Sociodemographic Differences in Social Networking among Undergraduate University Students in Nairobi County, Kenya

Abstract

The excessive use of social networking sites by undergraduate university students is very alarming as they are spending a lot of time on these sites. This study therefore investigated demographic differences and use of different types of social networking sites among undergraduate university students in Nairobi County, Kenya. The aim of the study was to investigate demographic differences and use of different types of social networking sites among undergraduate university students in Nairobi County, Kenya. The study adopted mixed method sequential research design. The target population was 34405 undergraduate university students from which a sample size of 385 respondents was selected. Data was collected using questionnaires and interview guides. Data analysis was done using univariate analysis. The study had several findings: first the study found that majority (99.1%) of the respondents have an account in online social networking site while 0.9% don’t have. Secondly, WhatsApp was found to be the most popular (18.98%) social networking site followed by Facebook (18.16%), Instagram (16.85%), You Tube (16.41%), Twitter (16.3%) and Snapchat (13.29%). Second years and fourth years were found to have higher frequency of Facebook use and WhatsApp use than other classes while first years had higher frequency of Twitter use, You Tube frequency use and frequency of Instagram use. Finally, frequency of Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp use was found to be highest in private universities not sponsored by religious institution and lowest in public universities. Frequency of Instagram and Snapchat use was higher in private universities not sponsored by religious institution and lowest in private universities sponsored by religious institution.