Social Media Platforms and Clothing Consumption of Undergraduate Students in University of Uyo

Abstract

This study investigated the influence of Social Media Platforms and Clothing Consumption of Undergraduate Students in University of Uyo. Four purposes, four research questions were raised to guide the study. Descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. The area of the study was University of Uyo. The population consisted of 378 respondents. Stratified and Accidental sampling techniques were used to select 116 respondents. A structured questionnaire titled "Social Media Platforms and Clothing Consumption of Undergraduate Students in University of Uyo Questionnaire" (SMPCCUSUUQ) was used for data collection. The instrument was subjected to face and content validity by three experts. The reliability of the instrument was 0.87 which proved that the instrument was reliable for use in the study. Data obtained from the study was analyzed using inferential statistics - frequency, percentage, mean, rank, decision and standard deviations.  Findings revealed that undergraduate students select hairstyles from Pinterest with (x̄= 2.70) . Undergraduate students learn clothing upcycling skills from Instagram with (x̄= 3.04). The results showed that undergraduate students select their hairstyles from TikTok with (x̄ = 3.04). Further findings revealed that checking price tags before buying clothing items (x̄= 3.31) was the highest clothing consumption practices of undergraduate students in the study area. Based on the findings of the study, the researcher concludes that, social media platforms such like Instagram, Pinterest, Tiktok etc influence undergraduate students’ clothing consumption in the study area. The researcher recommends amongst others that undergraduate students in the study area should be encouraged to develop critical thinking skills regarding their clothing consumption, particularly in learning clothing upcycling skills from social media platforms.