Effects of WhatsApp and Facebook on Students Academic Performance in the University for Development Studies (UDS), WA Campus

This research was conducted in the University forDevelopment Studies, WA campus to examine the effects of Social Media on students' academic performance taking into focus WhatsApp and Facebook. It has been observed that students devote more attention and time to social media than they do for their studies and they cannot pass their examinations well if they do not learn (Oshrive, 2015). The use of social media among students has reached high levels and has affected their study time, poor grammar and wrong spellings when socializing on social media as well as diverting their attention from their studies (Ndaku, 2013). According to Sandra & Ismail (2016), students spend much of their study time on social networks than in their academic undertakings and it has affected their Grade Point Average (GPA).The study examined the reasons for, and how students use WhatsApp and Facebook, and negative/positive effects of the two platforms on students' academic performance.The research used descriptive survey design. The target population involved undergraduate students of the University for Development Studies WA Campus. 99 students were selected at a confidence level of 90% (0.1). Multi stage sampling design was used to distribute the respondents. Primary and secondary data were collected using questionnaire and checklist. The study found that the top three reasons students use WhatsApp and Facebook include chatting, academic and religious purpose, most students use the various SM platforms for less than 30minutes per login, as first class students continue to devote much time to WhatsApp and Facebook, their probability to maintain their academic classes reduce drastically, the use of WhatsAppa and Facebook reduce the students focus on studies and affects their academic performance, WhatsApp benefits the students more than Facebook in terms of academic purposes. It can be concluded that University for Development Studies WA campus students use WhatsApp and Facebook mainly for chatting and also for accessing academic information, a reasons for which they visit it more frequently per day. Also WhatsApp and Facebook usage have negative and positive effects on students and therefore should be used appropriately. The researcher recommends that lecturers and guardians should educate students more on the effects of WhatsApp and Facebook and how they can profitably balance its usage with their academic works.