Assessment of Social Media Technology Utilization and Reading Habits of Undergraduate Students in Federal Universities in South-South Nigeria

The study investigated the influence of social media technology utilization and reading habits of undergraduate students in Federal Universities in South-South Nigeria. To achieve the objectives two research questions and two hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. Population of 6,575 from four universities in the south-south Nigeria, while sampled size of 1,315 students were selected using stratified random sampling technique. The instrument for data connection was questionnaire and was validated by two experts from measurement and evaluation from the Department of Educational Foundation, University of Calabar. The reliability of the instrument was determined by using Cronbach Coefficient Alpha Reliability Method which yielded .86 and above. One-way analysis of variance was used to analyse the data collected. The result showed that facebook and blogs has significantly influenced reading habits of students in Federal Universities in south-south Nigeria. Thus conclude that facebook and blogs usage has significance influence on student’s reading habits. The study recommended among others that authorities in universities should establish rules and regulation that will guide student’s excessive use of social media during the academic period.