The Influence Of Internet On The Reading Culture Of Students In Government College Umuahia.:- Ukonna Emenike E

ABSTRACT ix Reading in the 21st century networked society is i ’ " ' " ’ ’ ’ no longer confined to the print reading. The scope of the reading has extended to the Internet sources that changed the traditional reading culture ofthe readers. The present study was conducted to identify the Influence ofinternet on reading culture ofstudents. The study was conducted in Government College Umuahia Abia state. The research aimed at identifying the activities, time allotted and the influence ofinternet on the student’s reading culture. Also, the study’s main objective is to arrive at a mean through which the curriculum of schools can incorporate reading and the use of Library which will enable the students develop a better reading culture. A descriptive survey was used for the study. A questionnaire was used for the data collection. A structured questionnaire was used for data collection. The data collected was analysed using descriptive statisticsfor interpretation. The research finding. Figures and tables were used to present the results of findings. From the total of 287 copies of questionnaire distributed, 275 copies, representing 5% were filled and returned. The findings showed that majority of the respondents acknowledge the importance of reading as a means to create a betterreading culture, not only read forthe purpose of passing examination. Research findings shows that the internet has a great influence on student’s reading hours as it affects their performance in academic activities especially their reading. Also the number ofhours devoted to reading is quite low compared to the time allotted to chatting on the internet and other internet related activities. It was recommended that the internet should be carefully monitored and also Reading should be promoted through partnership collaboration between the public and private sectors such as publishers, booksellers, librarians to encourage readership campaign, proper training of internet use should be provided to the teaching staffs to accelerate access to different electronic sources ofinformation and support their teaching activities and that online readers need to be cautious andfocused while Internet surfing so that the Internet can be used as an enhancement reading tool.