The Impact of Social Media on the Social, Political and Economic Environments in Africa

Abstract

The purpose of this chapter is to evaluate the effect and potentials of social media as a tool for social, political, and economic change in Africa. This chapter argues that social media has become so entrenched in various facets of society that it has become a mechanism impacting social, political, and economic life in Africa. This chapter looks at the 2011 Nigerian elections and the worldwide Kony Movement against Kony the Ugandan warlord, as tools/examples of analysis. These are some of the developments that have driven the debate about the ability of social media in bringing about social, economic, and political change and participation in the African continent. The research method adopted in this chapter involves an analysis of a growing scholarship addressing the various arguments proffered on this topic. The chapter concludes by establishing the impact of social media on social, economic, and political life in Africa as well as identifying challenges posed by this development and making recommendations for the regulatory framework required to effectively harness these potentials in Africa.