GASPRO International Journal of Eminent Scholars

ABSTRACT

The study examined the influence of social media usage on students’ classroom behaviour in public secondary schools in Onna Local Government Area. The study specifically focused the influence of Facebook and WhatsApp on students’ classroom behaviour in public secondary schools in Onna Local Government Area. Two specific objectives, two research questions and two hypotheses were raised to guide the study. Ex-post facto research design was adopted for the study. The population of the study comprised 3178 SSII students in 9 public secondary schools in Onna Local Government Area during the 2025/2026 academic session. A sample of 1,080 students was selected using a simple random sampling technique. A researcher-developed instrument titled Social Media Usage and Learning Behaviour Questionnaire (SMULBQ) which was subjected to face validation and reliability test was used for data collection. Mean, standard deviation and p-value derived from the dependent t-test analysis were used to answer research questions and testing the hypotheses at .05 alpha level. The findings showed that usage of Facebook and WhatsApp significantly influenced students’ classroom behaviour in public secondary schools in Onna Local Government Area. It was concluded that social media is a powerful factor in the classroom behaviour of students in public secondary schools because it has become an integral part of students’ everyday social and learning experiences. It was recommended that Classroom teachers should incorporate Facebook and WhatsApp into instructional strategies by creating class groups and discussion forums that promote active learning, collaboration and continuous engagement among students.