The impact of multimedia and social networking on reading and study skills among pre-tertiary students in Ghana: A pilot study of University of Ghana junior high school

Abstract

Beatrice Bruku, Mawuli Adjei

Is the electronic media a friend or foe, as far as acquiring reading and learning skills among children is concerned? Are the internet and social media platforms responsible for the dip in the standard of education in Ghana? This study set out to test an assumption that the amount of time pupils spend on multimedia and social media platforms is not necessarily devoted to acquiring reading skills. As a pilot study, the findings are inconclusive, but they affirm the basic premise that children are spending disproportionately large amounts of time on engagements in the multimedia circuit that are not necessarily geared toward reading and learning.