The Impact of Social Media in Political Participation Among Students in Nigeria

The invention and rapid development of information and communication technologies (ICTs) has attracted considerable attention in theoretical and practical debates about the role of digital media in political participation. With the emergence of digital media, people in nascent democracies such as Nigeria have started using their online presence to engage in political discussions. This has led to an increase in political protests in undemocratic and developing democracies. While majority of previous digital activism and political communication research suggests positive relationships between digital media diffusion and socio-political protests, there is little research investigating the impact of social media use in digitally organised protest to long term political participation and efficacy formation, particularly in young democracies such as Nigeria. This study bridges that gap in the literature. The aim of this study is to examine the impact of social media use, and protest experience, in political participation and efficacy formation among students in Nigeria. This study reports on a sequential explanatory mixed methods approach, consisting of a 680 face-to-face paper survey response and 34 semi-structured qualitative interviews of university students in Nigeria. Findings show that protest experience, and political efficacy significantly increased students’ intention to join politics more than social media. Of the variables, political efficacy was the strongest predictor of intention to participate in politics. In addition, the study demonstrates that the experience of collective and connective actions increases the likelihood of further political participation among students in Nigeria. This study concludes with a proposed flowchart of political efficacy formation among students in Nigeria.