ATTITUDE OF TERTIARY STUDENTS IN ABIA STATE TOWARDS INSTAGRAM SELFIES

Code No: 416158

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ABSTRACT

This study was carried out to examine the attitude of tertiary students in Abia state towards Instagram selfies using Abia State University Uturu as a case study. To achieve this, the significant research objectives were formulated. The survey design was adopted and the simple random sampling techniques were employed in this study. The population size comprises of students of Abia State University Uturu. In determining the sample size, the researcher conveniently selected 229 respondents while 215 were received and 210 were validated. Self-constructed and validated questionnaire was used for data collection. The collected and validated questionnaires were analyzed using frequency tables and mean scores. The result of the findings reveals that the prevalence of Instagram selfie usage among students in Abia State is high. The findings also revealed that the motives behind studentsâ€™ use of Instagram selfies encompasses self- expression, gain recognition, gain likes, gain comments, and gain acceptance. In regard to the findings, the study recommends that students should be taught on the dangers and cons of selfie snapping on Instagram, pointing out that it consumes time, raises the risk of addiction and can adversely affect their academic performance. Also, students should be sensitized on the possibilities of impersonation by unknown individuals for criminal intentions. The occurrence of this act is highly attributable to constant sharing of pictures on Instagram.
Keywords: Social media, Social networking, Instagram, Selfie.

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background Of The Study
Social media currently seem to take the centre stage in the field of information and communication technology(Nche, 2012). It has become an integral part of modern society. Consequently, social networking websites such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram have created new ways to socialize and interact. Users of these sites are able to add a wide variety of information to pages, to pursue common interests and to connect with others (Idrus & Hitam, 2014). The interactions in social medias are most of issues of entertainment, education, society activities, environment and of personal interest. The curiosity that exist among the youth in this advent of social media technologies such like the â€œInstagramâ€, can be attributed to the globalization of the society.
Instagram is a social media platform by which communication is shared among friends in order to keep close relationship beyond inter-face with each other. Kaplan (2010) defined Instagram as a social media, which serves as platform for sharing social interest, and build on the ideological and technological foundations of web which allow the creation and exchange of user generated content. Verster (2010) observed that Instagram is fast becoming the default internet mode of interaction, communication and collaborationâ€. In Nigeria, for instance, social media sites especially Instagram, have apparently become common, especially among the students due to the daily use of the Selfie features of the application.
A new genre of self- expression â€œSelfiesâ€ - amateur self-photographs, often shared with others through Instagram likewise other social networking sites (Weiser, 2018) has now become a common and popular gateways to online world, especially in the area of self-disclosure. Studies have shown the students to be more active in selfie disclosures(Dhir, Torsheim, Pallesen & Andreassen, 2016; Baiocco, Bianchi, Chirumbolo, Morelli, Ioverno & Nappa 2016) cited in Weiser, 2018; and in the use of Instagram network profile picture construction. Literature also suggests that these students are also more likely than Adults to engage in a â€œselfie policyâ€ that emphasizes the selection of ideal photos (Senft & Baym, 2015) and engage more in own selfie disclosures than any other type of selfies, such as group selfies and selfies with a partner. This study is therefore focused on ascertaining attitude of tertiary students towards Instagram selfies.