IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON YOUTHS

IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON YOUTHS

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BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Around the world, more than 80% of our youngsters spend a significant amount of time online. Due to the fact that the internet was exposed to them at a very young age, the new generation of children and teenagers became the first groups to use the internet extensively and among the first to experience the consequences of excessive internet usage (Andreas & Michael 2019). Participating in different types of social media has been found to help children and adolescents by improving communication, social connection, and even technical abilities. According to Grant, (2015), the Internet serves as a laboratory for testing theories of technology dissemination and media impacts that incorporate forms of communication and content terms. Facebook and Myspace, for example, provide several daily opportunities to interact with friends, classmates, and individuals who have same interests. According to records, the number of pre-adolescents and teenagers utilizing such sites has climbed considerably over the previous five years. According to Cabral (2017), 22% of teenagers log on to their favorite social media site more than ten times per day, more than half of adolescents log on to a social site more than once per day, and 75% of teenagers now own cell phones, with 25% using them for social media, 54% for texting, and 24% for instant messaging (Heyam, 2017). The above submission demonstrates that a significant portion of this generation's social and emotional development occurs on the internet and through cell phones.

Globally, the social media phenomena has gotten increasingly interesting during the previous few years. According to Bazley (2016), social media is a form of online media that facilitates discourse, in contrast to conventional media, which offers material but does not enable readers, viewers, or listeners to participate in its production or evolution. There are several social media platforms, ranging from social sharing sites like YOUTUBE and Flicker to social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter (Maya, 2015). Today, the globe is home to numerous emerging brand names that were almost unheard of just six to seven years ago. Face book, which was established by a 26-year-old same years ago, currently has over 300 million users, including Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari. Other options include Twitter, Chatter, LinkedIn, and Yammer, to name a few. The internet's introduction in the 1990s ushered in significant changes in the realm of communication. Today, the internet has firmly established a foothold in people's life. It's impossible to envision a young guy who didn't check social media for updates and leaf through the news lines at least once a day. The current world compels us to be connected and informed about recent global events (Maya, 2015).

Without a question, the advent of the internet had a significant role in the development of social networking sites (SNSS). The birth of these websites transformed the world of communication, and we now celebrate its advancements in fields ranging from education to entertainment. Recent research has revealed The internet's growth has resulted in its adoption as the preferred mode of communication, with two-thirds (2/3) of the online world's population using social networking sites (SNSs), which serve as communication and connecting tools. These social networking websites are collectively referred to as social media (Boyd & Ellison, 2017).

According to Kyoshaba (2019), in addition to social networking sites like as Facebook, the normal guy has access to blogging sites and could, in fact, start his own blog from the comfort of his own home. The option to stream instantly without relying on a third-party series has been quite freeing for many individuals. Many individuals have been ecstatic about the prospect of expressing their perspectives, their lifestyles, their dislikes, and indeed everything about themselves in the media.

Social networking has developed into a widespread international trend that has reached practically every corner of the globe. The usage of social media sites has grown exponentially and evolved into an online platform where individuals create, share, bookmark, and network at a breakneck pace (Kyoshaba 2019). Youths are among the most active users of social media. Without a question, social media has become a vital part of a youths's life and has absorbed the majority of their spare time. Numerous perspectives and viewpoints have identified four significant benefits of social media use in higher education. These include strengthening relationships, increasing motivation to study, providing customized course materials, and cultivating collaborative talents (Wheeler, Yeomans & Wheeler,2018; Rifkin, Longnecker, Leach & Ortia, 2019). Additionally, Liccardi et al. (2017) argued that youths are socially connected and thus share their daily learning experiences and engage in conversation about a variety of topics via social media, whereas Kuppuswamy & Shankar (2015) discussed how social networking websites capture students' attention and then divert it to non-educational and inappropriate activities, such as useless chatting.

Youths face some hazards when they navigate and experiment with social media due to their weak capacity for self-regulation and susceptibility to peer pressure. According to recent study conducted by Bazley (2016), there are frequent online manifestations of offline behaviors such as bullying, clique formation, and sexual experimentation, resulting in difficulties such as cyberbullying, privacy concerns, and sexting. Additionally, internet addiction and concomitant sleep loss are concerns related with social media awareness. Many parents today are adept at utilizing technology and are at ease and capable with the programs and online activities that their children and teenagers engage in. Nonetheless, some parents may struggle to connect with their technologically savvy children online for a variety of reasons. These parents may lack a fundamental knowledge of the new types of socialization that are becoming increasingly prevalent in their children's life. They typically lack the technological skills necessary to stay up with their children in today's rapidly changing digital scene (Rambe & Patient 2017).

It has been noted that students over the world engage in social media, spending a significant amount of time on the internet via various platforms. This time spent by students on social media has been a source of concern for a large number of individuals, especially as the amount of time students spend online increases; students typically spend more time multitasking by visiting many sites and viewing large amounts of material (Dearborn, 2018). This is consistent with Pew Internet and American Life Project findings indicating 64% of youth on social media use at least one platform. Additionally, it has been reported that roughly 55% of youngsters have made profiles on social networking sites, with 47% uploading images and 14% uploading videos, and virtually all of them posting an image or remark on the platform Osharie (2015). According to reports, the average Nigerian student spends roughly six to seven hours each day on the internet, with some students spending even more time surfing late at night. The rise of social media as a result of technological advancements and proliferation of internet software has raised academics' eyebrows over its (social media's) influence on research (Boyd, & Ellison, 2017). Numerous scholars have debated whether or not social media use has an effect or influence on youths’ success.

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