Interactive Nature of Social Media’s Comment Feature

Abstract

Discussions through interactions between contending parties have been known to have minimised, if not completely resolved, many conflicts, and have nipped numerous others in the bud because people were able to express themselves for others to know their stands on issues. Likewise, new media technologies, ably hinged on the Internet, have further created avenues for more interactions among people in different social milieus or media ecosystems. Given the variegated Internet attributes, most newspapers now have online versions that have provisions for readers to make comments at the end of each story or report. The comment feature of online newspapers and social media gives room for interaction among readers and users, hence, commenters are not only using it to comment on what they have listened to or watched or read online, but they also use it to react and comment on the comments made by other commenters. This brings about a robust social interaction among the commenters, outside the medium that serves as the source of news or topic of discussion. In October 2020, youths in Nigeria embarked on a protest against police brutality tagged #EndSARS, SARS being the acronym for Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the Nigerian police. The youths mobilised themselves nationwide through social media, online newspapers, and other Internet platforms to hold rallies and protests, with the major one taking place at the Lekki Tollgate in Lagos. It is within this context that this paper looked at the social interaction that took place among commenters who commented in Sahara Reporters, Premium Times, and the online version of The Punch newspapers on the #EndSARS issue. The objectives were to find out how many comments were made in the comment sections of these selected online newspapers as they relate to their reports on #EndSARS; to ascertain how many of the comments were socially interactive, and to determine the extent the comments proffered solutions to police brutality in Nigeria. Grounded in the Social Network Theory, the study utilised content analysis and direct observation methods to gather data for evaluation while coding sheets and coding guide were used as data collection instruments. Findings revealed that commenters were engaged in interactive discussions among themselves when expressing their opinions about the #EndSARS protests. It was also discovered that some of the comments proffered solutions to the issue of police brutality, and how it can be addressed. The paper concluded that the comment feature of social media is another unique avenue for citizens, especially the youth, to voice out their opinions, and to reach out to, and engage the “high and mighty” in the society, either within or outside government, they might not be privileged to reach through other means. Based on the findings, it was recommended, among others, that those in government, particularly in developing countries such as Nigeria should pay critical attention to the comment sections of various social media to have an idea of what the populace feels about their policies based on the report about them that citizens read in the media.