Chapter 1

Statement of the problem

The researcher will investigate the following:

“How do Social networks affect the students at the Vieux Fort Comprehensive School,

Campus B?’

The following objectives have been formulated to keep with the research.

The researcher seeks to:

1. Find out the views of students on the extensive use of social networks.

2. Identify some of the problems which have arisen as a result of social networks.

3. Examine the impacts social networks have on the students of the Vieux Fort

Comprehensive Secondary School, Campus B.

4. Recommend solutions that can reduce the negative impact of social networks on the

students of the school.

 Chapter 2

Reason for selecting the area of research

In today’s society, the use of social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and Blackberry

messenger, is drastically increasing. The researcher has realized that their use is ever present

among the students at the Vieux Fort Comprehensive Secondary School Campus B, which he

attends.

Many students seem to have become addicted to social networks and are now more pre occupied

with these social networks. Rather than devoting their time to better things such as their studies,

students can be seen during the school day on them. Some claim to spend an average of three

hours a night on Facebook. Students can be seen using their cell phones during class time to

communicate with friends via Facebook An action which is in breach of one of the School’s

rules. The researcher believes that is affecting them immensely academically and socially.

As a result of these observations, the researcher has therefore set out to investigate the topic

“How do social networks affect the students at the Vieux Fort Comprehensive Secondary

School, Campus B?” He hopes to understand the impact of the use of the networks on the

students and offer suggestions to minimize any negative consequences that their use may have.
 Chapter 4
Data Collection Instrument

Dear respondents,

I am…………., a fifth form student of the Vieux Fort Comprehensive Secondary School. I

currently reside in the community of Banse La- Grace. I am carrying out a survey to determine

‘How does social networks affect the students at the Vieux Fort Comprehensive Secondary

School, Campus B.’

The study is being conducted as an assignment for my Social Studies School Based Assessment

(SBA). It is an imperative requirement for Social Studies, that all students submit an SBA.

Consequently, I benevolently seek your assistance by answering this questionnaire frankly. Your

name should not be included and all information given will be kept confidential.

Thank you.

Yours sincerely,

……………………
Please answer the following questions by placing a tick in the box like this , or write your

responses where required on the lines provided.

Thank you

Questions

Bio-data Section

Sex
Male Female

What age group do you belong to?

13-15 16-18 18+

Level of Education
Lower School Upper School

1. Do you use any social networks?

Yes No If yes,
State___________________________________________________________________

2. How much time do you normally spend on social networks daily?

Under 1 hour 1-3 hours 3-4hours More than 4 hours

3. What do you normally use social networks for?

Send messages Chat play games
to share school related information for entertainment

4. On a scale of 1-5, with 1 being the lowest degree, and 5 the highest, how would you rate
the level of addiction of students to social networks?
1 2 3 4 5

5. Do you think that social networks have contributed to a change in the behavior of
students at the school?
Yes No
6. Has social networks increased or decreased the academic performance of students at the
school?
Increased Decreased

7. How would you rate the academic ability of students as a result of social networks?
1 2 3 4 5

8. Have you been in any disputes as a result of social networks?

Yes No

9. What are some problems you believe occur as a result of social networks?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________

10. Do you think that social networks impact students positively?

Yes No

12. State the reasons for your answer.

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_

13. State the negative impacts of social networks on students.

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

14. What solutions do you think can be implemented in order to control or reduce the
negative impacts of social networks on students?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
 Chapter 7
Analysis and Interpretation of data

The data revealed that the use of Social networks is very prevalent among the students of the

school and that they spend a lot of time on those networks. The majority of the respondents seem

to use at least one social network, and utilize the social networks(s) for at least 3 – 4 hours daily.

While the networks can be used for educational purposes unfortunately, the investigation

revealed that the students of the school generally do not use them for such a purpose. A minority

of the respondents use the social networks for constructive purposes, such as the sharing of

school related information. The results show that social networks are used by most students,

mainly for chatting and sending messages to friends. A large proportion of the respondents ( %)

and ( %), use these networks for chatting and sending messages respectively. Other uses include

playing games and other entertainment. This is in keeping with a report by Lenhart, and Madden

(2007), who suggest that teens use such sites largely for friending, chatting and entertainment.

As shown in Fig 1, half of the respondents believe that there is a high level of addiction among

students. This figure is considerably higher than the 15%, who believe there is no addiction.

Cecilia Lang (2010) reports that many U.S. teens say they are addicted to social media. A trend

reported here.

This addiction to social networks has caused numerous problems among the students. Most of

respondents, 50% as presented in Fig 2 believe that social networks have contributed to the

increase in occurrences of fights in the school. A further 25% of respondents also believe that it

contributes to broken relationships such as friendships. Arguments and the spread of false

information are two other problems mentioned with 15% and 10% weighting respectively as

show I Fig 2.
It was a unanimous decision among the respondents that social networks have a negative impact

on the students. The main impacts can be seen in Fig 3, which show that a significant number

(60%) of respondents believe that social networks decrease the academic performance of

students. A recent study by Professor P. Kirschner (2011) also shows that the grades of social

network addicts were 20% lower than non addicts. His study also revealed the grades of the

addicts in the high school weren’t improving compared to the non addicts in his survey. This is

because; the students tend to spend more time on the social networks, rather than dedicating their

time to their studies.

A research by O. Wang and W. Chen (2011) found that social networking is negatively

associated with grades. They found that about two thirds of the students reported using social

networks, while in class, studying or doing homework. “This multitasking likely increases

distraction, something prior research have shown to be detrimental to student performance.” As

social networks such as facebook and twitter gain popularity, they are also becoming

increasingly dangerous as they create modes to procrastinate while trying to complete

assignments. Hence, in a survey of 200 students, by O. Wang and W.Chen, 52% stated that

social media has made them less productive.

A study released by Ohio State University (2010), reveals that high school students who utilize

social networks, spend less time on studying and have lower grades than students who do not use

the popular social networking media.

The use of social networks also increases the amount of communication among students. This

has resulted in an increase in unlawful activity by students, as stated by 20% of respondents as

shown in Fig 3. There was a lesser amount of only 15% and 10%, who believed that social
networks impact the overall behavior of students negatively, and harassment respectively. Social

networks are a major medium through which harassment of students occurs.

Fig 4 displays the recommendations made by the respondents in order to help curb down on the

negative impacts of social networks on the students. Most of the respondents suggested that

restrictive measures such as time limits be implemented in order to reduce the time spent on

social networks by students. A quite similar number of respondents suggested that parent take

greater control over the time spent on social networks by students and monitor their activities.