CHAPTER ONE 1.

0 INTRODUCTION Modern media practices have evolved significantly from their traditional forms with the key concepts being participation and interactivity. Society therefore exists in a digital age where everything in the peoples lives is spread out through the media and these media are shaped by the people. Much of this media exists or relates to the internet and the Online World. As such, communication using the internet as a channel is becoming increasing popular. A social networking site is described as a website where individuals can set up an online profile, describing his or her interest. Boyd and Ellision (2007) reveals that they key technological features of social networking sites are fairly constant but the cultures that emerge around them vary. While most sites support the maintenance of pre-existing social networks, others help strangers connect based on shared interest, political views, or activities. From this, it is evident that the main use of social networking sites is interaction and communicating with others. They are used to keep up to date and in touch with existing friends and relations, or to create new relationships. The significance placed on interaction and participation within these social networking sites is evident in the numerous ways in which communication is encouraged. For example, some social networking sites, such as Facebook and Myspace offer users the ability to create sub-groups (or message boards) of people based on similar interests. Unlike fan pages or followers, which are largely one-dimensional, these groups are similar to the various clubs in the offline world. These can vary from support groups, to fan

groups, to community groups, organization or school groups. The basis behind them is to share information and communicate with others. Apart from using these groups to interact, people have the ability (depending on privacy setting) to comment and respond to status updates and statement or comments that others have posted. On sites such as YouTube, people may even give a video response. By allowing such feedback, there is the prospect of conversation, of debate, of sharing information or perceiving new ideas. It is this capability of interaction that makes social networking sites multi-dimensional in communicating, unlike the one-dimensionality of earlier websites and blogs. Other activities offered by social networking sites include such services as multi-player online games, polls, chat rooms and messaging services. With all these activities offered by the various social networking sites; also with it ever increasing power to connect people, industries and small organization, it can be said that great influence is being wield on it users. 1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY Wikipedia states that a social network is . a social structure made of nodes (which are generally individuals or organizations) that are tied by one or more specific types of relations (Social network,2007). Social networking websites help people keep in touch with old friends; make new friends; distribute new data or product and many more aspects of our everyday lives. The first official social networking web site was classmates.com which was founded in 1995. What followed was a slow but steady growth in numbers of social networking websites to the overwhelming number of sites we have today. The sites starts off with a few people who then tell their friends about the

site, then those friends tell their friends about the site and soon the site is a huge database of users connected by friends, acquaintances, or just random people. The websites are made to ..allow users to create profile describing themselves and to exchange public or private message and list other users or groups they are connected to in same way. (Social Network,2007). Most social networking websites are often designed to fit a certain types of community such as the college community being mirrored by Facebook.com or a music/party community mirrored by Myspace.com. HOW DOES SNS WORK While SNSs have implemented a wide variety of technical features, their backbone consists of visible profiles that display an articulated list of friends who are also users of the system. Profiles are unique pages where one can type oneself into being. After joining an SNS, an individual is asked to fill a form containing a series of questions. The profile is generated using the answers to these questions, which typically include descriptors such as age, location, interests, and an about me section. Most sites also encourage users to upload a profile photo. While some sites allow users to enhance their profiles by adding multimedia content or modifying their profiles look and feel; others such as facebook, allow users to add modules (applications) that enhance their profile. The visibility of a profile varies by site and according to user discretion. By default, profiles on orkut or hi5.com are crawled by search engines, making them visible to everyone, regardless of whether or not the viewer has an account. Alternatively, sites like myspace allow users to choose whether they want their profile to be public or friends only. Facebook takes a different

approach by default, users who are part of the same network can view each profiles, unless a profile owner has decided to deny permission to those in their network. After joining a social network site, users are prompted to identify others in the system with which they have a relationship. The label of these relationships differs depending on the site popular terms Friends, Contacts and Fans. Most SNSs require bi-directed confirmation for friendship, but some do not. Most SNSs also provide a mechanism for users to leave messages on their friends profile. This feature typically involves leaving comment. In addition, SNSs, often have a private messaging feature similar to web mail. Beyond profiles, friends, comments and private messaging, SNSs vary greatly in their feature and user base. Some have photo-sharing or video-sharing capabilities. Others have built-in blogging and instant messaging technology. There are mobile-specific SNSs (e.g Dogball, Pinging), but some web-based SNSs also support limited mobile interactions (e.g Facebook, Myspace and Cyworld). Many SNSs target people from specific geographical regions or linguistic groups, although this does not always determine the sites constituency. Orkut, for example, was launched in the United States with an English-only interface, but Portuguese speaking Brazilians quickly dominated in it user group. Some sites are designed with specific ethnic, religious, sexual orientation, political or other identity driven categories in mind. There are even SNSs for dogs (Dogster) and cats (Catster), even though their profiles are being managed by their owners.

EXAMPLES OF SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES ORKUT.COM Orkut is an internet social network service run by Google and named after it inventor, Google employer Orkut Buyukkokten. It claims to be designed to help users meet new friends and maintain existing relationships. Orkut goes a step further by permitting the creating of easy-to-set-up simple forums called communities of user. Since October 2006, Orkut has permitted users to create accounts without an invitation. Orkut is the most visited website in Brazil. The initial target market for the site was the United States, but the majority of its users are in Brazil. In fact, as of Novermber 2007, 62.9% of the traffic comes from Brazil, followed by 19.2% from India. FACEBOOK Facebook is another example of social networking site developed by sophomore Mark Zuckerberg of Harvard University in 2004. Facebook.com was originally Thefacebook.com (facebook, 2007). Purchasing the domain name of facebook.com in August, 2005 for $200,000, the site was originally developed for college and university as a way to connect with each other. Hosting the most members for a college based social networking site, facebook.com is also the number one site for uploading pictures, boasting several million uploads daily. Since it inception, the site has now been opened to any one with a valid email address and offers it members option of joining the millions of networking of people with similar interests. It is said that 80% of facebook.com users check

their account daily and 93% check their account at least monthly. The site generates its revenue from advertisement since it boasts a huge number of registered users. MYSPACE.COM Myspace is a social networking website offering an interactive, user submitted network of friends, personal profile, blog, groups, photos, music and videos internationally. It is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California, USA, where it shares an office building with its immediate owner, Fox Interactive Media. The site is currently the worlds sixth most popular English-language website and the sixth most popular website in any language, and the third most popular website in the United States. HI5.COM Hi5 is a social networking website, which, throughout 2007, was one of the 25 most visited sites on the web. The company was founded in 2002, by Ramu Yalamanchi who is also the current CEO. As of December 2007, hi5 had over 98 million members. In hi5, users create an online profile in order to show information such as interest, age and hometown and upload user pictures where users can post comments. Hi5 also allows the users to create personal photo albums and set up a music player in the profile. When a person receives a friend request, he or she may accept or decline it, or even block the user.

1.2

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM Although many people do not think of it, social networking sites harbor a

lot of dangerous elements that pose as problems to individuals, family and the society. Through the use of social networking sites, private information about individuals is being used against them and usually to their detriment. Also, due to the lack of safety measures to control the underage from having access to these sites, many young teenagers are exposed to moral trafficking, prostitution, kidnapping etc. Social networking sites have also created a platform for individual to breach certain laws such as the copyright law. All these however seem to affect the level of creativity and originality in the literary world, and promote anti-social behavior amongst youth. This research work is designed in order to find how true these problems are and to suggest possible solutions. 1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY Social networking sites have played a crucial role in bridging boundaries and crossing the seas as well as bringing people to a platform where they can meet like minded people or find old friends and communicate with them. Hence, the objective of this study is to:
i. ii.

Find out if Nigerian youth have access to social networking sites To ascertain whether social networking sites have influence on the lifestyle of Nigeria youth.

iii.

To find out if there is any significant relationship between social networking sites and the anti-social behavior cropping up among Nigerian youth

iv.

Also, to expose users to certain issues of concern that is common with these sites.

1.4

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY The result of this study will serve as the fulfillment of the requirements

for the award of a Higher National Diploma to the researcher. Also, upcoming researchers on related topic will use the study as a source of secondary data. The study will serve as reading material to students and lecturers in the department of Mass Communication as well as practitioners on the field. To sites users, the study will help them to be careful so as to not to be taken in by online hoaxes while site designers will be able to identify and solve problems prevalent to their web. 1.5 (i) (ii) RESARCH QUESTIONS Does Nigerian youth have access to social networking sites? Does social networking sites have influence on the lifestyle of youth in Nigeria? (iii) Is there any relationship between social networking sites and anti-social behavior among Nigerian youth?

1.6

HYPOTHESIS For the purpose of this study, the Null Hypothesis will be employed.

1. Ho:Nigerian youth do not have access to social networking sites 2. Ho:Social networking sites do not influence the lifestyle of youth in Nigeria. 3. Ho:There is no significant relationship between social networking sites and the anti-social behavior among Nigerian youth. 1.7 DELIMITATION OF STUDY Research has shown that those that form the major users of these sites are youth in colleges and various higher institutions. Therefore, this study covers mostly students in higher citadel of learning. 1.8 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY The following are the factors that serve as limitation in the course of the study: (i) COST: In carrying out research on the study of this nature, such that the

major chunk of it population are students, questionnaires should be distributed to at least two (2) higher citadel of learning in each states in Nigeria. In doing this, a high rate of fund would be needed. This is why the study has chosen just one institution from which generalizations would be made. (ii) TIME: The time available for the completion of the research work is so

limited that the researcher has to make do with the available materials.

1.9

OPERATI ONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS These are the special definitions of terms or words as used in the study (i) TRAFFIC: This is the amount of people who sue the website
(ii)

SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES (SNS): It can be described as a webbased service that allows individuals to:

Construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system

Articulate a list of users with whom they share a connection, and View and traverse their lists of connections and those made by others within the system.

(iii) (iv)

IMPACT: It is the powerful effect that social networking sites have on youth. COMMUNICATION: It is the process by which an individual or group share and impact information to another. YOUTH: The time before an individual becomes an adult.

(v)

REFERENCES Boyd,Danah; Ellison,Nicole(2007). Social Network Sites: Definition History and Scholarship. Journal of computer-mediated communication Ellison,Nicole B;Steinfield,Charles;Lampe,Cliff(2007). The benefits of facebook friends:Exploring the relationship between college students use of online social networks and social capital.
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WEBSITE www.wikipedia.com www.scribd.com/doc/.../the-effect -of-social-networking-site.

CHAPTER TWO 2.0 2.1 LITERATURE REVIEW INTRODUCTION Social networking sites can be defined as an online network, wherein a number of people remain connected by bonds of friendship, kinship, professional relationship, or some kind of common interest. A number of these sites dominate the cyber world, facilitating hordes of people with similar interests and passion to stay connected. While there is a number of website that allows people of specific interest to get hooked onto their sites, there are also a number of website that can bring people of diverse interest together. Similar to joining a party or a library, joining social networking websites can be a great fun. Apart from being a sheer fun element, the social websites also play an important role in shaping the lifestyle of people. Hence, this studys intention is to unveil the impact these social networking sites wield on the people especially Nigerian youth. This chapter therefore focuses on the review of literature studies such as the use and application of the actor network theory and the social network theory to justify the originality of the research work in the society.

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2.2

THEORETICAL STUDIES The related theories for this study are reviewed as they lay emphasis and

important to the study.

ACTOR NETWORK THEORY Actor network theory, often abbreviated as ANT is a distinctive approach to social theory and research which was developed in the early 1980s by Science and Technology Studies (STS) scholars, Michel Callon and Bruno Latour with the sociologist John Law. It assumes that many relations are both material and semiotic. Actor network theory is distinguished from other network theories in that it contains not merely people but objects and organizations. These are collectively referred to as actors or sometimes actants. For example, the interaction in a school involves children, teachers, their ideas and technologies such as tables, chairs, computers and stationary. Together, these form a single network Latour (1992). According to Callon (1991), such actor-network is potentially transient, existing in a constant making and re-making. This means that relations need to be repeatedly performed or the network will dissolve; i.e. the teacher needs to come to work each day and the computers need to keep on running. They also assume that networks of relations are not intrinsically coherent and may indeed contain conflicts. The primary tenet of the actor-network theory is the concept of the heterogeneous network. That is, a network containing many dissimilar elements.

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These coextensive networks comprise of both social and technical parts. Moreover, the social and technical are treated as inseparable by the ANT. When buying produce from a supermarket, for example, the actor-network involved would include the purchaser and the cashier, as well as the cash register, the money and the produce involved. It also includes other less obvious objects such as the clothes the purchaser wears, without which they would most likely not be served. Applying the actor-network theory to the study, the theory according to Latour (1992) claims that any actor, whether person, object including computer software, hardware and technical standards or organization is equally important to a social network. As it has been said that social network sites is an interaction platform, the ANT states that other than the individuals involves in the communication process through the sites, other actors such as the laptop, desktop, mobile phone, computer software or organization play equal role in ensuring networking. The theory also explains that for the relationship established through the social networking sites to be maintained, there need to be consistent communication. This means individuals involved must be in touch with each other or one another often. Even though the theory is been confronted with a number of criticism among which is the difficulty likely to be encountered in identifying all the heterogeneous elements in an actor-network which is ultimately up to the discretion of the researcher, it has been applauded for ensuring societal order. This order begins to break down when certain actors are removed. For example, the removal of telephones, banks or the president may all result in significant break-downs in social order.

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DIFFUSION OF INNOVATION THEORY Diffusion is defined as the process by which an innovation is communicated through certain channels over time among the members of a social system. An innovation is an idea, practice or object that is perceived as new by an individual or other unit of adoption. According to Roger Clarke (1999), Diffusion of innovation theory is concerned with the manner in which a new technological idea, artifact or techniques, or a new use of an old idea, migrates from creation to use. In a more direct sense, he defines diffusion of innovation as when technological innovation is communicated through particular channels overtime, among members of social system. Severin and Tankand (1992:197) define it as the study of the social process of how innovations (new ideas, practices, objects e.t.c) become known and are spread throughout a social system. The history behind this theory of innovation can be traced back to the beginning of the century in German Austrian and British school of Anthropology as well as French Sociologist Gabriel Tarde who carried out the original diffusion research as early as 1903. Not only did Gabriel Tarde research put the diffusion of innovation on the academic map but it also made researchers realize that it is a communication process. In the diffusion of innovation theory, there are four (4) key element present; (i) Innovation (2) Which is communicated through certain channels (3) overtime (4) among the members of the social system. Creg Orr (2003) in his review of the book Diffusion of Innovation by Everest Rogers agree with Roger that Given that decisions are not authoritative or collective, each member of the

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social system forces his/her own innovation decision that follows a 5-step process which are:
1.

Knowledge : Person becomes aware of an innovation and has some idea of how it functions; Persuasion : Person forms a favorable or unfavorable attitude toward the innovation Decision: Person engages in activities that lead to a choice to adopt or reject the innovation; Implementation: Person puts an innovation into use Confirmation: Person evaluates the results of innovation decision already made.

2.

3.

4. 5.

In other words, the above stages are described under the awareness, interest, evaluation, trial and adaptation stages of the process. The other stage that is not stated above is the discontinuance stage where an already adopted innovation is discontinued due to rejection. The relevance of this theory to the study of the impact of social networking sites is the fact that the Diffusion of Innovation theory explores social networks and their role in influencing the spread of new ideas and practices. The various social networking sites such as facebook, Myspace, Twitter e.t.c serve as change agents as new innovations travel faster through them than other media. SOCIAL NETWORK ANALYSIS Network analysis (related to network theory) has emerged as a key technique in modern sociology. It views social relationships in terms of network theory consisting of nodes and ties (also called edges, links or connection).
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Nodes are the individual actors within the networks and ties are the relationships between the actors. People have used the idea of social network loosely for over a century to connote complex sites of relationships between members of social systems at all scales, from interpersonal to international. In 1954, J. A. Barres started using the term systematically to denote patterns of ties, encompassing concepts traditionally used by the public and those used by social scientist, bounded groups (e.g tribes, families) and social categories (e.g gender, ethnicity). Social network analysis has now moved from being a suggestive metaphor to an analytic approach, to a paradigm (theory), with its own theoretical statement, methods, social network analysis software, and researchers. According to Rogers(1986), several analytic tendencies distinguish social network analysis: There is no assumption that groups are building blocks of society: the approach is open to studying less bounded social systems, from non local communities to links among websites.

Rather than treating individuals (persons, organizations, states) as discrete units of analysis, it focuses on how the structure of ties affects individuals and their relationships In contrast to analysis that assumes that socialization into norms determines behavior, network analysis looks to see the extent to which the structure and composition of ties affect norms.

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The shape of a social network helps determine a networks usefulness to its individuals. Smaller, tighter networks can be less useful to their members than networks with lots of loose connections (weak ties) to individuals outside the main network. More open networks with many weak ties and social connections are more likely to introduce new ideas and opportunities to their members than closed networks with many redundant ties. In others words, a group of friends who only do things with each other already share the same knowledge and opportunities. A group of individuals with connections to other social worlds is likely to have access to a wider range of information. Similarly, individuals can influence or act as brokers within their social networks by bridging two networks that are not directly linked. Barnes (1954: 39-58) Social network analyses have been used to help understand how patterns of human contact aid or inhibit the spread of diseases such as HIV in a population. The evolution of social networks can sometimes be modeled by the use of agent based models, providing insight into the interplay between communication rules, rumor spreading and social structure. Social network analysis may also be an effective tool for mass surveillance, for example, the Total Information Awareness program was doing in-depth research on strategies to analyze social networks to determine whether or not U.S citizens were political threat Burkhard, (1994:37) 2.3 EMPIRICAL STUDIES The empirical study for this research work is about the types of services, the concepts of relationships between people in relation to the effects of communication through these sites.

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A social networking service is an online service, platform, or site that focuses on building and reflecting of social networks or social relations among people, e.g.; who share interest and/or activities. A social network service essentially consists of a representation of each user (often a profile), his/her social links, and a variety of additional services. Most social network services are web based and provide means for user to interact over the internet, such as email and instant messaging. Online community services are sometimes considered as social network service, though in a broader sense, social network service usually means an individual centered service whereas online community services are group-centered. Social networking sites allow users to share ideas, activities, events, and interest within their individual networks. With proliferation of social networking online come impact on society; a difference in which people do and how they do it. Changes in society are simultaneously useful and negative and this is the case with the impact of online social networking. The effect that interaction through social networking sites has on todays society especially the youth will be discussed. Social networking sites enhance freedom and mobility. It offers the ability to access information and communication with others at any time and in any place and regardless of the physical location of other people. People especially youth can maintain a constant connection with existing friends and family who might live in different countries, or they can form new relationship with other nationalities, regardless of real time or separate location. As Lecky Thompson (2009) informs, this has recently come to light in the number of people in the armed forces using Youtube, Facebook and Twitter, to stay in touch. Also, social networking sites can bring people together with varying backgrounds who might otherwise never have met and then encourage them to extend that
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experience into real world social function. This is especially the case for minority groups, who might ordinarily be ostracized or overlooked in offline communities or social situations. By communicating online, it allows people to see past physical differences and focus on a deeper connection, discovering similarities that may have been previously disregarded. By forming groups of people with similar interests (particularly if the interest or hobby is not mainstream), social networking sites can create a sense of unity and belonging in people who might have previously felt alternated in society because of an inability to relate to local people. Particularly in areas with smaller populations, the chance of discovering others with similar interest is infrequent but by removing these location barriers through online communication, the chance of meeting people with the same interest is greatly increased. Social networking sites, such as Neigho encourage social interaction on a local level. Social networking sites give the impression that it is a much smaller world. By encouraging online communication between local people, these relationships are therefore likely to be stronger offline, as people become more informed and involved in local events. Social networking sites also offer the chance of communication in cases where mobility is often a hindrance to social interaction. Elderly people and those with physical disabilities who have an inability to leave their house are able to stay in touch with existing relations and friends, as well as get in touch with people who have similar issues. The use of social networking sites amongst deaf teens is an example of the benefit and impact of online communication in relations to physical disabilities. Chen-see (2009) tell us that online communication provides a unique, convenient communication tool that does not require speaking verbally and as such may empower some teens/youth with
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hearing loss, as it helps to level the playing field. This is also the case with people who have psychological disorders who may also have limited mobility. According to Lecky Thompson (2009), online communication can help those with dysfunctional syndromes achieve a level of social interaction previously difficult or impossible. For some people, interaction with crowds is made easier if they do not actually feel the physical immersion. Such sites also provide those isolated by disability or environment with a rich fulfilling social life. Moreover, connecting with others online can be a good addition to therapy and for many even encourage they seek professional help. (Market Wire, 2008). Another benefit of communicating through social networking sites is the promotion of education and news. People can share information via links, reviews and applications. They may source this information from other places and share them with others or provide their own information for education, updates of news of support. Many educational institutions encourage learning via the internet and social networking sites because it allows an easy communication channel for students to learn and share skills. Research has shown that students enjoy educational opportunities where lesson topics, research, creative ideas, and interactive discussions are at their fingertips. From using social networking sites, students learn technology skills, creativity, being open to new or diverse views and communication skills. News information may also be observed online, as many news channels also prove their information on the internet, which users of social networking sites may peruse via widget links and applications. These applications generally provide live feeds of current, updated news to a users profile page which is further evidence of the constant connection and communication provided by social networking sites and another way in which they are beneficial in society.

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Businesses are also honing in on the ability to market and advertise through, social networking sites. Through online social networking, companies are better able to advertise to specific markets or discover, monitor and engage with loyal brand advocates. Conversely, they can also discover disgruntled customers and realize their concerns. In addition to advertising through these sites, they can notify of products, announcements or competitions or research target markets and industry trends. They can socialize and network with industry pears, build industry contacts, research industry trends and updates, or tag and track discussions on specific topics or event (hunter, 2008; Reitsma, 2010). The most staggering influence of these sites for some people is the use of abbreviated words liked for the and likewise. They tend to use the similar words in their day to day life and even in official communication and often have suffered due to this. For students, it comes often during examinations. Some people use abusive word to vent out their feelings on these networking sites and the same has been seen in their personal life of late. Some even use them to dishonor their teachers and bosses or use bad- mouthing words for even celebrities and sports stars. The verification of genuine identity of people is another challenge with these sites. Many users have suffered from the same. People pose as someone else and tend to seek personal or confidentially knowledge. This has led to breach of trust of a section of respondents. The albums are accessible to everyone and as such the pictures can be easily copied and have even been distorted in some cases and put on fake profiles.

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For all the benefits of social network sites in todays society as well as the negativities, it is evident that they impact our lives due to not merely the sites themselves but the communications layer embedded within them. Social networking sites depend on the interaction between users because they are simply an extension of social networking in the real world and ever since the term was coined, countless people have debated the implications of taking social interactions virtual. At different points in time, according to Siegler, it has been said that social networking would be both the downfall of mankind and the thing that would bring the planet together but the truth is that social networking still remain great in many respects and incredibly advantageous to society especially the youth. ISSUES OF CONCERN IN NETWORKING There are certain issues that social networking sites harbor that are gradually becoming a problem that everyone especially site users should be concerned about, they are issues bothering on privacy, child safely and copyright materials. With social networking websites like facebook.com and myspace.com, it is almost too easy to retrieve personal information about someone and use it to harm them. In a case with myspace.com, the availability of being able to customize ones own site as allowed people to use phishing html code to create phishing profiles that allows that person to access anyones profile who have visited the phishing profile. This often led to the loss of personal information such as username, mobile number, conversations, passwords and credit card numbers. (Phishing 2007) This in turn causes great privacy issues since the person can now access personal information and then

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sell it off to marketing companies for a profile (Myspace, 2007). This selling of information to companies has led to the rise of span emails that we all receive. Another great concern with social networking websites is that of child safety. Research has shown that almost three out of four teenagers who use social networking websites are at risk due to their lack of using online safety. (Joly, Karine,2007). A lot of the website does have an age requirement but it is easily bypassed by the lying about of ones age. Even if they do not lie about their age, the average age requirement is around fifteen years old. Myspace.com has been specifically targeted for these child safety issues after a sixteen year old girl flew to Aviv in Israel to meet and engage in sexual relationship with a twenty year old male whom she had met through the site (Myspace, 2007). Although a lot of the sites are trying to implement new ways to keep children safe, Myspace.com included, predators are finding ways around these new implementations and most people are still nave to the fact that not everyone online is who they say they are. A third issue of concern is that of copyright infringement. With the massive amount of files shared through social networking sites, it is hard to tell sometimes who the original owner of the selected file is. Also, commercial products are being reproduced by individuals and uploaded to these social networking sites. Youtube.com is a great example of how copyright infringement can be brought about using these sites. Members can upload anything they want on the site to be viewed by anyone who comes across it. This lead to many people committing copyright infringement by uploading files and video clips that do not belong to them. UTILIZATION IN BUSINESS
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There are many ways business can and have been making use of social networking sites to their advantage. One aspect of business that social networking website is used is in the hiring of employees. Such sites as Monster.com actually help many people searching for jobs and may companies looking for employees to find each other. It is as simple as creating resume and putting it out on the site. Monster.com then takes the resume and compares it to the needs and wants that the companies have posted on the website and then connects both parties. This a lot more faster. Another aspect is marketing. With the millions of people that use the sites it has become a better way and place to market products. Whether it is through banners or links, millions of people will view a particular advert should it be placed on a social networking site. Not only is online advertising more effective than commercial advertising such as Television, Magazine e.t.c advertisement, it is also more cost effective and reaches for more people than other forms of advertising. A third aspect is that of fair pricing. With so many businesses out there creating virtually the same product, it is easy for one to get lost in the broad spectrum of products. Social networking websites help people get advice from experts, gain knowledge of products through others who have used them and get reviews on nearly anything that is mass product today.

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REFERENCES Callon,M.(1986).Some Elements of Sociology of Translation London Routtedge and Kegan Paul. Latour, B. (2005). An Introduction to Actor-Network Theory (Oxford: Oxford University Press) Rogers, E.M (1986). Communication Technology: The New Media in Society. New York;Free Press. Barnes, J. (1954). Class and Committee in a Norwegian Island Parish Human Relations, 7, 39-58. Burkhardt, M.E (1994). Social Interaction Effect Following a Technological Change: Academy of Management Journal, 37, 869-898. Roger, E.M (1995). Diffusion of Innovation, New York, Free Press Severin, J. &Tankard,W.(1992),Communication :Longman Theories

Origins/NewYork

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CHAPTER THREE 3.0 3.1 RESEARCH DESIGN METHODOLOGY INTRODUCTION Social networking currently has the greatest impact in the todays web world. Modern day youngers and higher institution students are mostly engaging their time in social networking websites to stay alive with their friends. Youtube, the worlds famous video sharing channel allows its users to upload or view videos. An individual can capture a video, even on the movie, and could upload in Youtube using a home PC or mobile phone so that it can be viewed by anyone in the world. Facebook, the worlds number one social networking sites has incorporated search engines within its portal so that one can get any kind of search without leaving the same website. It is therefore of no doubt that these social networking sites has the greater impact on individuals self identity. The aim of this research work is to reveal the impact of social networking sites on Nigerian youth. The research design adopted in this study is survey

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method. This is due to the fact that survey studies involve the assessment of public opinion using questionnaire and sampling methods. 3.2 STUDY POPULATION A study population refers to targeted members of the entire population of a given environment to which a research work is conducted. This is to have a better understanding of the research work as the population which is the most avid user of these sites are the ones who provide good response. The study populations for this study are students from faculty of science, University of Lagos. The faculty according to it executives have 3,777 population. Data therefore would be obtained from a sample of the population. 3.3 SAMPLE SIZE In the determination of the sample size for this study, the Taro Yamane formula (1964) 2nd edition would be applied. This is because the study population 3,777 is too large to be covered by the researcher. It states that the higher the population, the lower the samples size. TARO YAMANE FORMULA n = N 1 + N(e)2

n N e

= = =

the desired sample size the population accepted error limit

27

= n n n

constant value = = = 3,777 1 + 3,777 (0.05) 3,777 3,787 (0.0025) 3,777 9.4675 = 399 = 393.9

Approximately

Therefore, using the Taro Yamane formula, 399 samples were selected. 3.4 SAMPLING PROCEDURE In this research work, the simple random sampling technique was used. This is because of its advantage of affording every member of the population equal of selection and also it ability to minimize biases. 3.5 DATA SOURCES Data for this study were gathered from primary and secondary source. Primary source were textbooks, past project and internet materials which I consulted especially for empirical studies. Also, the 399 questionnaire administered provided information for the research work and this formed secondary data source. 3.6 INSTRUMENTATION The research instrument used in obtaining data for this study is a 15-item questionnaire. Questionnaire is a list of questions designed for obtaining
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information from people in survey studies. It is used basically because it allows a direct involvement of the researcher and determines the knowledge and truthfulness of the respondents easily. In all, 399 questionnaires were administered. Each has two (2) parts. The first part which is SECTION A sought to gather personal information from respondents based on their sex, age and educational qualification. The second part - SECTION B sought to know the effect of social networking sites on the personal lives of students. 3.7 VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY Reliability of text according to Wenty (1989) is measured by the consistency with which it produces the same result while validity is the extent to which the measures provides an accurate representation of what is being measured. To ensure validity and reliability of this study, the questionnaires used were carefully worded to ensure right responses from the respondents. These questionnaires were distributed to a segment of the sample before its final administration. Majority of the people understand them and answered all. 3.8 METHOD OF ANALYSIS In analyzing the data of this study, the chi-square test of independent was formulated. This is because it is an appropriate tool of testing the null hypothesis raised in chapter 1. Analysis of data generally requires that the investigation must systematically examine data in order to understand patterns and, in some

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cases, to identify cause and effect relationship between department and independent variables. Though there are different test under this quantitative descriptive analysis, but the chi-square test will be used to compare the observed frequency distribution with the expected distribution. The formula for the chi-square test is represented below X2 Where: O E = = Observed frequency Expected frequency = (O - E)2 E

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CHAPTER FOUR DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS 4.1 INTRODUCTION This chapter is basically to analysis the responses gathered from the questionnaires administered. These responses are interpreted and presented in a tabular form for easy understanding and the findings discussed. Here, the research questions and the hypothesis are tested using the available responses from the questionnaires. All of these would help know the impact social networking site in the individual lives of youths. Student from science faculty, university of Lagos constitute the research population among which a total number of 399 questionnaires were distributed. 4.2 METHOD OF DATA ANALYSIS The method used for analyzing the data is the percentage working of the respondents answers. RETURN TABLE Number of questionnaire Number of returned 399 360

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Number of not returned Source: Field Survey, 2011

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The above table which is the return table shows the detail of the questionnaire. It shows that out of the 399 questionnaire distributed among the students, 360 were fully completed and could be accounted for. The remaining 39 were either not returned or terminated. TABLE 1: GENDER GENDER FREQUENCY Male 104 Female 256 TOTAL 360 Source: Field Survey, 2011 PERCENTAGE (%) 28.9 71.1 100%

The above table shows that 71.1% of the respondents are female against 28.9% male. TABLE 2: AGE GROUP AGE GROUP (YRS) FREQUENCY 15 19 88 20 24 248 25 29 16 30 and above 8 TOTAL 360 Source: Field Survey, 2011 PERCENTAGE (%) 24.4 69 4.4 2.2 100%

Table 2 states the fact that majority of sites users fall between the age groups of 20-24 with 69%, followed by age-group 15-19 with 24.4%. Those that are above these ages seldom use networking sites. This table shows that majority of those that use social networking sites are teenagers and young youth.
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TABLE 3: EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATION QUALIFICATION Undergraduate Graduating students Post graduate Others TOTAL Source: Field Survey, 2011 FREQUENCY 304 24 24 8 360 PERCENTAGE (%) 84.4 6.7 6.7 2.2 100%

The educational qualification table shows that of all the respondents, 84.4% were undergraduates while 6.7% were graduating students. Also, those that were post graduate student and with other qualification were also few with 6.7% and 2.2% respectively. SECTION B: RESEARCH QUESTIONS

TABLE 4: DO YOU USE SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES? RESPONSE Yes No TOTAL Source: Field Survey, 2011 FREQUENCY 360 0 360 PERCENTAGE (%) 100 0 100%

From the above table, it can be seen that social networking sites have gained a lot of ground as all the respondent have access to and use them.

TABLE 5: HOW MANY SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES DO YOU ACTIVITELY USE? SITES USED FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE (%)

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1 2 3 4 And Above TOTAL Source: Field Survey, 2011

128 136 32 64 360

35.6 37.8 8.9 17.7 100%

Table 5 shows that 35.6% use only 1 site regularly and the rest percentage which is 64.4% of them use more than 1 site. Out of these 64.4% who use more than 1 site, 37.8% amongst them use 2 sites and 8.9% use 3 sites while an exception of 17.7% use four and above networking sites. These sites include Queep, ebuddy, eskimi, mig13, 2go, and email. TABLE 6: SELECT THE SITE(S) THAT YOU USE VARIABLES Twitter Facebook Myspace Others TOTAL Source: Field Survey, 2011 FREQUENCY 40 112 32 176 360 PERCENTAGE (%) 11.1 31.1 8.9 48.9 100%

Considering the overall data in Table 6, 11.1% students use only Twitter, 8.9% use only Myspace and 31.1% use only Facebook which makes it the most popular networking site. While others have 48.9%, 15.6% of the response wrote facebook while 6.7% wrote Twitter. This implies that facebook and Twitter are used along side other sites. In other words, students use both facebook and twitter or either of the two and any other sites. TABLE 7: IF YOU WERE NOT USING THESE SITES, WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE DONE TO UTILIZE THAT TIME?

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ACTIVITIES Studying Hanging out with friend Reading novels Others TOTAL Source: Field Survey, 2011

FREQUENCY 144 112 24 80 360

PERCENTAGE (%) 40 31.1 6.7 22.2 100%

Question 7 reveals what students would do if not surfing on these sites. Table 7 shows that, most of the students would use their spare time to study if they were not using these sites. 31.1% were of the opinion that they would be hanging out with friends, 6.7% would be reading novels while 22.2% said they would be doing other things like watching television, playing football, pursuing other hobbies. This table reveals that social networking sites do not leave student with much time to study and to read their books or even to pursue their hobbies.

TABLE 8: WHAT DO YOU USE SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES FOR? USAGE To make new friends To find old friends To communicate with existing friends To find someone i can share a relationship with TOTAL Source: Field Survey, 2011 FREQUENCY 120 120 88 32 360 PERCENTAGE (%) 33.3 33.3 24.4 9 100%

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The above table shows that the desire to make new friends and to find old friends is making more students use these networking sites. 24.4% use the site to communicate with existing friend and only in rare cases do they use the site to find someone they can share relationship with. TABLE 9: HOW HAS SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES BENEFITED YOU AS A USER? BENEFITS I have more friends I am to connect with my existing friends I have found a life partner Enjoy my leisure whenever i am alone TOTAL Source: Field Survey, 2011 FREQUENCY 64 136 32 128 360 PERCENTAGE (%) 17.8 37.8 8.9 35.5 100%

This table shows that better connectivity is what a higher percentage users benefit from using social networking sites. Also, users of these sites find a way of enjoy themselves or their leisure time when they are alone. 17.8% student seems to have more friends through their use. This happens as a result of their ability to find out old friends and also remaining in close with the old ones as well as the existing friends. Only an exception of 8.9% found their partners through these sites. TABLE 10: DO YOU THINK OR FEEL THESE NETWORKING SITES HAVE CREATED NEGATIVE IMPACT ON YOUR PERSONAL LIFE? VARIABLE Yes No TOTAL FREQUENCY 96 264 360
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PERCENTAGE (%) 26.7 73.3 100%

Source: Field Survey, 2011 From the above, 73.3% of the students find that there is no negative impact in their personal lives while only 26.7 of the population feels there is a negative on their personal lives. TABLE 11: IF YES, THEN WHAT CAN THIS IMPACT BE? IMPACT Loss of privacy Loss of time More reliance on electronic medium Emotional disturbance Any other TOTAL Source: Field Survey, 2011 FREQUENCY 24 48 16 NILL 8 96 PERCENTAGE (%) 25 50 16.7 NILL 8.3 100%

From the table, 26.7% that feels networking sites have negative impact on their personal lives, 50% feels that loss of time is the major cause of the negative impact, while 25% feels it is loss of privacy and 16.7% see the impact in their dependent on electronic medium. Only 8.3% of the students feel it creates other negatives impact than the ones stated. TABLE 12: DO YOU THINK THERE IS INVASION OF PRIVACY THROUGH THESE SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES? VARIABLES Yes No TOTAL Source: Field Survey, 2011 FREQUENCY 192 168 360 PERCENTAGE (%) 53.3 46.7 100%

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This table shows that only 53.3% feels that social networking sites invade in their privacy while 46.7% do not agree. TABLE 13: DO YOU THINK THAT PARENTS DISCRETION AND MONITORING IS REQUIRED IN THE CASE OF CHILDRREN USING THESE SITES?

VARIABLES YES NO TOTAL Source: Field Survey, 2011

FREQUENCY 200 160 360

PERCENTAGE (%) 55.6 44.4 100%

There is a thin line in the survey regarding the stand whether parents discretion and monitoring is required in children who use these social networking sites. This is because 55.6% of the respondents thought that it is required while 44.4% do not see the need for such. TABLE 14: DO THESE NETWORKING SITES INFLUENCE YOUR LIFESTYLE IN ANY WAY? VARIABLE Yes No TOTAL Source: Field Survey, 2011 FREQUENCY 288 72 360 PERCENTAGE (%) 80 20 100%

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Table 14 shows that a high percentage of students do believe that networking site influence their lifestyle while 20% do not believe it does influence their lifestyle.

TABLE 15: IF YES, HOW WILL YOU DESCRIBE THE INFLUENCE? VARIABLE Positive Negative TOTAL Source: Field Survey, 2011 FREQUENCY 280 8 360 PERCENTAGE (%) 97.2 2.8 100%

This table clearly shows that social networking sites do not have any crucial negative impact on peoples life as 97.2% of the student describe it impact as positive. 4.3 TEST OF HYPOTHESIS Having given the analysis of response gathered, the hypothesis formulated earlier in chapter 1 will now be tested. The hypotheses are as follows: 1. 2. HO: HO: Nigerian youth do not have access to social networking sites Social networking sits do not influence the lifestyle of youth in Nigeria.

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3.

HO:

There is no significant relationship between social networking sites and the anti-social behavior among Nigerian youth.

The test of these hypotheses are strictly approached by the use of chisquare of 5% (0.05) level of significance.

DEFINITION OF CHI-SQUARE It is used to determine whether the relative difference in an item or object of similar kind is due to chance or as a result of difference in their quality. It could be used to weigh the relative importance in the view of different categories of people and sensitive use of matter of public importance. (O-E)2 E DEFINITION OF VARIABLES Chi-square = = O E X2 HO = = = = Observed frequency from the respondents Expected frequency from the respondents Denote chi-square This is the null hypothesis that state that there is no difference between two variables. V C = = Degree of freedom Number of columns X2

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Number of roles

In testing the hypothesis, those questions that relate to the hypothesis will be extracted and the strongest of it will be used for the test.

TESTING OF HYPOTHESIS TEST I HO: Nigerian youth do not have access to social networking sites. With regard to the hypothesis, at least two (2) tables are related to it, but to test the hypothesis Table 4 will be used. RESPONSE Yes No TOTAL Source: Field Survey, 2011 O 360 0 E 180 180 FREQUENCY 360 0 360 PERCENTAGE (%) 100 0 100%

O-E 180 -180 -

(O-E)2 32,400 -32,400 -

(O-E)2/E 180 -180 O

Source: Field Survey, 2011 X2 = 180 + (-180)

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X2

O = 2-1 = 1

Degree of freedom = V = n 1 Df = 1

The level of significant to be use in testing the hypothesis from the chi-square table is 5% (0.05) DECISION: The critical value for X2 for degree of freedom of 1 at 95% level of confidence is O. We can then conclude that the null hypothesis (Ho) is rejected as it does not have any value. This therefore means that Nigerian youth have access to social networking sites. TEST II HO: Social networking sites do not influence the lifestyle of youth in Nigerian In testing this hypothesis, table 10 can be used as well as table 14 but table 14 is the stronger of the two and will therefore be used. VARIABLE Yes No TOTAL Source: Field Survey, 2011
O 288 72 E 180 180 -

FREQUENCY 288 72 360

PERCENTAGE (%) 80 20 100%

O-E 108 -180 -

(O-E)2 11,664 -11,664 -

(O-E)2/E 64.8 -64.8 -

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Source: Field Survey, 2011 X2 = O = 2-1 = 1

Degree of freedom = V = n 1

DECISION: It is established here that the critical value for X2 is O. the null hypothesis is rejected at 95% confidence level. It can be concluded also that social networking site influence the lifestyle of youth in Nigeria. TEST III HO: There is no significant relationship between social networking sites and

the anti-social behavior among Nigerian youth. Table 10, 11, and 15 provides basis for testing this hypothesis but the strongest of all is table 10. RESPONSE Yes No TOTAL Source: Field Survey, 2011 O 96 264 E 180 180 FREQUENCY 96 264 360 PERCENTAGE (%) 26.7 73.3 100%

O-E -84 84 -

(O-E)2 -7,056 7,056 -

(O-E)2/E -39.5 39.5 O

Source: Field Survey, 2011

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X2 X2

= =

-39.5 + 39.5 O V=n1 2-1 =1 =

Degree of freedom =

DECISION: Since the calculated value is O. it can be concluded that the null hypothesis is rejected. DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS From the analysis of the different data collected and the test of the formulated hypothesis, it can be deduced that the popularity of social networking sites is immense especially amongst the youth who use at least two sites with the second majority being of those who use one networking site. Also, this research work reveal that, Facebook.com is a hand down winner as it has the highest frequency of networking sites used. The findings further shows that these sites denies students the time to engage in other activities such as studying, hanging out with friends and other hobbies as they spend these time surfing their sites. This therefore shows that social networking sites do influence the lifestyle of its users. Furthermore, the research work revealed that apart from the benefit of better connectivity with old, new and existing friends, social networking sites do not have any crucial negative impact on the lives of the people. This invariably means that social networking sites do not have anything to do with the antisocial behavior exhibited among Nigerian youth. CHAPTER FIVE

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5.0 5.1

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION SUMMARY This study has explored the role and impact of social networking sites on

Nigerian youth. Through this research, the impact of these sites on both personal and professional lives of youths have been revealed. The first chapter of this study which is the introductory aspect gave an insight to what social networking sites is all about and how it works using different examples. This chapter states the problem, significance, objective, delimitation and limitation of the study. It went further for give the research questions, hypothesis and operational definitions of certain terms. Chapter two covers the literature review of different authorities. The related theories of the study were reviewed with important and emphasis on the work. It also covers the empirical studies where the benefits of communicating through social networking sites were stated. The issue of concern that have come up along the way since these sites gained popularity were discussed. Also, it utilization in business was incorporated. While chapter three centers on the research design and methodology. It states the research methodology used along with the research design, sample size using the Taro Yamane Formula, instrument employed, and data source. It also incorporated the sampling procedure, validity and reliability and the method of analysis. Chapter four gave the analysis and interpretation of the data gathered in the previous chapter at length.

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The last part which is the fifth chapter deals with the summary, conclusion and recommendations that were derived after carefully analyzing and incorporating the opinion of all concerned. 5.2 CONCLUSION This research work focused on the impact of social networking sites on Nigerian youth. Specifically, the research sought to answer the following questions: i. Does Nigerian youth have access to social networking sites?
ii.

Do social networking sites have influence on the lifestyle of youth in Nigeria? Is there any relationship between social networking sites and anti-social behavior among Nigerian youth?

iii.

In answering the research questions, a total of 399 questionnaires was distributed among students from science faculty, university of Lagos, while the hypothesis formulated was tested using the chi-square test of 5% (0.05) level of significance. Findings from the research showed that a great deal of Nigerian youth use at least one social networking sites to connect with both new and exiting friends. It also revealed that an overwhelming majority derive the benefit of better connectivity with friends and the disadvantage of loss of time. The research also was able to state that social networking site influence the lifestyle of youth. While little percentages see the impact of these sites as

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negative especially with regard to their loss of privacy, a large percentage sees the impact as a positive one. Additionally, on the survey regarding whether parents discretion and monitoring is required, there is no clear view that came out as some thought it necessary and almost same percentage do not think it is necessary. 5.3 RECOMMENDATIONS Having confirmed that social networking sites have no crucial negative impact on peoples life, it is important to make some recommendations based on major issues such as the protection of private information, the protection of children and the protection of copyrighted materials. The following will therefore be the recommendations: 1. The establishment of personal contact officers to register on these sites to determine the legitimacy of the person who is trying to register. Although this would most likely end up in a great hassle, it would provide the best security out there for people who are trying to have safe fun. 2. 3. A licensing agreement with certain parties to prevent copyright The effectiveness of copyright law would also prevent the duplication of infringement from happening over the internet. materials on the internet. An example is the World intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO Copyright) agreement. These laws should state appropriately punishment to any breach. 4. Sites users should inculcate discipline in themselves while using these sites so as not to be a victim of it negative impact such as loss of time, loss of privacy e.t.c.

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BIBLOGRAPHY Barnes, J (1954): Class and Committee in a Norwegian Island Parish Human Relations, 7, 39-58. Boyd, Danah; Ellison, Nicole (2007). Social Networking Sites: Definition, History and Scholarship. Journal of computer Medicted communication. Burkhard, M.E. (1994): Social Interaction Effects Following a Technological change: Academy of Management Journal, 37,869-898. Callon, M (1986): Some Elements of A Sociology of Translation: London: Reutledge and Kegan Paul. Ellision, Nicole B; Steinfiled, Charles; Lampe, Cliff (2007): The benefits of Facebook Friends: Exploring the relationship between college students use of online social networks and social capital. Latour, B. (2005): An introduction to Actor-Network theory (Oxford: Oxford University Press). Rogers, E.M (1986): Communication Technology: The New Media in Society. New York; Free Press Rogers, E.M. (1995). Diffusion of Innovation, New York: Free Press Severin, J.& Tankard, W. (1992): Communication Theories Origins New York, Longman. WEBSITES www.wikipedia.com www.scribd.com/doc/.../the-effect -of-social-networking-site.

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QUESTIONNAIRE Dear Respondent, My name is AKINFOLARIN OLUWATOSIN, a final year student of Mass Communication Department, Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta, Ogun State. I designed this questionnaire with a view to eliciting response from you on my research topic THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL NETWORKKING SITES ON NIGERIAN YOUTH This research work is carried out in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the Award of Higher National Diploma (HND) in Mass communication. I hereby seek for your assistance in supplying the most appropriate answers in the spaces provided. Note that this exercise is mainly for academic purpose only. Thanks. Yours faithfully, Akinfolarin Oluwatosin SECTION A: BIO-DATA 1. Gender? (a) Male ( ) (b) Female ( ) 2. What is your age-group? (a) 15-19yrs ( ) (b) 20-24yrs ( ) 3. What is your educational qualification? (a) Undergraduate ( ) (b) Graduating Student ( ) (c) Post Graduate Student ( ) (d) Others ( ) SECTION B: RESEARCH QUESTIONS 4. Do you use any social networking sites? (a) Yes ( ) (b) No ( ). If yes continue, otherwise terminate 5. How many social networking sites do you actively use? (a) 1 ( ) (b) 2 ( ) (c) 3 ( ) (d) 4 and above ( ) 6. Select the sites that you use: (a) Twitter ( ) (b) Facebook ( ) (c) Myspace ( ) (d) any others (Pls specify). 7. If you were not using these sites, what would you have done to utilize that time? (a) Studying ( ) (b) Hanging out with friends ( ) (c) Reading novels ( ) (d) Any others ( Pls specify ) 8. What do you use social networking sites for? (a) To make new friends ( ) (b) To find old friends ( ) (c) To communicate with existing friends ( ) (d) To find someone I can share a relationship with ( ) 9. How has social networking sites benefited you as a user? (a) I have more friends ( ) (b) I am able to connect with my existing friends ( ) (c) I have found a life partner through these sites ( ) (d) I find it a great way to enjoy leisure or whenever I am alone ( ) 10. Do you think or feel these networking sites have created any negative impact on your personal life? (a) Yes ( ) (b) No ( ) 11. If yes, then what can these impact be? (a) Loss of privacy ( ) (b) Loss of time ( ) (c) More reliance on electronic medium ( ) (b) Emotional disturbance ( ) (e) Any other (Pls specify).. 12. Do you think there is invasion of privacy through these networking sites? (a) Yes ( ) (b) No ( ) 13 Do you think parents discretion and monitoring is required in the case of children using these sites? (a) Yes ( ) (b) ( ) 14 Do these social networking sites influence your lifestyle in any way? (a)Yes ( ) (b)( ) 15 If yes, how will you describe the influence? (a)Positive ( ) (b)Negative ( )

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