Abstract
This study investigated social media use and gratification by academic staff for academic
activities in tertiary institutions in Zamfara state. Quantitative research methodology was
adopted for this study and cross sectional survey design was also adopted for the study.
The population of the study comprised 1734 academic staff. 313 respondents were
selected as sample size for the study using Krejcie & Morgans' table. Questionnaire was the
only instrument used for data collection. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics.
Out of the 313 copies of the questionnaire administered to the academic staff, only 285
were returned and found usable. The study found that Academic staff in tertiary
institutions in Zamfara state use various types of social media platforms for academic
activities. Similarly, there is also high level of gratification in terms of the usage. The study
also identified challenges associated with the use of social media for academic gratification
which include limited bandwidth coverage, absence of standard platforms used for
academic purposes, high cost of internet subscription among others. The study
recommended that the management of the surveyed institutions needs to encourage
academic staff to not only concentrate on traditional social media but also academic social
media platforms like research gate, academia.edu, slide share and LinkedIn, The formal
employment of social media platforms in academic activities by academic staff for
enhanced services and moving with current trends is encouraged.
Publication Date: 2026-02-05