Youths, Social Media and Gender-Based Violence: An Emerging Trend in Nigeria?

The revolution in information communication technology has created boundless opportunities for media users. With the advent of mobile technology devices and the growth of social media platforms, endless access has been provided for the youths not only to consume media but also to make media and share it more easily and quickly. However, increased access to media consumption and creation has its latent consequences. One of such is gender-based violence. The ease of networking and communicating with people not known in real life has made youths vulnerable to predators. Similarly, the anonymity provided by social media has made it an avenue for youths to stalk their victims. In recent times, gender-based violence orchestrated by social media has become an emerging issue in Nigeria. This paper investigates social media orchestrated violence through content analysis of some reported cases of such violence in the media, as well as an in-depth interview with a victim. Findings reveal that social media orchestrated gender-based violence among the youths is an emerging and dangerous trend in Nigeria. This calls for media literacy education for Nigerian youths on the need to use social media critically and cautiously.