TOPIC: EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE PERFORMANCE OF
STUDENTS IN THE UPPER RIVER REGION (URR):
A CASE STUDY OF SELECTED SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN
BASSE.
Introduction
CHAPTER ONE
1.1 Background of the Study
The digital revolution has profoundly transformed how people communicate, access
information, and interact with the world. Among its most consequential manifestations is the rise
of social media—internet-based platforms and applications designed to enable the creation,
sharing, and exchange of user-generated content in real time (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2020).
Globally, social media has evolved from a niche communication tool into one of the defining
features of contemporary life, with over five billion active users as of 2024, representing
approximately 62.3% of the world's total population (Kemp, 2024). In Sub-Saharan Africa,
mobile-driven social media adoption has accelerated rapidly over the past decade, fundamentally
reshaping how adolescents and young adults communicate, socialise, and—critically—learn
(GSMA Intelligence, 2023).
The Gambia, though one of West Africa's smallest nations, has not been insulated from
these global trends. According to the Gambia Bureau of Statistics (GBoS,May/June 2024),
smartphone ownership among youth aged 15 to 24 has grown by over 50% since 2018, propelled
by the declining cost of Android handsets and the expansion of mobile data networks by major
operators including Africell and QCell. This rapid uptake has occurred in a context where digital
literacy frameworks and school-level technology policies remain underdeveloped, creating a
situation where millions of young Gambians—many of them first-generation smartphone users—
engage with social media essentially without guidance or structure (Joof & Saho, 2022).
In the educational domain, the relationship between social media use and academic
performance has become one of the most debated topics in contemporary educational research.
The proliferation of platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram,
YouTube, and Snapchat has placed powerful, attention-capturing technologies in the pockets of
students during their most critical years of formal education. A growing body of empirical
research, drawing on data from diverse geographic and institutional contexts, consistently
documents a predominantly negative association between heavy social media use and academic
outcomes, particularly when social media use displaces study time, disrupts sleep, fragments
cognitive attention, and degrades formal language skills (Valkenburg, Meier, & Beyens, 2022;
Boer et al., 2021; Rozgonjuk et al., 2020; Appel, Marker, & Gnambs, 2020).
At the same time, scholars have noted that social media is not inherently antithetical to
learning. When used purposively and with appropriate self-regulation, social media platforms
can facilitate peer collaboration, provide access to educational content, and enhance students'
digital communication skills (Deng & Tavares, 2013; Asante & Oteng-Peprah, 2020). The
critical variable, the literature suggests, is not exposure to social media per se but rather the
nature, purpose, and frequency of use—and the degree to which students possess the self-
regulatory capacities necessary to integrate social media into their lives without allowing it to
undermine their academic responsibilities (Mensah & Nizam, 2016; Rozgonjuk et al., 2020).
In the scientific and technical education context specifically, the consequences of social
media distraction may be particularly acute. Science education demands sustained concentration,
logical reasoning, and regular practice with quantitative and analytical problems—cognitive
activities that are fundamentally incompatible with the fragmented, interruption-driven
engagement patterns characteristic of heavy social media use (Odgers & Jensen, 2020; Mayer &
Moreno, 2003). For students of science disciplines, the hours between school and sleep are often
critical windows for working through problems, reviewing concepts, and consolidating learning
—time that social media can all too easily consume.
The Upper River Region (URR) of The Gambia, with its administrative capital in Basse,
is the country's most geographically remote and economically disadvantaged region. Despite
this, the URR has experienced significant growth in mobile internet connectivity over the past
five
years, with affordable data bundles making WhatsApp and Facebook accessible even to
students from lower-income households. The four principal senior secondary schools serving the
Basse area—Nasir Senior Secondary School, Koba Kunda Senior Secondary School, St. Georges
Senior Secondary School, and St. John Senior Secondary School—collectively enrol several
thousand students from Basse town and the surrounding rural communities of the URR. These
schools form the institutional context of the present study.
Preliminary observations and informal conversations with teachers at the four Basse
secondary schools during scoping visits conducted in early 2024 revealed a consistent set of
concerns: students are spending increasing amounts of time on social media, particularly
WhatsApp and TikTok; shorthand and slang language from social media is appearing in formal
academic writing and examination scripts; students are arriving in class tired after late-night
phone use in dormitories; and there is a perceived inverse relationship between social media
engagement and performance in science and mathematics subjects. These field-level
observations align closely with the patterns documented in the academic literature and provide
the immediate contextual motivation for the present study.
West African educational research has contributed substantially to the emerging literature
on social media and academic performance. In Ghana, Owusu-Acheaw and Larson (2015) found
that social media use was directly and negatively correlated with academic performance among
polytechnic students, with excessive daily use identified as the primary mechanism of academic
harm. Asante and Oteng-Peprah (2020) similarly found, in a study of Senior High School
students in Ghana, that WhatsApp was the dominant social media platform and that its academic
impact depended heavily on whether group interactions were educationally oriented or
entertainment-driven. In Nigeria, Adelodun (2019) documented declining reading habits and
academic concentration among secondary school students who were heavy social media
users, recommending collaborative school-home-community approaches to managing students'
digital behaviour. These studies from comparable West African contexts provide an important
reference point for the present Gambian study, though the specific institutional, cultural, and
infrastructural conditions of the URR necessitate locally grounded empirical investigation.
Internationally, several influential studies have established the empirical foundation for
understanding the social media-academic performance relationship. Kirschner and Karpinski
(2010) found in the United States that Facebook users had significantly lower grade point
averages (GPAs) and fewer weekly study hours than non-users. Junco (2012), also in the USA,
used hierarchical regression to demonstrate that time spent on Facebook was significantly and
negatively correlated with GPA, even after controlling for demographic variables. Boer et al.
(2021), in a multi-country longitudinal study, found consistent negative associations between
heavy social media use and adolescent wellbeing and academic engagement across 29 countries.
These findings, taken together with the West African evidence reviewed above, establish a
strong empirical basis for expecting similar patterns in the Basse context, while underscoring the
need for contextually specific data.
It is within this context—of rapidly expanding social media access, inadequate digital
literacy education, and growing teacher concern about the academic consequences of student
social media engagement—that this study is situated. By examining the nature, patterns, and
academic consequences of social media use across four senior secondary schools in Basse, this
research aims to generate the empirical evidence needed to inform targeted, contextually
appropriate interventions that can help students in the URR harness the benefits of social media
while mitigating its academic costs.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Senior secondary students in the Upper River Region of The Gambia are increasingly
experiencing a tension between the demands of formal academic preparation and the attractions
of social media platforms that now pervade their daily lives. The four senior secondary schools
in Basse—Nasir SSS, Koba Kunda SSS, St. Georges SSS, and St. John SSS—have collectively
reported growing concerns about declining academic performance, particularly in science and
mathematics, against a backdrop of rapidly increasing smartphone ownership and social media
engagement among their student populations.
West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results for schools in
the URR between 2020 and 2023 show persistent underperformance in core science subjects
compared to national averages (WAEC, 2023). While multiple factors contribute to this pattern
—including resource constraints, teacher shortages, and geographic remoteness—the
disproportionate time that students spend on social media has emerged as a pressing and tractable
concern for school administrators and teachers. Teachers at all four Basse schools reported,
during scoping interviews conducted for this study, that students regularly submit assignments
late, use informal shorthand in formal written work, struggle to concentrate during lessons, and
appear fatigued from late-night smartphone use in dormitories.
Despite the growing scale of this problem, there is a striking absence of empirically
grounded research specifically examining the relationship between social media use and
academic performance in secondary schools in the URR or in The Gambia more broadly. The
existing literature is dominated by studies from Ghana, Nigeria, Malaysia, and Western
countries, which, while informative, may not fully capture the unique socio-cultural, economic,
and infrastructural realities of rural Gambian education. This research gap means that school
administrators, policymakers, and teachers in the URR lack the locally grounded evidence base
needed to design and justify targeted interventions.
This study therefore seeks to fill this critical gap by providing empirical data on the
nature, extent, and academic consequences of social media use among students at the four
principal senior secondary schools in Basse, URR, The Gambia.
1.3 Purpose and Objectives of the Study
General Purpose: The general purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of social
media use on the academic performance of students at Nasir Senior Secondary School, Koba
Kunda Senior Secondary School, St. Georges Senior Secondary School, and St. John Senior
Secondary School in Basse, Upper River Region, The Gambia.
Specific Objectives:
1. To examine the extent of students' awareness and use of social media platforms at the four
selected senior secondary schools in Basse, URR.
2. To explore the frequency and patterns of students' social media engagement at the four
selected schools.
3. To assess the degree to which social media use affects students' academic performance at
the four selected schools.
4. To identify measures that can be adopted to address the negative effects of social media on
students' academic performance at the four selected schools.
1.4 Research Questions and Hypotheses
Research Questions:
RQ1: To what extent are students at the four selected senior secondary schools in Basse,
URR, aware of and engaged with social media platforms?
RQ2: What are the frequency and patterns of social media access and use among students at
the four selected schools?
RQ3: To what extent does the use of social media platforms affect students' academic
performance at the four selected schools?
RQ4: What measures can be adopted to address the negative effects of social media use on
students' academic performance at the four selected schools?
Research Hypotheses:
H₁: There is a significant negative relationship between the frequency of social media use
and the academic performance of students at the four selected senior secondary schools in
Basse, URR.
H₀₁: There is no significant relationship between the frequency of social media use and the
academic performance of students at the four selected senior secondary schools in Basse,
URR.
H₂: Students who use social media primarily for entertainment and social interaction will
have significantly lower academic performance than those who use social media primarily
for academic purposes.
H₀₂: There is no significant difference in academic performance between students who use
social media primarily for entertainment and those who use it primarily for academic
purposes.
1.5 Significance of the Study
For Students: The findings of this study will raise students' awareness of the academic
risks associated with excessive and unregulated social media use, equipping them with
knowledge to make more informed decisions about their digital habits. In particular, science
students who require concentrated study time for quantitative and analytical work will benefit
from a better understanding of how social media competes with the cognitive demands of their
subject area.
For Teachers and School Counsellors: The study will provide subject teachers and
guidance counsellors at Nasir SSS, Koba Kunda SSS, St. Georges SSS, and St. John SSS with
empirical evidence to support targeted advisory programmes on responsible digital behaviour,
and will offer a data-driven basis for conversations with students and parents about social media
management.
For School Administrators: Headteachers and administrative staff at the four schools
will gain an evidence base from which to develop and justify school-level policies on
smartphone and social media use, including during residential/dormitory hours.
For the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education (MoBSE): Policymakers will
benefit from the study's evidence in designing national guidelines on digital use in secondary
schools and in developing digital literacy education that can be integrated into the existing
science curriculum across The Gambia.
For the Academic Community: This study contributes to the still-limited body of
empirical literature on social media and academic performance in The Gambia and the URR
specifically, identifying patterns and mechanisms that can inform future research agendas and
providing a contextually grounded reference point for comparative West African studies.
1.6 Scope and Delimitation
This study is geographically delimited to the town of Basse in the Upper River Region of
The Gambia. Institutionally, it is confined to four senior secondary schools: Nasir Senior
Secondary School, Koba Kunda Senior Secondary School, St. Georges Senior Secondary School,
and St. John Senior Secondary School. These four schools were selected because they represent
the principal government and missionary senior secondary institutions serving the Basse area and
collectively enrol the majority of senior secondary-aged students in the immediate Basse
catchment area.
In terms of student population, the study focuses specifically on final-year (Grade 12)
students. This delimitation is justified on the grounds that final-year students have the most
experience within the secondary school environment, are preparing for the high-stakes WASSCE
examinations, and are therefore in the most critical position with respect to the trade-off between
social media engagement and academic preparation. The study does not extend to junior
secondary students, primary school students, or students from other districts within the URR.
Thematically, the study is delimited to social media use through smartphones and mobile
internet devices, and its perceived and self-reported effects on academic performance as
measured by students' examination results, assignment completion, study habits, and
English language proficiency. The study does not examine broader technology use (e.g., online
gaming, general internet browsing) except insofar as these activities occur through social media
platforms. The study also does not employ objective performance measures such as official
WASSCE or end-of-term grade records, relying instead on students' self-reported assessments, a
limitation that is acknowledged in the methodology chapter.
1.7 Operational Definitions
Social Media
As used in this study, social media refers to internet-based applications and platforms—
including but not limited to WhatsApp, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Snapchat—
that enable users to create, share, exchange, and interact with user-generated content and with
one another through mobile or web-based devices connected to the internet (Kaplan & Haenlein,
2020). The term encompasses both text-based and multimedia forms of digital social
communication.
Social Media Use
Social media use, for the purposes of this study, refers to the frequency, duration,
platform preferences, and primary purposes of students' engagement with social media platforms
on a daily or weekly basis. This includes passive consumption (scrolling, viewing) and active
participation (posting, messaging, group membership).
Academic Performance
Academic performance in this study refers to students' self-assessed outcomes of their
formal educational activities, including their perception of their grades and examination results,
the quality and timeliness of their assignment submissions, their ability to concentrate during
lessons, and the standard of their written English, particularly grammar and spelling. This
definition draws on Tuckman (2021), who describes academic performance as the apparent
demonstration of knowledge, skills, understanding, and ideas.
Senior Secondary School (SSS)
A senior secondary school in The Gambia is a government-registered or government-
aided formal educational institution offering Grades 10 through 12 and preparing students for the
West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE). The four schools in this study
—Nasir SSS, Koba Kunda SSS, St. Georges SSS, and St. John SSS—are all senior secondary
institutions within the meaning of this definition.
Science Student
In the context of this study, a science student refers to a final-year student enrolled in the
natural sciences stream at one of the four selected schools, pursuing subjects such as Biology,
Chemistry, Physics, and Mathematics as core components of their WASSCE programme. The
study extends its scope to include students across all academic programmes at the four schools,
but the science-focused context of the research institution providing the researcher's academic
home is acknowledged throughout the analysis.
Upper River Region (URR)
The Upper River Region (URR) is the easternmost administrative region of The Gambia,
with Basse as its regional capital. It is the most geographically remote region from the national
capital, Banjul, and is characterised by a predominantly rural population. The URR is designated
as a priority region for educational development under the national Education Sector Strategic
Plan (MoBSE, 2023).
Digital Literacy
As used in this study, digital literacy refers to the capacity of students to access, evaluate,
manage, and use digital technologies—including social media platforms—in ways that are safe,
responsible, purposive, and educationally productive. Students with high digital literacy are
expected to demonstrate better self-regulation of social media use and more purposive
integration of digital tools into their academic activities.
Smartphone
A smartphone, in the context of this study, refers to a mobile telephone device equipped
with an advanced operating system (such as Android or iOS) that enables internet connectivity,
installation and use of mobile applications (including social media platforms), and multimedia
communication. Smartphones are the primary devices through which students at the four selected
Basse schools access social media, and their widespread ownership among the study population
is the principal enabling condition for the social media use patterns this research investigates.
The term "mobile device" is used interchangeably with smartphone throughout this study.
Academic Procrastination
Academic procrastination, as used in this study, refers to the habitual and voluntary
deferral of academic tasks—such as completing assignments, studying for examinations, or
revising lecture notes—in favour of more immediately rewarding activities, including social
media engagement. Following Ellis and Knaus (1977, as cited in Sharma, 1997), academic
procrastination is understood as a failure to initiate or complete academic work within a
predetermined or expected time frame. In the context of this study, academic procrastination is
identified as one of the primary mechanisms through which heavy social media use translates
into diminished academic performance among secondary school students.
West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE)
The West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) is a standardised
regional school-leaving examination administered by the West African Examinations Council
(WAEC) across The Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. In The Gambia, the
WASSCE is taken at the end of Grade 12 and constitutes the primary qualification for entry into
post-secondary education and the labour market. Performance in the WASSCE—particularly in
English Language and core science subjects—is a critical determinant of students' post-
secondary opportunities, making examination preparation a high-stakes activity whose quality is
directly affected by students' management of social media use during the final years of secondary
schooling (WAEC, 2023).