Use of Digital Media Platforms for Social Change in Nigeria

  • Joy Collins-Dike Rivers State University, Port Harcourt, Rivers State
  • Richard N. Amadi Rivers State University, Port Harcourt, Rivers State
  • Dike Harcourt Whyte Rivers State University, Port Harcourt, Rivers State
  • Njoku C. Justice Rivers State University, Port Harcourt, Rivers State
  • Hauwa Mohammed Kawo Hussaini Adamu Federal Polytechnic, Kazaure, Jigawa State
DOI: https://doi.org/10.33258/konfrontasi2.v12i2.330
Keywords: Digital Media, Nigeria, Platforms, Social Change, and Uses

Abstract

The increasing penetration of digital media platforms in Nigeria has significantly transformed social activism, civic engagement, and public discourse. This study examines the role of digital media in driving social change, focusing on its impact on advocacy, governance, human rights, and community mobilization. Platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram have become critical tools for raising awareness, shaping public opinion, and influencing policy decisions. The #EndSARS movement, among other online campaigns, has demonstrated how digital activism can translate into real-world change. Additionally, digital platforms have facilitated access to educational resources, health information, and grassroots fundraising initiatives, bridging gaps in communication and social development. However, challenges such as digital illiteracy, misinformation, internet censorship, and disparities in digital access continue to hinder the effectiveness of digital advocacy in Nigeria. Despite these obstacles, the study highlights the growing potential of digital media as a force for social transformation and calls for improved digital literacy, policy reforms, and enhanced infrastructure to maximize its impact. The findings contribute to understanding how digital media can be leveraged for inclusive and sustainable social change in Nigeria. In the area of education and health, digital platforms have played a transformative role. Online learning platforms and social media pages provide access to educational resources, bridging the gap for people in underserved communities.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Adeagbo, M. J. (2021). An ‘outsider within’: Considering positionality and reflexivity in research on HIV-positive adolescent mothers in South Africa. Qualitative Research, 21(2), 181-194.

Airaoje, O. K., Ogunbola, O., Falobi, F., Obada, A., & Eric, M. (2024). Scoping Review on Factors Associated with Continuity of Treatment among People Living with HIV in Nigeria. Biomedical Journal of Scientific & Technical Research, 57(3), 49283-49292.

Aliough, T. D., Ovey, I. J., & Aondover, E. M. (2023). Examining perceptions of Kwande residents on traditional songs aired on Ashiwaves radio station for curbing the COVID-19 pandemic in Benue State. Environment and Public Health Research, 1(1), 1448-1448.

Aliyu, M. A., Msughter, A. E., & Nneka, A. Q. (2023). Comparative Study of National Development Plans in Nigeria and India: Media Dimension. SIASAT, 8(4), 202-212.

Aondover, E. M., & Akin-Odukoya, O. (2024). Trends and Dynamics of Popular Culture and Media Messages on Public Transport Literature in Nigeria. Lakhomi Journal Scientific Journal of Culture, 5(3), 183-195.

Aondover, E. M., Tosin, Y. A. N., Akin-Odukoya, O. O., Onyejelem, T. E., & Ridwan, M. (2025). Exploring the Application of Social Media in Governance in Nigeria. SIASAT, 10(1), 30-43.

Aondover, E. M., Yar’Adua, S. M., & Aondover, P. O. (2025). Influence of Digital Images on the Propagation of Fake News on Twitter in Russia and Ukraine Crisis. Budapest International Research and Critics Institute-Journal (BIRCI-Journal), 8(1), 59-74.

Castells, M. (2020). The information city, the new economy, and the network society. In The information society reader (pp. 150-164). Routledge.

Davis, F. D. (1989). Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and user acceptance of information technology. MIS Quarterly, 13(3), 319-340.

Di Fátima, B., Munoriyarwa, A., Gilliland, A., Msughter, A. E., Vizcaíno-Verdú, A., Gökaliler, E., ... & de Sousa, V. (2023). Hate Speech on Social Media: A Global Approach. Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador.

Giddens, A. (1984). The constitution of society: Outline of the theory of structuration. CA, University of California Press.

Hall, P. A., & Taylor, R. C. (1996). Political science and the three new institutionalisms.Political studies, 44(5), 936-957.

Held, D., & McGrew, A. (2007). Globalization/anti-globalization: Beyond the great divide. London, Polity Press.

Hile, M. M., Msughter, A. E., & Aliyu, M. A. (2023). Secularism and Ethical Issues in Media Practice as a Bane for National Development. SIASAT, 8(3), 166-177.

Hile, M. M., Msughter, A. E., & Babale, A. M. (2022). A Public Health Communication: Towards Effective Use of Social Marketing for Public Health Campaigns in Nigeria. Ann Community Med Prim Health Care, 5(1), 1002.

Idris, M. K., & Msughter, A. E. (2022). Sources of Information on National Issues among Border Communities in Yobe State, Nigeria. ASEAN Journal of Community Engagement, 6(1), 22-47.

Inglehart, R., & Welzel, C. (2005). Modernization, cultural change, and democracy: The human development sequence. UK, Cambridge University Press.

Kaplan, A. M., & Haenlein, M. (2010). Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of social media. Business Horizons, 53(1), 59-68.

Kurfi, M. Y., Msughter, M. E., & Mohamed, I. (2021). Digital images on social media and proliferation of fake news on covid-19 in Kano, Nigeria. Galactica Media: Journal of Media Studies, 3(1), 103-124.

Maikaba, B., & Msughter, A. E. (2019). Digital Media and Cultural Globalisation: The Fate of African Value System. Humanities and Social Sciences, 12(1), 214-220.

Maradun, L. U., & Msughter, A. E. (2022). Chapter Fourteen Iconographic Analysis on Femi Fani-Kayode’s Visual Genre of Cartoons and Political Communication. THOUGHTS ON, 159.

Maradun, L. U., Yar’Adua, S. M., & Msughter, A. E. (2021). Perceived value of social media in the# EndSARS’protest in Nigeria. International Journal of English Literature and Culture, 9(3), 1.

Mojaye, E. M., & Aondover, E. M. (2022). Theoretical perspectives in world information systems: A propositional appraisal of new media-communication imperatives. Journal of Communication and Media Research, 14(1), 100-106.

Namadi, H. M., & Aondover, E. M. (2020). Survey of reproductive health information seeking behavior among pregnant women in some selected hospitals in Kano Metropolis. Biomed J Sci & Tech Res/BJSTR. DOI, 10, 1984-1987.

Nwoye, A. (2022). African psychology: The emergence of a tradition. Oxford University Press.

Obada, A. A., Airaoje, O. K., Okuneye, A. P., Collins-Dike, J., & Msughter, A. E. (2024). Media Role on the Burden of Non-Communicable Diseases in Nigeria. Clin Case Rep Int. 2024; 8, 1652.

Onyejelem, T. E., & Aondover, E. M. (2024a). Digital Generative Multimedia Tool Theory (DGMTT): A Theoretical Postulation. Journalism, 14(3), 189-204.

Onyejelem, T. E., & Aondover, E. M. (2024b). Digital Generative Multimedia Tool Theory (DGMTT): A Theoretical Postulation in the Era of Artificial Intelligence. Adv Mach Lear Art Inte, 5(2), 01-09.

Osterrieder, A. (2013). The value and use of social media as communication tool in the plant sciences. Plant methods, 9, 1-6.

Owens-Ibie, N., & Aondover, E. M. (2024). Hate postings on social media and peace imperatives in Nigeria. Legal challenges and political strategies in the post-truth era.

Pate, UA, Yar'Adua, SM, & Msughter, AE (2020). Public awareness, knowledge and perception of Covid-19 in Tarauni LGA and Kano metropolitan area of Kano State, Nigeria. Media & Communication Currents, 4 (2), 52-69.

Piketty, T. (2014). Capital in the twenty-first century. London, Harvard University Press.

Rogers, E. M. (2003). Diffusion of innovations.UK, Simon and Schuster.

Saint, EJ, Aondover, EM, Ebele, UC, & Onyejelem, TE (2024). Influence of Social Media on Newspaper Patronage among Lecturers in University Of Nigeria, Nsukka. LingLit Journal Scientific Journal for Linguistics and Literature, 5 (3), 142-157.

Sen, A. (1999). Development as freedom. London, Oxford University Press.

Tarrow, S. (2021). Progress outside of paradise: Old and new comparative approaches to contentious politics. Comparative Political Studies, 54(10), 1885-1901.

Tilly, C. (2004). Social movements, 1768-2004. Boulder, CO: Paradigm Publishers.

Uwalaka, T., & Amadi, A. F. (2023). “When One Finger Picks Oil, It Reaches Others”: An Examination of Nigerian Journalists’ Perspective on Motivations for Online Harassment. African Journalism Studies, 44(4), 289-309.

Venkatesh, V., & Davis, F. D. (2000). A theoretical extension of the Technology Acceptance Model: Four longitudinal field studies. Management Science, 46(2), 186-204.

Vitalis, P. O., Aondover, E. M., Ogunbola, O., Onyejelem, T. E., & Ridwan, M. (2025). Accessing Digital Divide and Implications in Nigeria: The Media Dimension. Budapest International Research and Critics Institute-Journal (BIRCI-Journal), 8(1), 1-12.

Vitalis, P. O., Aondover, E. M., Ogunbola, O., Onyejelem, T. E., & Ridwan, M. (2025). Accessing Digital Divide and Implications in Nigeria: The Media Dimension. Budapest International Research and Critics Institute-Journal (BIRCI-Journal), 8(1), 1-12.

Yar’Adua, S. M., Msughter, A. E., & Aliyu, M. A. (2023). Original Paper Modernization, Marxist, Dependency and Alternative Theories of Development Communication: A Critical Review.

Published
2025-03-14
How to Cite
Joy Collins-Dike, Richard N. Amadi, Dike Harcourt Whyte, Njoku C. Justice, & Hauwa Mohammed Kawo. (2025). Use of Digital Media Platforms for Social Change in Nigeria. Konfrontasi: Jurnal Kultural, Ekonomi Dan Perubahan Sosial, 12(2), 100-114. https://doi.org/10.33258/konfrontasi2.v12i2.330
Issue
Vol 12 No 2 (2025): Konfrontasi, June
Section
Articles

Copyright (c) 2025 Konfrontasi: Jurnal Kultural, Ekonomi dan Perubahan Sosial

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.Penulis.
  3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (Refer to The Effect of Open Access).