Media Contents and Youths’ Attitudes toward Nigeria’s Political Activities

Abstract

Purpose: A politically engaged individual will pay close attention on various subjects related to public space or collective concerns, such as the environment, public policy, human rights, elections, and other relevant factors. Political apathy, on the other hand, refers to a general state of indifference towards the events and governance of one’s political locality. Therefore, this study examined the relationship between media contents and youths’ attitudes toward Nigeria’s political activities.
 Methodology: This study was anchored on Cognitive Mobilisation Theory. The study adopted the correlation survey research design. The study targeted Nigerian youths aged 18-35. Stratified and convenience sampling techniques were used in selecting the respondents. The study utilized a self-designed questionnaire called the Media Political Education Contents and Youths’ Attitudes, Questionnaire (MEYPQ). Copies of the questionnaire were electronically administered using (https://docs.google.com). The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to process the data, which was presented as frequency distributions for all items in charts and tables, the mean, and standard deviation.
 Findings: Findings from the study show that 435 (80.2%) of the respondents accessed political education contents on social media, 405 respondents (75%) accessed such content via digital media, 403 (74.5%) accessed through graphics/digital graphics, 74.14% (400) accessed via electronics/broadcast, and 62.64% (338) of the respondents have accessed or seen political education via print media. The attitude of Nigerian youths towards political activities is positive (Weighted Mean = 2.56; S.D = 0.87). An increase in media education contents will lead to an increase in attitudes of Nigerian youths towards political activities by 0.861.
 Recommendations: The study recommends that political stakeholders should use the opportunities presented by the media to change the apathetic and hostile attitudes of youths towards political actors and activities into trust, acceptance, cooperation and support.