PLACE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN THE PRESENT ICT ERA (A case study of Facebook Users in Ospoly )

Abstract

The study set out the place of social media in the present ICT era (A case study of Facebook users in Osun State Polytechnic Iree. Various researches indicated that majority of the students in tertiary institutions are on at least a social media platform where they related and interact with friends and family which the internet has made possible especially in the global age. There is no doubt about the fact that the world is in a global village as postulated by Professor Marshall McLuhan, the world is now compressed into a single electronic room where information from far and near can be exchanged with a click of mouse or touch of screen. However, social media is one of the internet tools that facilitate effective interaction and immediate feedback in communication. The study used survey method while questionnaire was used to elicit responses from the respondents. Also, the data collected were analysed using frequency and percentage tables method. Findings show that, although, many of the youth are now addicted to social media as 70 % of the respondents spent lots of time online. Also, most students often used Facebook and Whatsapp than any other social media. It is recommended that students should be conscious of their activities online while they should only accept friend request known to them.