Assessment of the Use of Social Media in Mobilizing Nigerian Youth for #endbadgovernance Protest

The study sought to appraise the use of social media in mobilizing Nigerian youth for the 2024 #EndBadGovernance protest staged in many Nigerian cities. The protest was organized to demonstrate against the rising costs of food and other items, which are caused by anti-people policies of Bola Tinubu-led government. The protest is a testimony to the effectiveness of social media platforms in mobilizing people for a protest. Youth in Warri, Delta State constituted the population for the study. A sample size of 100 respondents was used for the study. A sample size of 100 respondents was considered appropriate for the study because of the raucousness and disorderliness as well as the sensitive situation surrounding the protests. The study adopted survey as its research design. Questionnaire was used to collect data from the respondents. Four inter-related research questions guided the study. The study was anchored on Technological Determinism Theory. The findings of this study show that a majority of the participants in the #EndBadGovernance protest learnt of the exercise through the social media. Further, the study found that social media was effective in mobilizing youth for the protest. The key conclusion from the findings is that social media was really instrumental in mobilizing the protesters for the #EndBadGovernance protest. The researcher recommends that Nigerians should make the most of social media by incorporating it fully as an important media platform for informing, education, mobilizing, integrating, teaching, promoting business, and entertaining the masses.