Psycho-Personal Variables on Social Media Engagement of Students in the College of Education, Afaha Nsit

Abstract

The study investigated the influence of psycho-personal variables on social media engagement of students in the College of Education, Afaha Nsit. The descriptive research design was used for the study. Three research questions and three corresponding hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The population of the study consisted of all Year Three (300L) students in the College of Education, Afaha Nsit. A sample size of 200 students was drawn from the population using simple random sampling technique. A structured questionnaire titled “Psycho-personal Variables and Social Media Engagement Questionnaire” (PVSMEQ) was used as instrument for data collection.  A face-validation method was adopted to establish the validity of the instrument. The reliability of the instrument was ascertained using the test-retest method and a reliability coefficient index of 0.70 was obtained. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions while independent t-test was used to test the null hypotheses at .05 level of significance. The findings showed that: there is no significant difference in social media engagement of students based on age and gender. The result also revealed that there is significant difference in social media engagement of students based on self-concept. Based on the findings, it was recommended among others that parents should encourage their children/wards to engage only in meaningful and productive social media activities.