The Effect Of Internet On Nigeria Students
[A CASE STUDY OF IMO STATE UNIVERSITY OWERRI]

INTRODUCTION 

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

The internet is a global network of computers linked together over large distance, Stains and Reynolds 1998 quoted in Agba (2001 p.55). It is a global, system of inter-connected computer networks that use the standard internet protocol suite to link several billion devices Wandrick-Wikipedia.org 27th June, 2014.

It was created by the American military as a means of communication and has been in existence since the 1950s until the mid 70s, later 1980s when commercial organizations and educational institutions started using the internet.

The internet serves as the vehicle for the transportation of hottest information and a wide display of technological innovation, sharing of information and social networking (Wenger 1998).

The internet communication has turned the world into a global community where different countries and races are beginning to think and act alike. Before now, communication flow was one sided (i.e. from the sender to the receiver). The receivers were vulnerable and passive in the society but the internet has changed that thereby introducing interactivity in media community.

Today, even the system of education has benefited from internet. Internet users have been exposed to a wide range of information, both educational and entertaining (Macham 2013). In different locations of the world, information is made available to students with just one click of the computer connected to the internet.

With the perceived growth in the use of the internet by students, more people are conforming to the message associated with this medium. This new electronic dimension where time and space has almost no meaning has global implication which is staggering. It is completely different from the traditional media in terms of immediacy, ambiguity and uniformity of message delivery.

In spite of arguments that the United states of America (USA), who happen to be the originators are the controllers of the internet, it has become a permissible mode of communication that gives every user a right to control and this exposure influences the behaviour of the students all over the world.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The development or creation of the internet is not the problem rather the effects of its development. The questions that require answer therefore are:

- Does the internet account for the perceived student’s behaviour?

- Does the internet improve the standard of education in Nigeria?

- Does the internet expose the students to new norms thereby contributing to enculturation?

This research work is motivated by the need to answer the above question. In other worlds, the researcher intends to investigate or inquire the effects of the internet on Nigerian students.

1.3 OBJECTIVE/PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The objectives/purpose of this student is:

? To determine if the internet accounts for students behaviour positively.

? To know if the controlling bodies of the internet lack effective control on students and to what extent.

? To know if the internet exposes the students to new norms and how this civilizes the society.

? To know if the internet improves and develops the standard of education and to what extent the students benefit from it.