CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF STUDY

Facebook is one of the greatest social media website that have being on existence for years; this website came into existence in the month of february 2004 by Mr Zuckerberg. Since then the name has experienced great increase.

“The facebook", as it was originally known; the name taken from the sheets of paper distributed to freshmen, profiling students and staff. Within 24 hours, 1,200 Harvard students had signed up, and after one month, over half of the undergraduate population had a profile.

The network was promptly extended to other Boston universities, the Ivy League and eventually all US universities. It became Facebook.com in August 2005 after the address was purchased for $200,000. US high schools could sign up from September 2005, then it began to spread worldwide, reaching UK universities the following month.

As of September 2006, the network was extended beyond educational institutions to anyone with a registered email address. The site remains free to join, and makes a profit through advertising revenue. Yahoo and Google are among companies which have expressed interest in a buy-out, with rumoured figures of around $2bn (£975m) being discussed. Mr Zuckerberg has so far refused to sell.

The site's features have continued to develop during 2007. Users can now give gifts to friends, post free classified advertisements and even develop their own applications - graffiti and Scrabble are particularly popular.

Some months back the company announced that the number of registered users had reached 30 million, making it the largest social-networking site with an education focus.

With the countinious growth of the website (facebook.com); with over 50million users worldwide, this made it very simple for information to get circulated within minuites. Facebook has really impacted on the growth and development of information across the globe.

Study shows that over 50% of students in international islamic university Malaysia are all facebook users; this made it easier for dissemination of information among students in this university since facebook have a provision for groups and other sections for users to operate freely.

1.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

Facebook is no doubt one of the best social website in the world with over 50 million users all over the world; in as much as it a great medium for information transfer and other advertisement programmes; there are some issues with facebook; though this issue is majorly found among the islamic students.

International islamic university Malaysia being populated with mostly islams and most of this people does not belief in westernism; as it is against their belief; does not participate in the user of most of this social media especially facebook. They see facebook as a place where one can easiliy get corrupt; this abstainance from the use of facebook started from the parents down to their children.

1.3 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF STUDY

With the above problem the study will try to elicit information on how to remove the tag on  facebook by islams in other to encourage them on the acceptance of facebook as a credible source of information; the study came up with the following objectives:

1. To determine the importance of facebook as a social media network

2. To investigate the role of facebook in the socio-economic development process

3. To determine the effect of religion on the acceptance of facebook

4. To elicit information on the role of facebook as a platform for advertisement

5. To determine the effect of facebook usage on the academic performance of students in international Islamic University Malaysia

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTION

In order to achieve the following objectives the study came up with the following questions

1. What is the effect of facebook usage on the academic performance of international islamic university Malaysia?

2. What is the role of facebook as a platform for advertisment?

3. What is the effect of religion on the acceptance of facebook?

4. what is the role of facebook in socio-economic development process?

5. what is the importance of facebook as a social media network?

1.5 RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS

H0: There is no significant relationship between religion and the acceptance of facebook

H1: There is significant relationship between religion and the acceptance of facebook

H0: facebook does not help in the dissemination of information

H1: facebook helps in the dissemination of information

H0: There is no mean difference in gender responses of the respondents that facebook has significant impact on the academic performance of students

H1: There is mean difference in gender responses of the respondents that facebook has significant impact on the academic performance of students

1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY

The research work is indeed significant because it will discuss the effect of religion on the acceptance of the use of social media, it will also discuss the role of facebook as a platform for advertisment; the study will also discuss the impact of facebook on the academic performance of students.

1.7 SCOPE OF STUDY

The study facebook as a credible source of information will cover the effect of religion on the acceptance of facebook, it will also cover the history international islamic university Malaysia, the study will cover the social media and the academic performance of students.

1.8 LIMITATION OF STUDY

FINANCIAL CONSTRAINTS: limited finance tend to impede the researchers ability to get all the materials needed for the study; but the researcher was able to get all the necessary information needed for the study.

TIME CONSTRAINTS: The researcher being a student will be involved in other departmental activities like presentation of seminar, and other submission of assignment and attendance to classes but the researcher was able to meet up with the time allocated for the completion of the study.

1.9 DEFINITION OF TERMS

SOCIAL MEDIA: websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking.

ISLAM: the religion of the Muslims, a monotheistic faith regarded as revealed through Muhammad as the Prophet of Allah.

INFORMATION: facts provided or learned about something or someone.

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