Background of the study
Globally tertiary education is an instrument of for economic and human development. As a result the present Nigerian tertiary institution system understands the truth that acquiring the critical skills and concepts of new technologies as the centre of edification must be the essential plank through which the revolution envisaged in education can be accomplished. This is because education serves as a catalyst for every meaningful societal reform. According to Obi (2017), the objectives of Nigerian higher education institutions are to provide post-secondary school education with the goal of generating suitable people that would help the country's social, economic, and technical growth and development. However, it is critical to recognize that the attainment of these significant goals and objectives cannot be realized in today's technology-driven society without sufficient use of technologies to exploit social media. According to Musa (2015), the emergence of social media has changed the way students communicate, engage, and gain skills, knowledge, and understanding.
Etymologically, social media, by definition, are computer-mediated systems that facilitate the creation and dissemination of information, ideas, professional interests, and other kinds of expression through intrinsic communities and networks (Hajirnis, 2015). According to Obar and Wildman (2015), consumers access social media services via web-based technologies on desktops, laptops, or download services that provide social media functionality to mobile devices such as smart phones and tablet computers. According to Holland and Tiggerman (2016), users may establish hugely interactive platforms that allow people, groups, and organizations to contribute to, co-create, hash out, and alter user-generated or pre-made information shared online. As of January 2020, there were 85.49 million internet users in Nigeria, according to the Data Reportal Digital 2020 Sectoral Report on Nigeria. According to the research, the number of internet users in Nigeria rose by 2.2 million (+2.6%) between 2019 and 2020, with internet penetration being at 42% in January 2020. According to the same Digital Report, there are 27 million social media users in Nigeria. It goes on to say that between April 2019 and January 2020, the number of social media users in Nigeria rose by 3.4 million (+14%), while social media penetration in Nigeria stood at 13%. According to the Data Report Digital (2020) study, internet use and, by extension, social media use in Nigeria will skyrocket in the next years. Given this fact, it is realistic to expect that the majority of news interchange, business transactions, social interactions, and idea exchange will take place online in the next years. This transition will have a massive influence on society as we know it.
Intriguingly, the usage of social networks by Nigerian students in educational institutions is growing ubiquitous. According to Ralph, and Ralph (2015) , social media platforms are the solution to collective and interpersonal communication for academic success. According to Abdulsalam and Azizah (2014), social media is a network and a two-way process that can facilitate teaching and learning by allowing for prolonged interaction between the provider; which the teacher and the beneficiary of the education (student learner) has the effect of providing the recipient with reinforcing information in order to progress. According to Tufekci (2018), students use new media to communicate and exchange educational content. Umoru (2015) reported that social media is gaining traction in some higher education institutions, particularly in the learning process of students. Participants in this study believed that learning through social media is motivating, simple, and could help them with writing assignments. According to Musa (2015), common social media platforms include Facebook, Whatsapp, Twitter, YouTube, Skype, Instagram, and Wiki, among others. Social media platforms have become an essential element of students' academic activities, sociability, and life of enjoyment. As a result of this advancement, research on social media among higher education students is gaining traction and attracting the interest of academics and classroom teachers alike.
Statement of the problem
In recent times, many skills learning resources in many vocations or profession have recently been fused into pictorial or video format, with the goal of teaching skills required for enhancing people's competence in diverse professions. Some of these abilities are video filming and editing capabilities, musical instrument expertise, electronic engineering, dexterity, architectural design abilities, culinary, fashion, and design skills. Others include practical nursing, practical arts, dance, and practical chemistry abilities, among others. These skill videos and picture formats allow people to be instructed in a more informal manner, as opposed to conventional classroom settings. According to Omole (2016), exposure to these vocational and/or entrepreneurial abilities through pictorial or video media formats prevents such practical vocational subject-matters from becoming mystical to the trainees. However, these techniques of skill learning are less effective due to the difficulty in reaching a larger audience of skill searchers. Fortunately, thanks to improvements in ICTs, these video and graphically based instructional platforms may be found on the internet domain of various social media platforms, implying that social media is not only a communication platform, but also functions as a school (Mbuk 2015). As a result, skill searchers will have access to platforms where they may learn new talents or improve on those they currently have. This demonstrates social media's wide value-laden possibilities.
In contrast, the polity is still confronted with an economic slowdown caused by a shortage of jobs. According to research, skill learning can foster an entrepreneurial mindset among young adults, which is related with economic development, particularly when it creates alternative work alternatives. Lack of entrepreneurial competence is believed to encourage graduate and youth unemployment in Nigeria. Umoru (2015) emphasized the concerning status of graduate unemployment in Nigeria. One of the causes for the lack of essential entrepreneurship skills among many Nigerian graduates is the education system of the pre- and post-independence eras, which did not lay emphasis on the development of entrepreneurial and vocational skills (Onuma,2016). As a result, the present policy push in the University educational system prioritizes vocational and entrepreneurship education in the tertiary education curriculum (Onuma, 2016).
Despite the obvious importance of social media in enhancing learning, no empirical study was accessible to the researcher that focused on evaluating the social media effect on skills among undergraduates at any level of Nigerian tertiary institution. This is regarded critical since the current rate of acceptance of information technology in teaching and learning is still quite low, particularly at the college level. Several research show that social media have enormous potential as learning aids (Nwangwa Yononfoun, & Omotere, 2018). Despite this, research have shown that students seldom utilize social media for educational and skill learning objectives. It is unclear if undergraduate students at Nigerian colleges utilize social media platforms to study and enhance professional and vocational skills that would enable them to become job creators, company owners, and self-sufficient. Consequently, this study presents an assessment of skills acquisition via social media among undergraduates
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