DIGITAL MEDIA, SOCIAL MEDIA AND YOUTH PARTICIPATION IN POLITICS: AN ASSESSMENT OF THE 2019 GENERAL ELECTIONS IN ENUGU STATE

Abstract

The study was to examine the effect of digital media and social media on youth’s participation in politics in Enugu state. The specific objectives were to ascertain the extent to which facebook usage influences participation of youths in politics in Enugu state; examine the extent to which twitter usage influences participation of youths in politics in Enugu state. The survey research design was adopted. The population of the study was youths in Enugu state from 18-35years. A sample of 384 youths was selected for this study using Topmans formular for unknown population. Questionnaire was the instrument for data collection. Both descriptive and inferential statistics tools were also integrated. The pearson moment correlation was used to test the formulated hypotheses. Findings of the study reveal that the two predators of digital media and social media in the forms of facebook and twitter usage in politics have significant influence on youth’s participation in politics in Enugu state. The study concludes that politicians should make use of digital media and social media during and after campaign to get youths actively involved in governance. The study recommends that both the youths and politicians should be well educated and trained on how best they can use social media platforms to actively engage in political discourse.