THE EFFECT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE LIFESTYLES OF NIGERIAN YOUTH

THE EFFECT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE LIFESTYLES OF NIGERIAN YOUTH

ABSTRACT

At the Federal Institute of Education in Abeokuta, a study was conducted to explore and determine the effects of social media on the lives of Nigerian young. This study took into account the purpose of social media, reviewed pertinent literature, and employed a survey research design as its technique. The results showed that adolescents feel more exposed and connected thanks to social media because they can communicate with one another and exchange ideas, thoughts, etc. The study’s findings also showed that the majority of young people at the Federal College of Education in Abeokuta use or access Facebook more frequently than once per hour, exposing them to objectionable material on the websites. According to research, social media has a negative impact on young people’s lifestyles at Federal College of Education in Abeokuta.  Social media has also reduced youths’ face-to-face engagement with one another. So, it was advised that young people use social media responsibly, be cautious of offensive content, and be mindful about online privacy and information sharing. The youth should engage in productive endeavors on social media platforms that would benefit both the source and society.

CHAPTER ONE

1.0              INTRODUCTION

1.1       BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

The most popular pastime among today’s kids and teens is using social networking websites. A social media site is any website that enables social interaction. This includes social networking sites like Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter as well as game portals and virtual worlds like Club Penguin, Second Life, and The Sims, among others. These websites, which have expanded rapidly in recent years, provide a platform for communication and pleasure for today’s young.

The “connection that exists between network of people” is the definition of social media (Walter & Rivera, 2004). The online world has undergone a significant transition in the last ten years. Owing to the development of social media, young people are now able to transmit thoughts, emotions, private information, images, and videos at a truly astounding rate.

According to Schill (2011), teens who use social media are more prone to engage in risky behaviors including procrastination (catch up with pals) and substance abuse.

But each day, a large number of students spend numerous hours engrossed in social media platforms like Facebook, MySpace, World of Warcraft, or SimCity. This may appear to be a waste of time at first, but it also helps children acquire critical knowledge and social skills, enabling them to become engaged citizens who share and produce material. Brydolf (2007). (2007).

Regardless of the pros and cons of social media, many students use these platforms regularly today. As the use of social media sites increases, we believe that technology is an essential component of today’s equation for student achievement. A significant amount of research has been done on how social media affects college students’ retention by numerous researchers.

Many parents are worried that their college students are spending too much time on Facebook and other social media sites and not enough time studying which might ultimately expose them to new cultures, limiting them from fully exhibiting or practising of their own culture.

Therefore, for this reason, O’keffe & Clarke-Pearson (2010) asserts that it is important that parents become aware of the nature of social media sites, given that not all of them are healthy environments for youth’s good cultural standard.

Engaging in various forms of social media is a routine activity that research has shown to benefit children and the youth by enhancing communication, social connection and even technical skills. Social media sites offer multiple daily opportunities for connecting with friends, classmates and people with shared interests. Thus, a large part of this generations social and emotional development is occurring while on the internet and on Cell phones Ito, horst & Bittani (2008).

Due to their limited capacity for self-regulation and susceptibility to peer pressure, children, adolescents and youth are at some risk as they navigate and experiment with social media. Recent research indicates that there are frequent online expressions of offline behaviours, such as bullying, clique-forming, and sexual experimentation that have introduced problems such as cyberbullying, privacy issues and sexing, Lenhart (2009). Other problems that merit awareness include internet addiction and concurrent sleep deprivation.

Cooper (2013) opines that social media affects not only our lives when we are active on a social media site, but also when we are offline. Approximately one in five couples last year 2012 met on social  media sites such as Facebook. Some effects of social media on the youths include changes to your behaviour and habits. Some of these changes can have an adverse effects on our lives, due to factors such as peer pressure and the related stress caused by it, constant image maintenance needs to be maintained on social networking sites.

Nowadays, social networking and media sites are used by more than 60% of people worldwide. Melville (2010). (2010). Social media’s rise in popularity has had a significant impact on today’s kids.

Young people regularly post updates to their social media accounts. Due to social media, friendships are formed and destroyed, privacy is all but lost, and whatever embarrassment a person experiences in life is visible to the entire world online, which can cause extreme stress and have a profoundly bad impact on one’s psychology.

1.2  STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The purpose of this study is to determine how social media affects young people’s lifestyles. The problems brought on by the researcher are specifically:

What are young people using social media for? What are the advantages and disadvantages of social media for young people? How much have social media enabled or influenced young people’s cultural lifestyles? What are some potential remedies for social media’s detrimental influence on youth culture?

1.3 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The importance of the study’s goal cannot be overstated, especially in light of the detrimental effects social media has on young people’s lifestyles in general. Therefore, this study aims to ascertain the extent to which youth lifestyles and cultures are positively and negatively impacted. It also offers a number of recommendations that will help the youths at Federal College of Education, Osiele, Abeokuta, use social media more advantageously than adversely.

1.4  RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The researcher plans to delve deeper into the research while working on this project by employing the questions provided below.

How much of the youth at Federal College of Education, Osiele, Abeokuta, are aware of social media? What benefits do social media provide for young people at Federal College of Education, Osiele? What harm does social media cause to young people’s lifestyles at Federal College of Education, Osiele? Which social media platform is most used by the students at Federal College of Education, Osiele? Do young people feel more exposed and connected as a result of social media?

1.5       SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This research is limited to the students’ of Federal College of Education, Osiele, Abeokuta due to time, financial constraints etc, in order to collect data needed for the project easily

1.6       SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY

This study is important because it will reveal which sectors and how much social media have impacted young people’s lifestyles in Nigerian culture.

This study will contribute to the development of academic knowledge and will also be used as a source of literature.

Above all, the project will arm young people with the tools they need to promote social media’s beneficial benefits and guard against its detrimental consequences on lifestyles.

1.7       DEFINITION OF TERMS

The project’s study makes use of the terminology listed below.

According to Wikipedia, youth is the period of life that spans from childhood to adulthood (maturity). According to the Chambers Twentieth Century Dictionary, youth is the stage of life that comes right after childhood in which one is in a state of being young. Youth can also be described as the characteristics of a youthful person, such as their appearance, freshness, vigor, vitality, etc.

Social media: The mechanism by which individuals communicate with one another to create, share, and exchange knowledge and ideas in online groups and networks.

Lifestyle: According to Wikipedia, a person’s, group’s, or culture’s typical way of life is their lifestyle.

Society: A big social community that shares the same geographical or social territory, is tied to one another by long-standing relationships, and is under the control of the same political authority and prevailing cultural expectations.

Social networking sites are places where people with similar interests, pastimes, or relationships in real life can connect.