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Exposure to Social Media and Culture Modification Among Niger Delta University Students

Anderson Akpoabowei Nikade PhD, and Bufumoh Akpoebi Alex PhD

Abstract

This paper has discussed how the exposure of social media affects the cultural change of students of the Niger Delta University, the Wileberforce Island, Bayelsa State. The paper in particular aimed at identifying how exposure to social media affects the cultural values among the students, as well as their social behaviours. Undergraduate students in different faculties were sampled using structured questionnaires and focus group discussions as a qualitative approach and a descriptive survey. The results found that social media has a strong influence on the way students perceive culture, fashion, the way they communicate and moral values. Social media platforms were found to have made most students alter their cultural belonging, a change that through most cases, fostered western values even though eroding the indigenous norms and values. Nevertheless, the research also concluded that social media could be used as a means of cultural preservation in case of intentional use in an attempt to market local traditions, languages, and festivals. On the same note, online trends had an effect on social behaviours among students to promote positive behaviours, including confidence, networking, and activism, and negative practices, including imitation, moral decline, and social detachment. The research has found that exposure to social media has a and bifurcated effect on the cultural and social orientations of students, making them more globalized and at the same time endangering their traditional sense of identity. It suggests the need to integrate digital literacy training, value re-oriented, and the incorporation of cultural awareness training into the university syllabus, so as to create students who can be able to absorb online information critically without their indigenous identity being compromised.

Keywords

Social MediaCulture ModificationSocial BehaviourCultural ValuesNiger Delta

References

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