Abstract
In the digital era, social media platforms have revolutionized communication among students, especially at tertiary institutions. However, the informal linguistic habits cultivated on these platforms increasingly appear in students’ formal academic writing. This study investigates the effect of social media language on the academic writing of undergraduate students at Bayero University Kano (BUK). A stratified random sample of 200 undergraduate students across faculties was selected. Data were collected through a 25-item questionnaire (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.85), writing samples (two essays per student), and semi-structured interviews (n=20). Findings reveal that while social media enhances writing frequency and confidence, it also contributes to informality, abbreviation use, and grammatical inaccuracies in academic writing. The study concludes that educators should strategically integrate social media’s interactive benefits into instruction while reinforcing formal writing standards.
Keywords: Social Media, Academic Writing, Language Influence, Bayero University Kano, Students’ Communication
DOI: www.doi.org/10.36349/sojolics.2025.v01i03.006
author/Hafsah Opaluwa Zakari
journal/Sokoto JOLICS 1(3) | December 2025 |
