ABSTRACT
This study examines the impact of social media on political opinions and behaviors among Nigerian citizens during and after the 2023 presidential election. Utilizing a questionnaire survey of 120 participants, the research explores three key areas: the influence of social media on political opinions and voting behaviors, its role in political polarization, and its effect on public perception of political candidates and parties. Findings reveal that social media significantly shapes political opinions, providing diverse perspectives and influencing voting decisions. However, it also contributes to political polarization, amplifying divisive opinions and creating echo chambers. Social media discourse has notably affected public perceptions of political candidates and parties, influencing electoral outcomes and political alignments. The study highlights the persistent impact of social media on political engagement and public sentiment post-election. Recommendations include implementing regulations to ensure transparency in social media campaigns, enhancing media literacy, and promoting constructive political discourse. Further research is suggested to explore the long-term effects of social media, the role of specific platforms, and the impact on various demographic groups. This study underscores the profound influence of social media on contemporary political dynamics in Nigeria.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE: 3
INTRODUCTION.. 3
1.1 Background of the Study. 3
1.2 Statement of the Problem.. 5
1.3 Objectives of the Study. 7
1.4 Research Questions. 7
1.5 Hypotheses of the Study. 8
1.6 Significance of the Study. 8
1.7 Scope of the Study. 9
1.8 Limitations of the Study. 10
1.9 Definition of Key Terms. 11
CHAPTER TWO: 12
LITERATURE REVIEW... 12
Introduction. 12
2.1 Conceptual Framework
2.1.1 Social Media: Definition and Role. 13
2.1.2 Political Polarization:
Definition and Effects. 14
2.2 Theoretical Framework
2.2.1 Theories of Media Influence. 16
2.3 Empirical Review
2.3.1 Global Perspectives on Social Media and
Political Polarization. 17
2.3.2 Social Media and Political Dynamics
in Nigeria. 18
2.4 Review of Related
Studies
CHAPTER THREE: 21
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY.. 21
3.1
Research Design. 21
3.2
Population of the Study. 22
3.3
Sample Size and Sampling Technique. 23
Justification
for Random Sampling. 24
3.4
Data Collection Methods. 25
3.5
Data Analysis Techniques. 26
3.6
Ethical Considerations. 26
CHAPTER FOUR: 28
DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS. 28
4.1
Demographic Characteristics of Respondents. 28
4.2
Research Questions. 33
4.3
Hypothesis Testing. 41
ANOVA
Table. 41
Summary. 42
4.4
Discussion of Findings. 42
CHAPTER FIVE: 44
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION, AND RECOMMENDATIONS. 44
5.1 Summary of Findings. 44
5.2 Conclusion. 46
5.3 Recommendations. 47
5.4 Suggestions for Further Research. 48
References: 50
CHAPTER ONE:
INTRODUCTION
1.1
Background of the Study
In
2023, Nigeria will hold its presidential election. Political actors will use
social media to argue, compete, persuade, and radicalize. Given that social
media use in Nigeria has been on the increase during elections in recent years,
Nigeria looks set to witness one of the highest scales of polarization on its
social media space. How is this trend going to alter the political landscape
and the mood of politics in Nigeria? What are the implications of this
polarization for governance and citizen participation before and after the
elections? The answers to these questions have implications for the Nigerian
people, democracy, media, and activists. (Mustapha & Omar, 2020).
Constitutionally,
Nigeria, like numerous other democratic nations, is organized to hold periodic
elections to allow her citizenry to elect their officials for a specified term.
The elections are expected to be free, transparent, and devoid of unnecessary
friction between different interest groups. However, the notion of frictionless
elections appears to be a mirage in Nigeria with recurrent eruptions of pre,
during, and post-election acrimony that leaves a huge toll on the national
economy, infrastructure, and death toll. Studies on the Nigeria electoral
process have identified greed and incompetence, polarization, oligarchy
complicity, electoral mismanagement, poor party intra-democracy, voter apathy,
and poor political structures as fundamental sources of electoral acrimony.
Policymakers and politicians jet in with numerous interventions to heal these
identified dysfunctions without much success. Given the high stakes of
Nigeria's presidential elections, we believe that a nuanced focus on a range of
social media's political consequences will provide a useful contribution to
that debate. (Sule & Sambo, 2024).
A
nuanced examination of social media's role in politics in Nigeria is not a
novel research interest. For several years, only a few scholarly studies have
addressed this question and most have been anecdotal in nature. However, most policy
contributions to social media in Nigeria are heavy-handed and restrictive. Our
study disaggregates some of the myths surrounding social media's impact on
politics in Nigeria and provides a necessary degree of sober empirical
illustration. We document the core role of social media on political campaigns
and elections in Nigeria and show that many conventional wisdom regarding the
political impact of political social media in Nigeria seem largely unsupported
by the evidence. We argue that a nuanced and more scientifically grounded
approach is both overdue and required to regulate the legal provisions that
govern online political activity. (Obia, 2023).
We
draw these conclusions from a unique and proprietary dataset of over 5,000
phone calls during Nigeria's Presidential Election Campaigns and elections in
three states. Our data allows us to observe social media penetration levels in
these states; the ways in which individuals are affected by social media use
when asked about their public opinion matters. It also enables ethnographic
information to be collected on the lived experiences of people in a way that
contributes to political analysis in significant ways. It is important to
recognize that our analysis contributes to the ongoing debate regarding various
aspects of social media in shaping the Nigeria election debate. It is, of
course, profitable to ask what the avatars of the digital age think of Nigeria,
what types of political discussions and actions are being increased is
essential. However, these are not the only important questions to ask about
social media in the context of Nigeria's election. Let's begin to answer with a
proper focus on the ways in which social media matter for broader democratic
questions. In the Nigerian case, the strategic importance of our effort lies in
the ethnic and religious divides that have profound implications for the
country's governance. (Fourchard & Sikiru, 2023).
1.2
Statement of the Problem
This
study is motivated by the rise in the levels of political polarization in
Nigeria brought about by the use of social media, especially during elections.
Nigerians have turned their Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp into political
weapons to fight, argue, compete, persuade, and insult each other. The debates
and arguments generated are infused with hate, appeal to fear, and simple black
and white answers. Given that the use of social media has been on the increase
in Nigeria's past elections, Nigeria looks set to witness one of the highest
scales of polarization, particularly on the online space of Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram, and other related platforms. (Yarchi et al., 2021).
The
uncritical and undiluted information being spread through social media
platforms could exacerbate polarization and drive voting behavior in directions
that diminish the prospects for a neutral and more cooperative political
future. There is no other medium more effective in mobilizing a base of
supporters than social media. This contradiction can lead to the formation of
"echo chambers" or let those with extreme views dominate the debate
about the "right" path to follow. Even though the advantages and
disadvantages of social media are as thick as the ocean, the risk posed by
algorithms in today's digital world leads to social media's status as a threat
to individuals being of much greater essence compared to times when radio,
television, or the internet were separate entities. When individuals read and
hear the same thing - via Google search or Twitter - the dimension of tolerance
towards competing ideas and differences of opinion is reduced. (Ferreira &
dos Santos).
Even
though this paper's presentation is focused on the extent of both content and
context of social media intervention in Nigerian politics, it is equally
important to reflect on areas constituting the main structure for its
limitations. Policymakers are not restricted to maintaining identifiable and
understandable restraints on the narrowing of pluralism within a polity, making
room for a wider and infinitely diverse range of opinions and a greater number
of voices to be heard. Regulation of these technological entities can serve as
a testament to safeguarding values and the holding of different views as these
platforms consume and democratize corporate discourse. The dependency of
citizens on these platforms for information, insight, and validation left
individuals as vulnerable as countries, be it helping to support or harm public
order or the process of democratization. Therefore, by implementing
legislations with stark similarities to those imposed on other institutions and
entities with rights to release information for public consumption, social
media platforms should be bound to those obligations. (Mustapha & Omar,
2020).
1.3
Objectives of the Study
1.
To examine the role of social media platforms in
shaping political opinions and behaviors among Nigerian citizens during and
after the 2023 presidential election.
2.
To analyze the extent to which social media has
contributed to political polarization in Nigeria, particularly in the context
of the post-2023 presidential election period.
3.
To evaluate the impact of social media discourse on
the public perception of political candidates and parties, and how this has
influenced electoral outcomes and political alignment in Nigeria post-2023.
1.4 Research
Questions
1.
How do social media platforms shape political
opinions and behaviors among Nigerian citizens during and after the 2023
presidential election?
2.
To what extent has social media contributed to
political polarization in Nigeria, particularly in the post-2023 presidential
election period?
3.
What is the impact of social media discourse on the
public perception of political candidates and parties, and how has this
influenced electoral outcomes and political alignment in Nigeria post-2023?
1.5
Hypotheses of the Study
Ø (H₀₁):Social media platforms have no
significant role in shaping political opinions and behaviors among Nigerian
citizens during and after the 2023 presidential election.
Ø (H₁₁):Social media platforms significantly
shape political opinions and behaviors among Nigerian citizens during and after
the 2023 presidential election.
Ø (H₀₂):Social media has not significantly
contributed to political polarization in Nigeria, particularly in the post-2023
presidential election period.
Ø (H₁₂):Social media has significantly
contributed to political polarization in Nigeria, particularly in the post-2023
presidential election period.
1.6 Significance of the Study
The
study seeks to understand the impact of social media on political polarisation
in post-2023 Presidential Election in Nigeria. Governments and policy-makers in
promoting democracy use several strategies of political engagement, one of
which forms the subject of this study: the social media. Political polarisation
refers to the differences in beliefs and attitudes and qualities of personal
lifestyles among individuals and the way they see and react to the societal
issues and politics. Political polarisation refers to how some political
candidates and citizens in the society are becoming the political critics and
voluntarily overlooked towards the democratic system. Democrats, like in
Nigeria, or elected members usually make policies and laws without taking into
account other people's opinions on general political matters. (Ajayi &
Kilani, 2024).
The
major objectives of the study are: to understand how the social media can be
used to achieve greater tolerance and neutralize the political space in
Nigeria; to ascertain the extent to which the social media can assist the
government in providing more information about political issues so that
individuals can become more aware of the political issues and politics, and so
that the slack in the political process can be reduced in Nigeria; conduct an
empirical assessment of the influence of the social media on the political
processes and the changes that can be observed over time; and to incorporate
the increasing polarity and generalizability of the political opinions of
individuals with the pervasive use of the readily available social media.
(Poluan et al., 2022).
1.7 Scope of
the Study
The
study will use an extensive survey that covers demographic characteristics of
the population, as well as questions about citizen transmission and reception
of political information and news about candidates and the election via social
media and from other sources. Views on candidates and the likely voting
behavior of respondents are ascertained. It then compares these data with
observational data about actual user social media behaviors from a
representative sample. The paper explores the influence of demographic
composition, online and offline associational and bonding social capital, and
messages from online friends and family as factors that influence voter
responsiveness to social media political messages and the effects of sub-media
environment interaction, and investigates if and how effects are different on
polarized versus non-polarized items. The study will also exploit the presence
of a few election-relevant "shocks," the recent government-imposed
crackdown on the opposition, that limited their access to media, serving as
additional exogenous variation in exposure to media manipulation. (Antonakaki
et al.2021).
The
study will attempt to provide micro-level cause-and-effect evidence on the role
of social media on political polarization. Data sources with access to physical
interactions, and data comparisons in countries ruled by governments that try
to manipulate public opinion with the use of a more traditional restricted news
media, and do not rely on digital censorship, allowing for the study of
sub-sample media shocks of increased media intervention. Unique data sources
that allow access to reports with survey follow-ups will provide critical
micro-level evidence about the role of social media in political polarization.
(Friemel, 2021).
1.8
Limitations of the Study
The
following are the weaknesses that are expected to be witnessed during this
study. Firstly, this study discussed Nigeria as a case study. However, the view
that the consequence of social media is despicable to only Nigeria is a matter
of works like a universal. Therefore, the investigation is not to conclude but
rather indirect at different countries that have analogous problems. The next
limitation is that there are factors that can influence the quality of
democracy either directly or indirectly that are not discussed in this study.
Socio-economic people's influences, the role of social and mainstream media and
an additional is state-owned media. The last is those media content that
identify the relationships among media matter and presentation, source and
receiver and subjectiveness and audience preference. These are significant
subjects of communication and little of it was discussed in this dissertation.
(Aminu, 2024).
The
combination issues of social media and politics are a global discussion and
continue to raise questions and queries. Despite this enormous research across
extended verticals, drawbacks and gaps in the knowledge base are evident.
Drawing from the perspective of weakened democratic political systems and the
need to engage the use and influence of social media towards political growth,
this study attempts to expound, qualify and evolve the space through an
empirical review, a case study analysis and a final integration of perspectives
for its participants. The modest aim is to present a preface to the discussion
on social media and democracy and nation-building and of their contradictory or
complementary role towards politics and political change in Nigeria in the
post-2023 General Elections Era. The research ends by presenting a
comprehensive recommendation, a comprehensive view of the level and the
aspiration of future inquiries, and the potential solutions to the problem
articulated. (Ajayi & Kilani, 2024).
1.9
Definition of Key Terms
Social Media: Social media refers to online platforms and technologies
that facilitate the creation, sharing, and exchange of information, ideas, and
content among users. Examples include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and
WhatsApp.
Political Polarization: Political polarization is the process by which the public
opinion divides and goes to the extremes. This often results in distinct
political ideologies, where groups or individuals increasingly adopt more
extreme positions, leading to a significant division in public opinion and
political behavior.
Presidential Election: A presidential election is a process in which citizens of a
country vote to elect the head of state, known as the president.
Public Perception: Public perception refers to the collective opinion or
social attitude towards a particular issue, person, or group. It is shaped by
various factors, including media coverage, personal experiences, and social
interactions, and can significantly influence public opinion and behavior.
Electoral Outcomes: Electoral outcomes are the results of an election,
determining which candidates or parties have won based on the votes cast by the
electorate.
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