Post It, Share It, Like It: Motivations behind Wedding Posts on Social Media among Nigerian Youth

Abdulgaffar Olawale Arikewuyo,Olabola Taye Omisore,Saudat Sallah Abdulbaqi

doi:10.30935/ojcmt/2626

Abstract

The Nigerian wedding industry is one of the most lucrative business industries in the country today; this is as a result of the frequency of the event which has become a global phenomenon. This study therefore seeks to find out the motivations as well as psychological effects behind posting, liking and sharing wedding pictures and videos on social media platforms among Nigerian youth. A random sampling of 350 (n=350) Nigerian youth was carried out. Findings reveal that the act of posting, liking or sharing of wedding pictures and videos on social media platforms by the youth could translate to their desire to publicize the designers and decorators due to their love for what they wear. The study is also able to infer that quite a number of Nigerians who post wedding pictures and videos on social media do so with the intention of showing the kind of extravagant life style they live.

Highlights

Social media has continued to play a significant role in the development and sustenance of human life in different ramifications (Lambert, 2016)
Revelations from this study indicate that one of the motivations for social media wedding posts by Nigerian youth is as a result of their wish to show off their partner or generally announce their marriage
This study finds out that Nigerian youth in order to identify with various actors and stakeholders post, like and share wedding pictures and videos on social media

Summary

Introduction

Social media has continued to play a significant role in the development and sustenance of human life in different ramifications (Lambert, 2016) It has become a dominant platform on the internet and as such majority of internet users are active users of the various social media platforms, this has given reasons for its description as a platform that facilitate information exchange among humans(Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010). With the aid of social media, online communities have emerged in order to educate and enlighten individuals in understanding their rights and responsibilities about the various forms of harassments they experience (Arikewuyo, Özad, & Abdulbaqi, 2017) This has helped reduce the trend of physical and sexual harassing being experienced mostly by girls and women

Methods

Findings

Discussion

Conclusion