Social media use and its implications on child behaviour: a study of a basic school in Ghana

Abstract

The study explores the implication of social media use on child behaviour in a basic school in Ghana. A survey was conducted among pupils, teachers and parents of the school. Fifty-six pupils were served with questionnaires while ten teachers and 22 parents were interviewed. The findings reveal that Facebook is the most preferred social media site. About half the pupils indicated that the models they observe on social media sites have not affected their behaviour. Some positive implications reported by parents and teachers include improvement in reading habits, dressing and communication. Negative implications also reported involve distraction of pupils’ attention from their studies, frequent use of Pidgin English as well as unnecessary fashion consciousness. The study recommends that parents should visit their children’s online friends to see what they post and receive from friends. Furthermore, teachers must explain the advantages and danger of using social media to children and advise them of beneficial sites to visit.