The Influence of Social Media on Deviant Behaviour Among Youths in Uyo Metropolis

ABSTRACT Social media usage by youth is on the rise with an increasing number of students accessing WhatsApp, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and other social sites. While such social networking is beneficial to youths, the way they are occasionally used, the time spent, things learned and shared on the sites are shocking. The research sought to determine the influence of social media on deviant behaviour among youths in Uyo Metropolis o f Akwa Ibom State. The study aimed at investigating the relationship between students' exposure to social media usage and deviant behaviour among youths in Uyo Metropolis. The findings of this study is a great benefit to secondary school administrators by highlighting the relationship between the use of social media and deviant behaviour among youths and it also offered government and school administrators knowledge and insights to guide in the formulation of policies and procedures toguide ethical usage of the social media. Educational practitioners too will find the outcome of this study useful in designing intervention strategies that are more holistic and inclusive of all stakeholders. The research was guided by a descriptive research design. The target population for the research were youths in Uyo Urban II and Uyo Urban III. The total sample size for the research was 160 respondents comprising 81 youths from Uyo Urban I I and 79 from Uyo Urban III. Data for the research was collected using a structured questionnaire. The collected data was analyzed using frequency, distribution and percentages. The findings were presented in tables. Results from the research showed that use of social media among youths was prevalent and especially Facebook with 95% and 69% usage on WhatsApp respectively. The analysis from the research data also indicated that social media strongly influenced sexual practices of youths with 82.5%. Further data indicated a strong agreement that social media contributed to violence among youths with 68.5%. Results also revealed agreement among respondents that social media has increased cases of cyber bullying among youths with 61.8%. On the basis of the findings of this study, it can be concluded that social media usage should be regulated or monitored in order to counter the negative social behaviours attributed to its use by youths and underage.