DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES AND SOCIAL NETWORKING-COMPETENCE AS DETERMINANTS OF UNDERGRADUATES’ USE OF SMARTPHONES AS COLLABORATIVE LEARNING MEDIA IN PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES IN OYO STATE, NIGERIA

This study investigated demographic variables (age and gender) and social networking competence as determinants of undergraduates” use of smartphones as collaborative learning media (CLM) in private universities in Oyo State, Nigeria. A descriptive research design of the ex-post facto type was adopted. Purposive and total enumeration sampling techniques were employed to select 530 undergraduates who were in their third year (3001.) from the two private universities in the state. A structured questionnaire tagged Demographic Variables, Social Networking-Competence (SNC) and Undergraduates’ Use of Smartphones as Collaborative Learning Media (DVSNCUUSCLM) with reliability coefficients of 0.85 and 0.81 for SNC and undergraduates’ use of smartphones as collaborative learning media respectively were used to collect data. Five research questions were answered in the study. The findings showed that the majority 500(97%) of the undergraduates involved in the study used smartphones as CLM. The following were the mostly used smartphones among the undergraduates: Blackberry  Techno  and Nokia Class  The mostly used social network sites were Facebook 510(99%), YouTube 450(87%) and Twitter 400(78%) in that order. Demographic variables (age) and SNC had joint significant contribution to undergraduates’ use of smartphones as CLM  p<O.05], while SNC [ß=.59, t=8.59] and age [ß=.46, t=7.36, p<O.051 had relative significant contributions to undergraduates’ use of smartphones as CLM. However, gender did not. Based on the findings of this study, therefore, age, gender and SNC should be important factors to be considered in the use of smartphones among the undergraduates as CLM in the Nigerian universities for effectiveness and efficiency.