Social Media Utilization And Students’ Academic Performance
[A CASE STDUY OF ALIMOSHO LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, LAGOS STATE]

WhatsApp Messenger is a participatory cross-platform, encrypted, instant messaging client for smartphones. It uses the internet to send text messages, documents, images, video, user location and audio messages to other users using standard cellular mobile numbers and selected feature phones that relies on the internet for the transmission of messages for communication. This service is one of the most popular mobile applications worldwide. Based on a low-cost subscription model, whatsapp is a cheap alternative to carrier-billed text messaging via SMS, especially for international or group messaging. The mobile messaging app enables users to share text, image, picture, audio and video messages. The service handles more than 600 million photo and 64 billion overall messages every day. As at September 2015, mobile messaging announced more than 900 million monthly active users worldwide up from 700 million in January of the same year. By Meanwhile, by February 2016, whatsapp messaging app announced more than 1 billion monthly active users up from over 700 million active users in January 2015 just within 13 months interval. No doubt, it is a popular SNS.  Whatsapp uses phone number as a point of contact to reach out to friends or group. It became a serious threat to Facebook, that was why in 2014, Facebook bought over whatsapp for with approximately US$19.3 billion.  Whatsapps founded by Whatsapp Inc. in Feb. 24, 2009 in California, USA and was acquired by Facebook Inc. on Feb. 19, 2014 (Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia).
Blackberry Messenger is propriety internet-based instant messenger application included on blackberry devices that allows messaging between blackberry users. It was developed by the manufacturer of the blackberry research in motion (RIM); messages sent via blackberry messenger are sent over the internet and use the blackberry pin system, so communication is only possible between blackberry devices. Pinging allows you to connect to friends using a ping ID, something akin to blackberry pin but easier to remember because you can pick it yourself. Once you’ve shared your pin or found friends via email or twitter, you can send text, messages, photos, videos and voice memos. Pretty much anything you might want to send to a friend can be sent using pin. Messages are in real time over the data network and pushed to the recipient. Once a message is sent, a little S or D and a tick with an R indicating the message has been sent and read. Ping chat also packs group messaging and social profiles, which allows you to display a photo, status and some information about yourself to confirm contacts and through these, one is connected to the whole world (Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia).
Facebook is the largest social networking company. As of January 2016, Facebook’s monthly active users reached 1.55 billion people which account for 22 per cent of the entire world’s population. Facebook noted that 7.2 million people in Nigeria visit Facebook daily and 97 per cent of the users access the social media site on their mobile devices. The SNS allows anyone who claims to be at least 13 years old to become a registered user of the website. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as friends, exchange messages, and receive automatic notifications when they update their profile (Roblyer 2010). Additionally, users may join common-interest user groups, organised by workplace, school or college, or other characteristics, and categorize their friends into lists such as "People from Work" or "Close Friends".
 Facebook Inc., the social media networking giant, on Feb. 2016 announced that 16 million Nigerians were active users of the apps. (Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia)
Twitter is an online social networking service that enables its users to send and read text- based posts of up to 140 characters called “tweets. Register users can read and post tweets, but those who are unregistered can only read tweets Users can also follow the updates of friends they “follow’’, send them direct messages, reply publicly to friends, or just post questions or comments as their current status. In many ways this social network site (twitter) continually provides social network for people at all ages. Twitter as a social network plays a role in communication throughout the world in the sense providing online services to share information with others and connect with them by creating a profile that may include a personal web page and a blog. It has been argued by (Jonah 2013) that twitter affects behavior by causing psychological disorder via addiction to the access of the social network. Also twitter affects behavior because the network is open to all (Jaclyn 2011).
    According to Reuters, Twitter, on Feb. 5, 2015 created official accounts in South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya. It was believed that these three countries might be the heaviest users of Twitter on the continent. Twitter announced the accounts-@TwitterNigeria, @TwitterSA and @TwitterKenya. In the same year, @TwitterKenya amassed the most following at 4, 932 followers, with @TwitterNigeria at a distance second with 2,748 followers and @TwitterSA in a farther third at 328 followers. Meanwhile, as at March 2016, Twitter Inc. announced more than 310 million monthly active users (Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia).