To Establish How Social Media Use Influences Self-Esteem of the Students of Mount Kenya University, Thika Campus

Social media networks have created a phenomenon on the internet that has gained popularity over the last decade. People use social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and My space to create and sustain relationships with others. University students form a large proportion of users on social media networks. The use of social media, though having many advantages, could affect self-esteem of the users. The purpose of the study was therefore to establish how social media use influences self-esteem of the students Mount Kenya University, Thika campus. The study determined the level of self esteem of the students of Mount Kenya University; how students judged their feelings towards themselves and propose strategies that could be employed to promote high self esteem. The study was guided by The Theory of Planned Behaviour by Ajzen (1991) which posits that individuals’ intentions are the proximal determinants of their behaviour, with intention conceptualized to capture individuals’ motivation to perform a given behaviour. The study applied a descriptive research design targeting all the 7,265 undergraduate students enrolled in Mount Kenya University, Thika Campus. Out of the 7,265 students, 365 students were sampled for the study. The research instruments were the questionnaire. Both the qualitative and quantitative data was collected from the field. A pilot study was conducted among 30 sampled University students. Collected data was coded and entered into the computer for analysis using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Descriptive statistics including percentages and frequency counts was used to analyse the data obtained. The study established that use of social media results both to high and low self esteem of the students and also showed that student’s self-esteem will be determined by the type of feedback they receive from their peers, whether positive or negative on their social media networks. The study therefore recommends that more attention needs to be placed on understanding social media and their impact on youth. Counselors need to not only be aware of what sites students are participating on, but also the significant role that these sites have in the lives of students such as self esteem. Finally counseling program should be introduced in the universities to manage issues related with social media and low self esteem of student due to use of social media.