Influence Of Social Media On Learning Behaviour Among Secondary School Students In Moshi Municipality, Tanzania

Student learning behaviour can be adversely influenced by extraneous factors such as the use of social media. These adverse effects can sometimes extend to the students perceptions of learning to the extent that they shift their attention either positively or negatively towards learning. The purpose of the study was to examine the influence of social media on learning behaviour among secondary school students in Moshi Municipality in Tanzania. The study specifically sought to address the following objectives: To identify factors contributing to the use of social media by secondary school students; To establish effects of social media on learning behaviour of secondary school students; To determine the risks of social media on learning behaviour of secondary school students; and To identify measures that could be adopted to minimise improper use of social media by secondary school students in Moshi Municipality, Tanzania. The study adopted Banduras‟ Social Learning Theory and Katz‟s User Gratification Theory to inform both the methodology and analysis. The study used the convergent parallel design and correlation design. The target population was 1480 students from 45 secondary schools in Moshi Municipality in Tanzania. The sample size was 5 schools from Moshi Municipality from which 148 participants were selected (125 students, 6 teachers, 10 parents, 5 principals and 3 Municipal Education Officers). The study used structured questionnaire and interview schedule to collect data. The questionnaires were administered on the students and the teachers and interview schedule for principals, parents and education officers.The quantitative data was analysed using tables and frequencies while qualitative data was coded in narration form, and both were interpreted to answer the questions of the study. Correlation analysis was used to check on the overall strength of the (coefficient of determination-r2.The Pearson‟s correlation coefficient (r= 0.75) indicated significantly positive correlation.