobile social media operates on mobile devices, it varies from traditional social media as it combines new factors such as the current location of the user, time delay between sending and receiving. According to Kaplan (2002), social media can be categorized into four different types:
- Space-timers (location and time sensitive): exchange of message with relevance for definite location and time e.g. Facebook, 2go, BB chat.
- Quick-time (time sensitive): transfer of traditional social media application to mobile services to increase immediacy (posting Twitter messages, status update (2go), and updating display picture (BBM).
- Space-locators (location sensitive): exchange message with significance for one specific location which are identified to a definite place.
- Slow-timers (neither location nor time sensitive): It transmits traditional social media application to mobile devices examples are; reading a Wikipedia entry.
Conceptual Framework
Social networks’ popularity grows rapidly by the second. These social networking sites have become effective means of communicating ideas and feelings among their large number of users. Consequently, these sites are starting to get more attention from educational institutions. Gardner (2009) proposed that institutions are taking strong steps to enlighten students on the use of the sites.
Furthermore, social networking improves a student’s sense of the community, sharing and collaboration brings an additional responsibility and workload, which some students find inflexible and rather “forced” (Charles O.Omekwu, 2014). This invention makes use of web cams or voice-only software to hold virtual seminars/ meetings online. This is exceptionally useful when different people involved live in different parts of the globe. By the use of social networking sites students are able to express themselves, interact and collect profiles that portray their experience and talent. According to Konetes and McKeague in 2011, came up with certain revelations about the uses of the social networking sites especially, Facebook, the researchers reported that students are using Facebook and other means to develop their beliefs, identities and stances on several issues such as politics, religion, economy and work, as well as to pioneer and develop intimate relationships.’’
Also, Gross (2004) stated that ‘‘students use social networking sites not only for leisure and personal socialization but also as a platform for more meaningful and serious deliberations, and students are using social networking for making friends, sharing links, online learning, finding jobs to accomplish their economic, educational, political and social being.’’ Researchers have fast realized the need to combine this to the educational institutions, as an instrument to support the educational conversations between student and their institution, even though institutions of higher learning have tried preventing students from accessing technologies which is of less importance to their academic pursuits.
In Hudson’s view, social networks and niche social network, General social networks are another types of social networks and to corroborate this Chris opined that: “Some social networking websites such as Facebook, fall in the general category, they allows people of all interest and backgrounds on this type of social networking websites. Its users can after include their interest and then find members with like interests by searching for key phrases and key words. The major purpose all social networking websites is to serve as a special platform where people can unite with old friends, stay connected with current ones, and even make new friends according to (Charles O.Omekwu, 2014)
Social networking sites can also be grouped based on users areas of interest. Charles O.Omekwu(2014) stresses that: “Other social networking websites have tight, niche focuses, and cater for specific groups of people. Social networking websites can focus around dating, culture, hobbies, ethnicity, romance, entrepreneurship, sports, education and more.
Some other social networking sites can be grouped based on format. These formats has to do with the degree to which they fit in new communication and information tools. Charles O.Omekwu (2014) contributes by asserting that; “types of social networking sites. Multimedia sharing social networking site are known for sharing information in form of; photos, videos etc. YouTube is a video sharing site that virtually everybody has seen. Jason (2010) sums it up by concluding that “social networking sites are classified based on the nature of their communities” in his own view, these network include social news, video sharing, photo sharing, comment communities, broadcasting communities, blog networks, networks, micro blogging, presentation sharing and review and reference sites.
The Benefits of Using Social Networking Sites
Social networking sites has been a great way to making connections with people with like interests and goals, like a virtual meeting place where friends meets. There a broad range of benefits to users of Social networking sites. These are some of the various positive things that have contributed to the popularity of social networking. However, from the study carried out by Konetes and McsKeague (2011) came up with certain revelations about the uses of the social networking sites especially, Facebook, the researcher reported that ‘‘students uses Facebook and other media to develop their beliefs, identities and stances on several issues such as religion, politics and work as well as to develop close relationships.’’
Social networking help institutions to influence and supplement formal education activities and enhance learning effects. Social networking can also provide opportunities for new relationships as well as consolidating existing relationships. These are some of the benefits of social networking sites to students and other users;
Web engagement: Students use social networking sites to interact with their colleagues and even their instructors about class-related subjects. In a world where online support is vital for businesses, these students have started to become professionals at developing a sense of internet existence. They don’t only know how to relate with others on the Internet, they also have a knowledge of how to use basic and even difficult functions in order to do so.
Informal knowledge and skill: Social Networking sites also aid learning and skill acquisition outside formal learning environments by encouraging friend-to-friend learning of skills collaboration and different cultural expression.
