TWITTER BAN IN NIGERIA AND ITS INFLUENCE ON EDUCATED MILLENNIALS’ LIVELIHOOD: JUNE 2021 – JANUARY 2022
Omotomiwa Morohunfola1* Oladokun Omojola2
1Mr, Covenant University, Nigeria, omotomiwa.morohunfolapgs@stu.cu.edu.ng
2Prof. Dr., Covenant University, Nigeria, ola.omojola@covenantuniversity.edu.ng
*Corresponding Author
Abstract
This study examines the influence of the seven-month Twitter ban in Nigeria on the livelihood of educated millennial twitter users in the country. Three postgraduate schools in Lagos (Nigeria) were randomly selected for the study. Across the three postgraduate schools, 500 millennials who use Twitter were purposively selected for the survey. Key selection parameters included Lagos being a tech hub and the availability of adults over the age of 26 years old in postgraduate schools. The study is based on Robert Merton’s theory of unintended consequences which states that actions by political authorities have consequences on the society which could be positive, negative, or neutral. Results from the study show that one of the most important reasons educated millennials use Twitter is to source for income. Almost all educated millennials who participated in the study did not support the ban of Twitter in Nigeria. Most importantly, findings revealed that the seven-month Twitter ban in Nigeria had a negative influence on the livelihood of more than forty percent of educated millennials in the country. Based on the results, the study concludes that issues such as internet shutdowns and social media bans, which are becoming rampant in Africa, will only lead to negative economic consequences for individuals and even the society at large.
Keywords: Twitter, Twitter ban, Millennials, Livelihood
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