Influence of Social Media on Reading Culture among Nigerian Polytechnic Students

This original research paper investigated the influence of social media on reading culture among polytechnic students in Nigeria. The study was aimed at examining the reading habits of polytechnic students in order to discover the benefits of reading, hinderances to reading, social media habits and extent of social media influence on reading culture. The study is a descriptive survey research which investigated polytechnic students at the National Diploma and the Higher National Diploma levels in all Federal and State Government owned Polytechnics in Edo and Delta States namely, Auchi Polytechnic (350) National Institute of Construction Technology and Management Uromi (50), Edo State Polytechnic Usen (250), Delta State Polytechnic Ogwashi-Uku (300), Delta State Polytechnic Otefe-Oghara (300), Delta State Polytechnic Ozoro (250). The structured questionnaire was used for data collection. Research assistants were recruited to assist in the administration of questionnaires on respondents and retrieval of same from them. 1460 completed questionnaires were returned representing 97.3%. Data analysis was done using graphical charts. The findings indicate that majority of the students don’t frequently read as it takes them between 2-6 days before they read at all and the students spend an hour or less each time they read. The greatest benefit they derive from reading is confidence in examinations and improved academic performance. The social media is the major hindrance to reading, as majority of the students use the social media daily and some of them to as much as 7 hours every day. Majority of the students prefer using social media to reading. It was therefore recommended that social media should be integrated into lecture delivery platforms, while the education and ICT policies should be reviewed. While Librarians and Civil Societies to engage in advocacy campaigns, Librarians need to develop their skills sets for improved service delivery.