ABSTRACT

The use of the Internet in education is gradually gaining prominence in
our higher educational institutions. As students are active users of the
Internet, it is believed that they utilize the Internet for their
academic pursuit. This study explores and investigates the Influence of
the Internet on Information Acquisition among Students of Bayero
University, Kano during the 2012-2013 Academic Session. However, as the
Internet is seen to be a somewhat troublesome media, Social Cognitive
Theory underpinned this study giving prominence in understanding how
students can self-regulate the use of new media especially the Internet
and perform a particular cause of action at a time. Furthermore, the
study investigated the extent to which the Internet influences the
students of Bayero University, Kano and what use the information from
the Internet is put to. The qualitative and quantitative research
methods were used in gathering data and conclusions for this study based
on frequencies and their equivalent percentages. The sample size for
this study was 376, out of which 47 respondents were drawn
non-proportionally from 8 sampled departments. Data collected shows that
most students have frequent access to the Internet but via Cyber cafes
in the institution. Different purposes informed their respective use of
the Internet with the greatest number using the Internet for academic
purposes. On this basis, the study recommends that universities should
provide adequate Internet facilities and an enabling study environment
for students at Universities.