Use of Social Media Platforms for Citizen Journalism on Security Challenges in Nigeria among The Polytechnic Ibadan Students

Abstract

The immediacy of social media gives citizens the ability to monitor real-world events and security issues and get immediate feedback that can help shape their responses and priorities, which can also be valuable in promoting security in general. Through its constant use, social media has played a significant role in fostering both positive and negative facets of insecurity. Therefore, this study investigated use of social media platforms and engagement in citizens’ journalism regarding security challenges in Nigeria among The Polytechnic Ibadan Students. The study adopted descriptive survey research design; multi-stage sampling procedure was adopted in the sample selection of 403 respondents. A validated instrument named; Citizen Journalism Social Media Questionnaire(r=0.874) was used for data collection; data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings revealed that students of The Polytechnic Ibadan made use of popular social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp (weighted x̄ 1.40) respectively and engaged in online discussion of security challenges to a large extent using Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Telegram, and others (weighted x̄ 2.11). Also, there was no significant difference (r = 0.053, p<0.05) in level of engagement in online discussion on security challenges in Nigeria. Thus, the study concluded that The Polytechnic Ibadan students’ social media use does not have any influence on security challenges in Nigeria. The study recommended that security information should be promptly disseminated virtually by security operatives to avoid spreading of fake security news through social media platforms.