THE EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON ACADEMIC WRITING: A STUDY OF FORM THREE STUDENTS IN SELECTED SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLS IN THE AGONA-WEST MUNICIPALITY, CENTRAL REGION, GHANA

ABSTRACT 

Social media is a fusion of sociology and technology, transferring monologue into dialogue. The internet and its social platforms have been the most influential tools in staying connected with families and friends since their inception. People, especially the youth, are purposely and covertly connected with one another by sharing information among themselves about the latest trends, events and happenings via the social websites. This study explores the effects of social media on students’ academic writing in the Agona-West Municipality of the Central Region of Ghana. It is a qualitative study underpinned by interpretive philosophical thought. The data for this study was collected through semi-structured interviews and documents. Two (2) schools were selected using purposive sampling techniques and the snowball sampling strategy was used to select thirty (30) students for the study. The findings indicated that the trends of writing on social media sites affect students’ spellings in their school work. It was also found that social media sites distract students from reading their books and also doing their assignments thereby negatively affecting their academic performances as a whole. This study will be of help to both English language teachers/learners, language planners and curriculum developers by exposing them to the sources of writing errors by students and provide useful suggestions to overcome them. It will also contribute to the body of knowledge by drawing the attention of educators/planners on the integration of technology, particularly the social media, in the English curriculum in order to facilitate the effective teaching/learning process.