Internet Use and Reading Habits of Higher Institution Students
Ofodu Graceful Onovughe Institute of Education Faculty of Education, Ekiti State University ___________________________________________________________________________
Within the Nigerian context, it is worrisome to notice the way derogatory comments about the way students apply themselves to modern technologies. Many people have attributed students’ non-challant attitude to reading to the use of the Internet. The reason is that they do not seem to see any correlation between the Internet and reading. The purpose of this study is to examine the Internet use and reading habits of higher institution students in Ekiti State. The study was conducted using a descriptive survey research method. The population for the study consists of one state university, one private university and a federal polytechnic. The simple random sampling technique was used to select the sample that was used for the study. 266 higher institution first year students were randomly selected from the population. This cut across all disciplines ranging from arts to science to engineering and social sciences, inclusive of both sexes. The survey instrument was a questionnaire titled ‘Internet use and reading habits of higher institution students in Ekiti state’. All data were analyzed using simple percentages. Finding revealed that a large percentage of the respondents generally enjoy reading and it could be safely said that the reading culture of the students is favourable since the advent of internet. It also reveals that large number respondents actually engage in activities that may not add value to their academic performance
References: Arua, C.E. (2011). The influence of teachers on students’ leisure reading: A case study of a Botswana Junior Secondary School. The 7 th Pan African Reading for All conference. Conference Programme and Book of Abstracts 11-14th July, 2011.p18 Beck, I. I. & Mckeown, M. G. (2001). ‘Text Talk: Capturing the benefits of read aloud experiences for young children’ The reading teacher Vol. 55, .18 Bobda, S.A.(2011). The reading habits of some postgraduate high schoolstudentteachers at the AdvancedTeacherTraining School(Ecole Normale Superieure) Yaounde. The 7th Pan African Reading for All conference. Conference Programme and Book of Abstracts 11-14th July, 2011.p 21 Braunger, J and Lewis, O. (2006). Building a knowledge base in reading Netwark de: International Reading Association. Cull, Barry.(2011).Reading revolution: Online digital texts and implications for reading in academics. FirstMonday Peerreviewed Journal on the Internet volume16 Number 6-6. June 2011. Retrieved 17/2/2011 Hetting H. R. & Knapp, N. F. (2001). Supporting underachieving readers in the elementary classroom The reading teacherVol. 55, (1) p, 27 Ibode, Felix &Isiugo-Abanihe, I.M. (2011) in their study on redressing poor reading culture among youths in Nigeria. The 7th Pan African Reading for All conference. Conference Programme and Book of Abstracts 11-14th July, 2011.p 28 Kausar,S.& Zobia,B.(2006).Effects of excessive use on undergraduates students in Pakistan. Cyber Psychology and Behaviour. June 2006 9.3.297-307, doi:10.1089/cpd 2006.9.297. Retrieved 18/2/2012 15