Influence of Social Media on the Study Habits of ESUT Mass Communication Students

Social media platforms have become deeply embedded in the daily routines of Nigerian undergraduate students, raising legitimate scholarly questions about the extent to which constant connectivity displaces productive academic behaviours and undermines study concentration. This study investigated the influence of social media use on the study habits of Mass Communication students at Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT). The study was grounded in the Displacement Theory, which posits that time allocated to new media activities is necessarily displaced from other activities including academic engagement. A survey research design was adopted, targeting a population of 920 Mass Communication students at ESUT. A sample of 272 respondents was selected using the Taro Yamane formula, and a structured questionnaire was administered to measure social media use patterns, duration, platform preferences, and self-reported study habits. Findings indicated that respondents spent an average of 4.8 hours daily on social media, with WhatsApp, TikTok, and Instagram accounting for the majority of usage. A significant majority reported interrupting study sessions to check social media notifications, with 63 percent acknowledging that social media negatively affected their study consistency and information retention. However, academic-purpose social media groups, particularly for course material sharing, were identified as beneficial to study preparation. The study concluded that unregulated social media use significantly disrupts the study habits of ESUT Mass Communication students, though purposive academic use may mitigate some negative effects. It was recommended that students adopt deliberate digital detox practices and that ESUT promote structured academic social media groups.
Keywords: social media, study habits, displacement theory, ESUT students, academic performance