1.1 Introduction
The current Nigerian government has long held concerns over the use of Twitter in the country. The ongoing local End SARS protest began on Twitter and got amplified in 2020 when it had 48 million tweets in ten days. The current government has floated the idea of social media regulation on different occasions prior to banning Twitter. Attempts to pass an anti-social media bill in the past have failed majorly due to massive outcry on Twitter. Days before the ban, the country's minister of information called Twitter's activities in Nigeria suspicious, citing its influence on the End SARS protests (Wikipedia, 2021).
As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Research hypothesis and questions, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.
1.2 Background of Study
Social media has long been recognized as a mode of human connection in which people produce, share, and/or exchange information and ideas in virtual communities and networks. The growing popularity of social media platforms has resulted in the creation of new digital social networks in which people can engage and share information, news, and ideas at an unparalleled rate and ease. As a result, the adoption of such technologies appears to have the potential to modify contemporary social configurations and relations (Zhang et al., 2010).
The internet has become the most significant technological revolution of the twentieth century, with a sizable portion of the world's population having access to it. The employment of these technologies in the efficient, cost-effective, and convenient exchange of key information and opinions among people through online media platforms such as Twitter has become so important in today's society (Manning, J. 2014). Thus, networked digital technologies, according to Sajindra, K., and Patil, R. (2013), are transforming mass public communications in a variety of ways, facilitating not only new forms of antagonism and social fragmentation, but also deliberation, debate, civil participation, and other forms of social interaction.
As a result, Twitter encourages dialogue and public participation in a variety of human-interest topics. Thus, the unrestricted participatory character of Twitter has provided several chances for the public to engage in dialogues about a variety of environmental issues (an experience in Nigeria) (Sajindra et al (2013). More specifically, company owners and cooperative organizations have used Twitter to market their services. Twitter's significance and benefits cannot be emphasized. It has provided as a platform for reaching out to clients and targeted audiences, consequently fostering business growth for small and medium-sized firms. As a result, it is clear that Nigerian citizens are using Twitter for purposes that are acceptable for them, most notably to voice ideas and exercise free speech on societal and political issues, among other things. Regardless of Twitter's vital services, nations such as Turkey, Turkmenistan, the United Kingdom, North Korea, Iran, China, and, most recently, Nigeria have proclaimed and sustained the platform's suspension. The unprecedented and dramatic decision to suspend Twitter in Nigeria will undoubtedly have a wide-ranging impact on the country (politically, economically and in other wise).
Therefore, in Nigeria where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to know the Causes and Effect of Twitter Ban on Nigeria Citizens.
1.3 Statement of Problems
Investigation revealed that the influence of social media in today’s world of communication, especially journalism cannot be over-looked. Since its arrival social media have certainly changed the way journalists work, how stories are developed and disseminated. Social media have had positive influences, without doubt, but there are also concerns about their influence on productivity and the disruption it could have on journalists working patterns.
Social media have created a dependency among those working in the media and many are unable to do without them. While journalists are growing more sophisticated in their use of social media, and are for instance, using a great variety of tools to source for news, some journalists are less positive about some of the ways social media affect their journalistic activities, their engagement with their audience, their productivity and the quality of their work.
Thus, this erratic choice has a massive impact not only on Nigerian society, but also sends the erroneous signal to foreign investors, and small businesses in Nigeria which rely on Twitter for a livelihood would be equally impacted. Businesses in Nigeria use digital media to attract customers, expose their brands, and connect with numerous stakeholders, Sesan explained to AlJazeera. As a result, the citizens of the country have been limited by this ban as most social media users in Nigeria are acquainted with the use of Twitter for sharing educative, urgent, and business information. They also use Twitter to express their opinions and participate in both social and political matters.
1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study
The aim of the study is to investigate the Causes and Effect of Twitter Ban on Nigeria Citizens. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:
- To identify the negative effect of the Twitter ban on Nigeria's citizens;
- To identify the major causes of the Twitter ban in Nigeria; and
- To identify if the Twitter ban has had any effect on the social interaction of Nigeria's citizens.
1.5 Research Questions
The study came up with research questions so as to be able to ascertain the above stated objectives. The specific research questions for the study are stated below as follows:
- What is the negative effect of the Twitter ban on Nigeria's citizens?
- What are the major causes of the Twitter ban in Nigeria?
- What is the Twitter ban has had any effect on the social interaction of Nigeria's citizens?
1.6 Research Hypothesis
In order to pursue the objective of this study, the following generalized statements have been designed to guide and aids in obtaining the result for the experiment to be conducted. For this work, the null hypothesis will be represented with H0 while the alternative hypothesis will be represented with hypothesis H1.
Hypothesis One
- H0: The Twitter ban has had no negative effect on Nigeria's citizens.
- H1: The Twitter ban has had negative effect on Nigeria's citizens.
Hypothesis Two
- H0: Twitter ban has no effect on social interaction of Nigeria citizens.
- H1: Twitter ban has an effect on social interaction of Nigeria citizens.
1.7 Significance of Study
This study will deeply unveil the unforeseen effects of the mercurial decision against the use of Twitter in Nigeria. In light of this, the study will also educate/apprise the Nigerian government on the dangers that the indefinite suspension of Twitter in the country may cause, as well as enlighten them on the importance of listening to the voices of their citizens.
More so, for businesses in Nigeria which use Twitter to reach their customers, this study will be of great use to them as the study will not be considered complete without proffering solutions that will be practically applicable.
Lastly, this study will serve as a source of relevant information for students, researchers, other academics, and the general public.
1.8 Scope of Study
The scope of the research is focused on the Causes and Effect of Twitter Ban on Nigeria Citizens.
1.9 Limitations of the Study
During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:
- Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
- Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
- Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
- Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).
1.10 Definition of Terms
Social Media: Social media, basically, concerns all forms of new media technology that offers interactive sharing of information, videos, pictures, text and comments with such websites as Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Linkedin, Youtube and Blogs.
Twitter: Twitter is an American microblogging and social networking service on which users post and interacts with messages known as "tweets".
Ban: A ban is a formal or informal prohibition of something. Bans are formed for the prohibition of activities within a certain political territory.
