IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON MODERN JOURNALISM PRACTICES IN NIGERIAN WITH A FOCUS ON JOURNALISTS

IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON MODERN JOURNALISM PRACTICES IN NIGERIAN WITH A FOCUS ON JOURNALISTS

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of social media on contemporary journalism practice in Nigeria, focusing on journalists from the Lagos metropolitan area. This is because the development of information and communication technology such as the Internet has made it possible to know about events without actually being there. Journalists can use the Internet to report news from around the world. Throughout history, the development of technology and communication has been closely related, and recent technological developments such as the Internet have meant that the science of communication has reached new levels. The process of human communication has evolved over the years. Many groundbreaking inventions and discoveries herald revolutions. The invention of pictographs or the first written communication in antiquity gave rise to written communication. These writings were on stone and remained immovable. A significant literature review was conducted to achieve this goal. A related theory used to satisfy the study was social responsibility theory. A quantitative survey design employing a cross-sectional survey method was used, although the data collection tool was a questionnaire. Chi-square was used. Subjects were drawn by journalists from the Lagos Metropolitan Area, Lagos State, using targeted sampling techniques. Three research questions and alternative hypotheses guided the study. Research shows that social media is improving the productivity of journalists in Lagos State, with a large number of journalists using social media to get their news. To this end, the researchers surveyed the social media tools available to journalists to identify credible and trustworthy social networking sites and recommended using them to fulfill their journalistic duties. The researchers suggested that more research should be done on the role of social media in maintaining democracy, advertising, public relations, and polling.