The Prevalence, Effects, and Reactions to Use of Short Message Services in University Settings in South West Nigeria

This chapter focuses on the extent of the usage of Short Message Services (SMS) in three universities in Southwest Nigeria, with 243 participants drawn from Covenant University, Bells University, and Lagos State University, who responded to a questionnaire on SMS. Data generated from the study confirmed the high usage of SMS among subjects in general and males in particular, within the age range of 31 to 40 years; a large number of subjects, especially those in administrative positions, were affected by the usage of SMS; most of the subjects are more tolerant when the messages are related to religion, are work-related, or are from family members. Subjects expressed concern when the contents of the SMS are related to adverts, when SMS are used when there are network problems, and the possible exploitation of recipients. Steps to minimize the disadvantages of the use of SMS are discusse