PROPOSAL / CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND TO STUDY
Communication is a basic human need and for that reason, man has
always found a means of meeting this need. The media, which is an umbrella term
for various means of communication, has become an integral part of human life
around the world. The earliest forms of personal media, speech and gestures,
had the benefit of being easy to use and did not necessarily need complex
technology.
The weaknesses of not being able to communicate to large audiences
led to the development of mass media, such as writing. With these developments,
the role of the media in the society became more and more significant. John
Dewey emphasized the role of media for education as James Agee and Walter
Lippmann also highlighted the functions of the media for entertainment and
information. New Media New technologies can lead to new types of media and the
ability to use a given form of media is related to the ability to use its related
technology.
Today, technology has made more universal, the ability to produce
media. Printing, radio and television are some examples of mass media in that
they are intended to reach vast audiences. But these forms of media previously
could not be produced readily by the average person.
The advent of relatively inexpensive, personal media
technologies like blogging, podcasting and Internet video allowed the average
literate person to do what was theretofore restricted to media companies. These
forms of media are still referred to as new but they have become part of
society even as much as the traditional media in some parts of the world. In a
few years, the term “new media” might not be very suitable because these forms
are becoming part of our daily lives and the fusion with traditional media
might dilute the fact that it is new.
Social media is a form of electronic communication which
facilitates interaction based on certain interests and characteristics. Social
media are media for social interaction, using highly accessible and scalable
publishing techniques. Social media use web-based technologies to transform and
broadcast media monologues into social dialogues. They support the
democratization of knowledge and information and transform people from content
consumers to content producers.
Social media are elements of the new media and according to
Danny Shea in The Huffington Post accessed 20th June 2010 have become the
highest activity on the internet .The rapid growth of social media activities
that has been observed over the last two to three years is indicative of its
entry into mainstream culture and its integration into the daily lives of many
people. In parallel with this, social media have also gained considerable
attention from the academic and business worlds.
History of Social Media"Social media
isn’t really “new.” While it has only recently become part of mainstream
culture and the business world, people have been using digital media for
networking, socializing and information gathering – almost exactly like now –
for over 30 years:"-Sean Carton in his July 2009 blog posting: Defining
social media, in ClickZ. Social media started as a concept many years ago but
has evolved into sophisticated technology The concept of social media can be dated
back to the use of the analog telephone for social interaction.
Facebook started as a local social network made for the students
of Harvard. It was developed by a sophomore, Mark Zuckerberg. Facebook was
actually made by hacking Harvard’s data base containing identification images
of students. The initial idea was actually to compare the faces of students
with images of animals, for entertainment purposes. However, due to the
potentially damaging contents of the site, the creators decided to put it down
before it caught the attention of school authorities. The application was shut
down, but the idea of creating an online community of students came to
existence. The platform was then improved and sooner than they expected,
Facebook was released in campuses other than Harvard. Thereafter, high schools
were already starting to get attracted to the idea of having online
communities, thus opening the website to the younger population. In 2006,
facebook.com ultimately offered the opportunity to the rest of the world. As
2007 approached, the registrants reached an overwhelming digit- roughly a
million dozen .Facebook has grown to become the biggest and most popular social
networking site today with a population of above 500 million active users.
(facebook statistics, 2012)
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
It is recorded that at least four million, seven hundred and
fourteen Nigerians are on Facebook, with a good number of them being young.
(Facebook statistics, 2012).
However, there is no comprehensive knowledge of their activities
as well as how this form of media can impact on various aspects of life this
thesis examines the relationship between social media and its usage by Nigerian
youths. The study specifically focuses on the usage habits of young Nigerians
and how social media has affected their communication and socialization habits.
The future of communication has been predicted to depend to a
great degree on electronic modes. Academics, business men and professionals in
various fields propose various uses of social media and new media generally.
These and many more decisions will be made based only on available data
concerning these media.
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The purpose of this report is therefore to provide evidence-based
insights into the social media phenomenon which can be used to inform current
understanding of usage and behaviour in Nigeria,
To help identify some of the current and potential future
issues around people’s use of social media.
It seeks to understand how people are using social
networking sites as well as their attitudes to this form of communication.
To understand the use of social media by people in Nigeria
especially the youth.
To understand the attitudes towards social networking sites and
the wider issues that may arise from this. To explore any effect of this
form of media on the social skills of the Nigerian youth
1.4
Research Questions
i.
To what extent do people
make use of facebook?
ii.
How much time do people
spend on Facebook?
iii.
Of what use is facebook to
Nigerian?
iv.
Of what activities do
people engage in on Facebook?
v.
To what extent does
facebook as a social media beneficial to people?
vi.
What is the impact of
Facebook on the lives of people in Nigeria?
1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
Fundamentally, it is essential we understand current usage and
behaviour and identify potential problems so that they can bead dressed. This
can be seen in the amount of academic studies on social media within the last
seven years.
However, Danah Boyd has gathered a collection of research about
social net working sites that lists approximately one hundred and fifty
research papers, three books, and seven research reports published in the years
2003-2010. (Boyd, 2010) None of these papers covers Africa. This shows a lack
of research that concerns the African region and especially Nigeria where this
form of media is greatly used.
Therefore the overall motivation for conducting this study is to
contribute to research about social media in Nigeria. This research should also
create a platform for further research in this field and how it affects
business processes as well other spheres of life.
This research should provide useful data for market researchers,
marketing and product development professionals as well as educators as to how
they can maximize social media for optimum benefit in their various fields.
1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
This investigation focused specifically on the usage habits
of users of facebook.com in this present era of ICT in Nigeria
1.7 LIMITATION OF STUDY
Although this study has accomplished the purpose, which is set out
to achieve, one of the very limitations is that the validity of the results or
findings is depending on the honest of the respondents in providing the needed
information.
Due to constraints of time and money, it is difficult to carry out
the research extensively. This led to the limiting of the scope.
Cognizance was also taken to the fact that the academic calendar
was too short and academic workload was enormous, as a result of this, no time
to run around for the work.
1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS
Social Media: A group of internet-based applications that build on
the ideological and technological foundations of web 2.0 and that allow the
creation and exchange of user-generated content. (Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010)
Social
Skills: Any skills facilitating interaction
and communication with others. Social rules and relations are created,
communicated and changed in verbal and nonverbal ways through a process called
socialization.
Cyberspace:
This is the electronic medium of computer networks, in which
online communication takes place.
Web 2.0: web applications that facilitate interactive information
sharing, interoperability, user-centered design, and collaboration on the
world- wide web.
Blogs: A blog (a contraction of the term "web log") is a type
of website, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of
commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or
video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order.
Vlogs: Video blogging, sometimes shortened to vlogging or vidblogging is
a form of blogging for which the medium is video, and is a form of Internet
television. Entries often combine embedded video or a video link with
supporting text, images, and other metadata.
Instant
Messaging: Instant messaging (IM) is a form of
real-time direct text-based communication between two or more people using
shared clients. The text is conveyed via devices connected over a network such
as the Internet.
