ABSTRACT

The study examined the influence ofsocial media on lifestyle ofundergraduate students in Micheal Okpara University ofAgriculture, Umudike. Four (4) research questions wereformulated to guide the Study The population ofthe study comprised ofundergraduate students in MOUAU(27,750). Random sampling techniques was used to select 180 respondents for the study. A structured questionnaire was used for data collection which was validated by three lecturers from the department ofHome Economics MOUAU. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics offrequency, mean and standard deviation. The findings ofthe study include: The study found that the most used social media channel used by the students are Facebook (96.3%) ,messenger(96.3%), Whatsapp (97.4%), Instagram (65.0%), twitter (56.1%) and YouTube (68.3%). Social media affects reading habits both positively and negatively. On the positive angle it helps undergraduates socialize and share information (3.16) while negatively it steal the time that is usedfor reading (3.05). Social media affect the dressing pattern of undergraduate as it affects their wardrobe (3.43), they imitate other people dressing pattern (3.05) and they imitate celebrities on social media (2.93). On truancy social media lead to lateness in class (3.21), sleepingin class (2.91), smoking (3.12), drugabuse (2.91) and stealing (3.01). On personality the undergraduate place more emphasis on the like and comment they accruefrom social media with a mean score of2.98 thereby allowing it influencing theirfeeling ofworthiness or a lack ofit. Based on the finding it is recommend that the findings of this study should be used in policy formulationfor university and in government agencies that deals with the youth