impact of New Media Information Exchange among students of Kaduna Polytechnic.

CHAPTER ONE 1.0 Introduction New Media is a broad term in Media Studies that emerged in the later part of the 20th century to encompass the amalgamation of traditional media such as film, images, music, spoken and written word, with the interactive power of computer and communication technology, computer-enabled consumer devices and most importantly the Internet. There are many promises related to the term. For example, new media holds out a possibility of on-demand access to content anytime, anywhere, on any digital device, as well as interactive user feedback, creative participation and community formation around the media content. Another important promise of new media is the “democratization” of the creation, publishing, distribution and consumption of media content. New media is distinguished from traditional media by the digitizing of content into bits. There is also a dynamic aspect of content production which can be done in real time. New Media has revolutionized the nature and pace of human interaction across the world, which is increasingly assuring the contours of a “Global Village”. The new media such as Internet, Computer, Cell Phones, Social networking, Skype, Blogs, and Video Conferencing are bringing noticeable changes in Nigerian Society. The internet provides several opportunities for the academia. It is a mechanism for information dissemination and a medium for collaborative interaction between individuals and their computers without regard for geographic limitation of space (Leiner et al., 2000; Singh, 2002). The word Internet is derived from two words: “international” and “network”. The Internet therefore can be defined as an international computer network of information available to the public through modem links (Bassey, 2003). According to Lagos (2003), the Internet is a worldwide system of linked computers networks. The Internet is the world’s largest and most widely used network. It is an international network of networks that is a collection of hundreds of thousands of private and public networks all over the world. There are rich and varied learning experiences available on the Internet that would have been inconceivable just a short while ago. The Internet has a range of capabilities that organizations are using to exchange information internally or to communicate externally with other organizations. The primary infrastructure for e-commerce, e-banking, e-business, e-learning and virtual library is provided by the Internet technology. The Internet provides several opportunities for all academia, business organizations, the employed and the unemployed, the young and the old. The Internet is a ‘live’ constantly ‘moving’, theoretically borderless, potentially infinite space for the production and circulation of information. The Internet might thus be described as a ‘sea of information’, containing texts which are not housed between library or bookshop walls and subject areas span across all fields of knowledge. The internet is the key information and communication technology that led to a worldwide revolutionary change in the information scenario (Al-Ansari, 2006.). The internet is a pool of knowledge and any country that fails to provide her youth access to the internet is unseating the country from her throne of dignity among other dignitaries (Olatokun, 2008). It is developed to serve as a platform for various activities for all age groups in society (Akin-Adaeamola, 2014). The internet is a technology that has become an enormous part of people’s daily lives. Through its ability to act as a support medium in different functions for which people use it, the internet was introduced to academic institutions as a tool to enhance student’s academic experience in the mid-1990s (Ngoumandjoka, 2012). Over the last decades, internet connectivity has improved tremendously and is available everywhere such as homes, offices, travels and schools (Ellore et al., 2014). Today, empirical studies (e.g Adedotun, 2015; Akende & Bamise, 2017) report that access to information can influence the students. The use of credible internet resources is of greater importance for academic study, especially in high class courses which require an academic review of literature (Al-Ansari, H. 2006.). Internet use for educational purpose is found by Kim (2011) to be the heart of adolescent academic achievement. The availability of internet is almost everywhere, most students have had access to internet on their cellphones (Ellore et al. 2014). This helps students to broaden their academic knowledge, research and assignments by accessing information worldwide and also enhances easy communication to the academic community, Al-Ansari, H. 2006. The Internet can be used for other things besides email. One can listen to international radio station on research and education on the Internet, read national dailies of other countries, speak to friends around the global, read books and other materials on the Internet. The list of things that can be done on the Internet is a very long one. The Internet contains more information than the world’s largest libraries (Emeagwali, 2000). With access to the Internet one can retrieve information from the world’s largest information database. 1.1 Statement of the Problem The developing nations are striving assiduously to catch up with the trend of New Media because the need for efficacy of ìnformation technology in enhancing library services, educational pursuits and general administration, in institutions of higher learning has been widely reported (Chisena, 1995; Salanje, 1995; Bolarinwa, 2001 and Chandrasekharan, 2001). Thus, due to the current demand of information by the society, the Nigerian institutions of higher learning have been compelled to bridge the gap in the provision and utilization of IT as is the case in the advanced countries. Consequently, various technological institutions have mounted different information technology courses and programmes for better appreciation, literacy and adaptability by the students and the entire academic community. Surukat, I.F. (2011), explained that the introduction of the Internet technology has tremendously impacted on library service delivery by tertiary institutions in the developed countries. In Nigeria, however, efforts are just being made to strengthen the use of Internet particularly in the institutions of higher learning. In addition, funding made by Governmental agencies such as the National Universities Commission (NUC) and the Education Tax Fund (ETF), some international bodies such as the World Bank/International monetary Fund, corporate bodies (e.g. MTN) and other Non-Governmental Organizations also provide support for information communication technology (ICT) and Internet projects on campuses. Scholars, researchers and lecturers are also gradually embracing the Internet due to its numerous advantages on information services. Despite the significance of new media usage to students’ its negative impacts are various. Some students use the new media for non-academic purposes such as gaming and social networking, thus culminating in loss of study schedules (Singh et al., 2013). Besides, students use for leisure rather than educational purposes (Olatokun, 2008; Ngoumandjoka, 2012) and this can lead to fall in academic standards. The topmost uses of the new media by students is charting, downloading, watching videos online, playing online games, and online shopping (Akin-Adaramola, 2014). This suggests that some students do not receive proper guidance in the use of the new media in studying that it can be a bad tool for academic achievement if only its usage is not controlled (Mami and Hatami-Zad, 2014). It is against this background the researcher decided to find out the impact of New Media Information Exchange among students of Kaduna Polytechnic. 1.2 Aim Of The Study The aim of this study is to find out how the new media has impacted on the exchange of information among the students of Kaduna Polytechnic. 1.3 Objective Of The Study The main objectives of this research work are: To find out the use of new media among students of Kaduna Polytechnic To find out how frequent students of Kaduna Polytechnic use new media To find out the impact of new media on students of Kaduna Polytechnic To identify the challenges encounters in the utilization of new media among the students of Kaduna Polytechnic 1.4 Research Questions The research has the following research questions: Do students of Kaduna Polytechnic use new media? How often do Kaduna Polytechnic students use the new media? What is the impact of new media on students of Kaduna Polytechnic What are the challenges encounter in using new media among the students of Kaduna Polytechnic, Kaduna. 1.5 Significance Of The Study The New Media has several significance to the user such as, it is easy to make contacts all over the world, it offers fast access to communication and information, helps to learn new things i.e. new culture and new languages, it allows any individual to become a member, it enables chatting and transmission of messages. The New Media is highly economical and it also creates awareness on developmental factors. The internet has brought the world together and therefore made it a global village in which one can access almost any kind of information in a blink of an eye. In this present age, internet is acknowledged as not only a medium of communication, but recognized as a powerful tool. It is of course one of the major sources of obtaining and retrieving information. Over the decades, computer access and use among students have grown exponentially. Internet usage among undergraduates encompasses not only its use during the leisure, but also their community involvement and social networks. Balasubramanian and Vidyapeetham (2013) assert that students spend most of their valued time addressing the irrelevances on the internet because of its availability. Most students use internet for sending emails, chats with friends, use the search engines to obtain information on study guide and materials, research products and services and entertainment. As a consequence, students spend more time online (Balasubramanian and Vidyapeetham, 2013). It is hope that this study will be significance to students, the lecturer and everyone. 1.6 Scope Of The Study The scope of this study is the Impact of New Media Information Exchange among the students of Kaduna Polytechnic. 1.7 Definition Of Terms New media: New media as the mix between existing cultural conventions and conventions of software. Internet: The Internet is the world’s largest and most widely used network. It is an international network of networks that is a collection of hundreds of thousands of private and public networks all over the world. Mass Media: Mass media are the major communication channels: Radio, Television, Newspaper, Magazines, Films, Books, Telecommunication, Media Training, Advertising and Public Relations.