Impact of social media on youth mobilization and the use of twitter for the 2020 #endsars protest In Nigeria
1 Department of Library and Information Science, College of Specialized and Professional Education, Tai Solarin University of Education, Ogun State, Nigeria.
2 Deartment of Modern Languages and Communication, National University of Sciences and Technology, Moscow, Russia
3 Department of English and Literary Study, Faculty of Art, Federal University, Oye-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria.
4 Department of Communication, College of Art and Sciences, North Dakota State University, United States.
5 Department of Public Affairs, O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University, Bloomington, United States.
6 Department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Agricultural Science, Ladoke Akintola University, Oyo State, Nigeria
7 Department of Linguistics and Nigerian Languages, Faculty of Art, University of Uyo, Akwa-Ibom State, Nigeria.
8 Department of Political Science and Diplomacy, Faculty of Social Science, Veritas University, Abuja, Nigeria.
Research Article
World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 2024, 23(03), 2231–2238
Publication history:
Received on 01 July 2024; revised on 15 September 2024; accepted on 18 September 2024
Abstract:
The study was carried out to examine the impact of social media on youth mobilization and the use of twitter for the 2020 #EndSARs protest in Nigeria. Descriptive survey research design was adopted for this study. A total of three hundred and seventy one (371) Nigeria youths were randomly selected as sample for the study. A researcher’s designed questionnaire was design and was present with Google form. Three research questions were answered using mean analysis. Based on the findings, the social media platforms used for mobilization of youths includes Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, Blogs, Snapchat and Google Meet. However, Twitter has the highest usage(90.9%) while Google Meet has the least usage (28.3%). Also, majority of the respondents agreed that twitter was utilized: to share locations of where to begin protest (56.3%); to inform foreign organizations of the happenings in Nigeria (37.7%); to share information on the deeds of the SARS members and a need to join the protest (48.0%); to share e-flyers and videos showing the atrocities committed by SARS members (49.3%); and to reach out to celebrities in Nigeria and outside the country in participating for the protest(47.4%).The study recommended that efforts should be made by the government in subjecting police recruits to several test before being qualified to be trained as a law enforcement agent. This test will ensure that those to be trained are physically, mentally and socially fit for the duty.
Keywords:
Social Media; Twitter; Mobilization; #ENDSARS; Nigeria; Digital Activism; Protest
Full text article in PDF:
Copyright information:
Copyright © 2024 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article. This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Liscense 4.0