Is social media to blame for this high failure?


Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Badoo, 2go, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, and blogs that are the current fad among youths. The effect of social media on academic performance in Nigeria calls for concern. Although, there are no data to show this impact, the increase in the number of student failures in the national exams, like the JAMB (Joint Admissions Matriculation Board) and WAEC (West African Examination Council) are terrifying.

According to the WAEC office in Lagos, only about 31.28% of the 1,692,435 examination candidates for 2015 obtained credits in five subjects.

Is social media to blame for this high failure?


Access to social media is possible via several devices, computer, tablet, phones, and games. Smartphones today can do virtually everything that can be done on the computer like chatting, blogging, and gaming.


According to the WAEC office in Lagos, only about 31.28% of the 1,692,435 examination candidates for 2015 obtained credits in five subjects.

Social media does contribute positively in a way to education, especially when integrated into the learning management system of the school.


There are several social media tools such as Voicethread and Schoology with built-in social media used by schools for academic and professional development.

With such platforms, the student community is more academic-centered since it is a part of the learning tools. For example, students can follow classmates, on recent happenings, topics, and important events patterning to the school. More so, they can ask questions, and share both academics and non-academic information in this virtual environment.

There are also educational groups on popular online sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ that students can join and interact with people from other institutions for the purpose of acquiring knowledge and useful professional skills.


If social media is not used in a good way, it could reduce the time spent on purposeful coursework. Working with student and educating them on how they can use this media for scholarly purposes is highly essential. As the Internet and social sites are now part of our lives, encouraging students to spend time on educational sites, rather than other non-academic sites should be expounded at home and in schools. In Nigeria, implementing a platform that provides a balance of social and learning features could help students to be more engaged and committed to learning.

What do you think

I dnt think social media is d cause for high failure in academics...


It just centres on one's interest to read.. Dats all..