The Influence of Internet Use on Socialization among the Youth: A Case of Undergraduate Students at University of Nairobi-Main Campus
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47941/ijce.3Keywords:
internet use, socialization, youthAbstract
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to establish the influence of internet use on socialization among undergraduate students of University of Nairobi
Methodology: The study adopted a descriptive survey design. The accessible population of the study was 15, 000 from main campus. Data was collected from a sample of 384 students from the university via use of questionnaire and an interview guide as data collection tools which contained both closed and open ended questions and encouraged the respondents to participate due to anonymity. The data collected was analyzed by use of descriptive statistics. In particular excel SPSS and frequency tables were used.
Results: The study findings indicated that internet use may not have a negative effect on socialization as indicated in literature. The findings uphold that internet users spend more time socializing with friends when compared to non-users. The forms of internet mostly used by University of Nairobi students are internet enabled cell phones followed by computer labs and cyber cafes. Internet enabled cell phones were preferred because of the portability, convenience and cost while computer labs was preferred because of accessibility and the fact that they are free. The social sites mostly used by both the undergraduate students were Facebook, electronic mail, yahoo messenger, twitter and Skype.
Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: The study recommended that since university of Nairobi undergraduates are frequent users of the internet, the university should increase the number of computers in the computer lab. It was also recommended that the university should exploit this avenue and ensure that more educational content are passed onto the students through the internet. This will pave way for e-learning. The university may use social media to reach the students as a part of a whistle blower policy where anonymous comments are posted, blogs and contributions on a certain issue can also be posted.
Downloads
References
Bargh, J. A., McKenna, K. Y., & Fitzsimons, G. M. (2002). Can you see the real me? Activation and expression of the “true self” on the Internet. Journal of social issues, 58(1), 33-48.
Baron, R. A. (2000). Social capital. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Berners-Lee, T. (1991). The Original HTTP as defined in 1991. World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).
Boneva, B. S., Quinn, A., Kraut, R., Kiesler, S., & Shklovski, I. (2006). Teenage communication in the instant messaging era. Computers, phones, and the Internet: Domesticating information technology, 201-218.
Brignall III, T. W., & Van Valey, T. (2005). The impact of internet communications on social interaction. Sociological Spectrum, 25(3), 335-348.
Clark, H. H., & Brennan, S. E. (1991). Grounding in communication. Perspectives on socially shared cognition, 13(1991), 127-149.
Coget, J. F., Yamauchi, Y., & Suman, M. (2002). The Internet, social networks and loneliness. It & Society, 1(1), 180-201.
Cole, J., & Robinson, J. P. (2002). Internet use and sociability in the UCLA data: A simplified MCA analysis. It & Society, 1(1), 202-218.
Cummings, J. N., Butler, B., & Kraut, R. (2002). The quality of online social relationships. Communications of the ACM, 45(7), 103-108.
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). The general causality orientations scale: Self-determination in personality. Journal of research in personality, 19(2), 109-134.
DeFleur, M. L., & Dennis, E. E. (2002). Understanding mass communication: A liberal arts perspective. Houghton Mifflin College Division.
Gloy, B. A., & Akridge, J. T. (2000). Computer and internet adoption on large US farms. The International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, 3(3), 323-338.
Harman, J. P., Hansen, C. E., Cochran, M. E., & Lindsey, C. R. (2005). Liar, liar: Internet faking but not frequency of use affects social skills, self-esteem, social anxiety, and aggression. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 8(1), 1-6.
Heim, J., Brandtzæg, P. B., Kaare, B. H., Endestad, T., & Torgersen, L. (2007). Children's usage of media technologies and psychosocial factors. New Media & Society, 9(3), 425-454.
Hiltz, S. R., Johnson, K., & Turoff, M. (1986). Experiments in Group Decision Making Communication Process and Outcome in Face‐to‐Face Versus Computerized Conferences. Human communication research, 13(2), 225-252.
Katz, J., & Aspden, P. (1997). Motivations for and barriers to Internet usage: Results of a national public opinion survey. Internet Research, 7(3), 170-188.
Kestnbaum, M., Robinson, J. P., Neustadtl, A., & Alvarez, A. (2002). Information technology and social time displacement. IT & Society, 1(1), 21-37.
Korgaonkar, P. K., & Wolin, L. D. (1999). A multivariate analysis of web usage. Journal of advertising research, 39, 53-68.
Kraut, R., Kiesler, S., Boneva, B., Cummings, J., Helgeson, V., & Crawford, A. (2002). Internet paradox revisited. Journal of social issues, 58(1), 49-74.
Lenhart, A., Rainie, L., & Lewis, O. (2001). Teenage life online: The rise of the instant-message generation and the Internet's impact on friendships and family relationships.
McKenna, K. Y., & Bargh, J. A. (2000). Plan 9 from cyberspace: The implications of the Internet for personality and social psychology. Personality and social psychology review, 4(1), 57-75.
McKenna, K. Y., Green, A. S., & Gleason, M. E. (2002). Relationship formation on the Internet: What’s the big attraction?. Journal of social issues, 58(1), 9-31.
Mutula, S. M. (2001). Internet access in East Africa: A future outlook. Library Review, 50(1), 28-34.
Sproull, L., & Kiesler, S. (1991). Computers, networks and work. Scientific American, 265(3), 116-123.
Turkle, S. (1997). Computational technologies and images of the self. Social Research, 1093-1111.
Turow, J. (1999). The Internet and the Family: The View from Parents: the View from the Press. Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania.
Wellman, B. (2001). Physical place and cyberplace: The rise of personalized networking. International journal of urban and regional research, 25(2), 227-252.
Wellman, B., Haase, A. Q., Witte, J., & Hampton, K. (2001). Does the Internet increase, decrease, or supplement social capital? Social networks, participation, and community commitment. American behavioral scientist, 45(3), 436-455.
Wolak, J., Mitchell, K. J., & Finkelhor, D. (2002). Close online relationships in a national sample of adolescents. Adolescence, 37(147), 441.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work’s authorship and initial publication in this journal.
