| Abstract: |
Social media has become the most accessible source of information and its use as platform for civic engagement has continued to grow and expand. Since the Obama experiment in 2008, politicians and political candidates the world over have come to embrace the use of social media for political purpose, especially in mobilizing support and engaging potential voters towards active participation in the political and electoral process. Nigeria as a player in the global arena had the first test of social media use for civic engagement during the 2011 general elections, but it was in 2015 that the countries witness the unleashing of the potentials of the new media in the political environment. This study examines the impact of social media in engendering political engagement between the citizens and the political actors during the 2015 presidential election. The study was premised on the social shaping of technology theoretical construct. The survey method was employed and the questionnaire was administered to respondents drawn from three selected tertiary institutions from Ebonyi State, Cross River State and Lagos State. Findings show that the participants in the study were not only aware but were actively involved in the 2015 electioneering campaigns through the social media. The consequence of the findings is the fact that the social media has enriched our political culture through the introduction of a form of revolution in political engagement. The work recommends that political actors should embrace the social media regime as an eternal phenomenon and find ways of making it part of their campaigns and governance, while regulating authorities should improve on the operational, legal and technical aspects of the social media for it to serve the desired purpose. |
