INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON YOUTH PARTICIPATION IN POLITICS IN NIGERIA: A CASE OF THE 2015/2019 GENERAL ELECTIONS
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Date
2021-11
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Journal of Social Sciences and Public Policy
Abstract
The 2015 and 2019 general elections in Nigeria marked a turning point in the use
of social media for awareness, campaigns, discourse and even outright posting of
election results. In lieu of this, this study investigated the influence of social media
on youth participation in Nigerian politics and its impact on the outcome of the
last two general elections in Nigeria. The survey research design was used for this
study with questionnaire as data gathering instrument. The research population
comprised of youth drawn from the major cities in Western Nigeria. The data
collected was analyzed using simple percentage and differential statistics. It was
revealed from the study’s findings that 88.8% of the respondents were aware of
social networking sites (SNS). While 79.8% were using social networking sites. The
study also found that majority of the respondents were actively spending most of
their time in online political discussions and in real life political issues with 59.3%
of them voting the 2015 and 2019 general elections. The finding therefore showed
a positive relationship between social media use and real life political participation
by youths.
Description
Keywords
Social media, Youth participation, Elections, 2015/2019 general elections, Politics in Nigeria