Abstract:
This thesis focuses on examining the effects of using social media on the academic
performance of preparatory students in the Ethiopian context. Technology is changing many
aspects of our social life. Nevertheless, the shift from the face to face social interactions to the
technology driven socialization makes a debatable among scholars. Some scholars consider
Social media (SM) as a boon, to be used as a source for educational information, a site to share
students understanding on the information what they earn to their social mates and a means of
receiving plenty of information from their counterparts. On the contrary, there are other scholars
who consider SM as a curse to the millennia generation. They argue as Social media (SM) have a
negative impact on students’ academic performance. Even though there are some studies that
have been done so far in Ethiopia, there is little research done on the effects of using social
media among students in the study area. This study tries to elucidate the effects of using social
media among selected Shahura preparatory students involving both quantitative and qualitative
methods via cross sectional study design and focus group discussion (FGD), respectively. Hence,
mixed methodological approach was employed via probability sampling techniques to draw the
study samples for the quantitative element of the study. The data is organized and analyzed by
following the rigorous steps pertinent to both the quantitative and qualitative components of the
study. According to the study, most of the sample respondents involved in the survey (58.5%)
reported that they have sufficient idea about internet. The widely used social networking site is
facebook (58%). The majority of the students, 154 (45.3%) students used SM for the purpose of
entertainment. The differences in using internet every day, using internet for four up to five days
a week, communication with online friends every day, communication with online friends five to
six days per week, using SM for greater than 6 hours per day, using SM for 4-6 hours per day
