Perceived Information Overload, Information Anxiety and Social Media Usage among Undergraduate learners in the Universsity of Ilorin, Nigeria

Abstract

Despite numerous benefits attributed to Social Media Platforms (SMPs), these digital tools have become a source of information overload and anxiety for students in HEIs. Arguably, this is due to the challenges of navigating and coping with the increasingly huge resources on SMPs. The focus of this study was to assess the manifestations of perceived information overload, information anxiety, and social media usage among undergraduate learners in the University of Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria. Five faculties were selected using a survey research design approach using Google questionnaire as the main instrument for data collection. A total of 380 undergraduate students were sampled using descriptive and inferential statistical tools to analyze the collected data. Results revealed high manifestation of perceived information overload and anxiety among the respondents surveyed. The outcome also showed that there are no significant gender disparities in the manifestations of information overload and information anxiety. Similarly, the investigation showed a strong positive link between perceived information overload and information anxiety in the study area. Furthermore, a high level of social media usage among students were seen in the area of consumption-based, belief-based, image-based and comparison-based. Therefore, in order to mitigate information overload and information anxiety in the use of social media, this study recommended that institutions of learning should develop targeted interventions to enable students to inculcate coping strategies such as information-seeking and searching skills, time management skills, constructive abstinence and queuing methods among others.