Social media usage in Nigeria

Just as it is all over the world, in Nigeria the world wide web has become an integral component of
daily life. The population of the world is currently estimated to be about 7.8 billion people, with 53.6
percent (4.20 billion) of them using social media and 4.66 billion using the internet [ CITATION
Joh21 \l 1033 ] .According to Digital Reports 2021, an estimated number of 33 million people i.e.
15.8% of the populace, are engaged on social media in a country whose population is 208.8 million.
However, Nigeria as a whole has 104.4 million active online users. The people who use social media
has increased by a huge 22.2 percent. Nigerians spend an average of 3.41 hours (0.153) daily on
social media and 4.55 hours (4.88) daily on internet enabled smartphone, according to the recent
survey. To further out into context, the main devices used by the Nigerian internet users are majorly
smart phones and laptop computers. While the majority of users are occupied with various
applications, some are occupied with the internet. Google is Nigeria's most popular website, with
over 220 million visitors. The estimated time spent on Google is 0.30 hours (18.4 minutes), followed
by the popular sport bet website Bet9ja with the average tine of 0.42 hours (25.58 minutes) and a
sum total of 86.1 million visitors, WhatsApp, the most popular social networking platform in the
nation, has almost 93 percent of users, according to the survey. Facebook is in second place with
86.2 percent, followed by YouTube with 81.6 percent, Instagram with 73.1 percent, and Facebook
Messenger with 67.2 percent [ CITATION Sim21 \l 1033 ].

Information about 2019 elections

The national election of 2019 which took place on the 23 rd of February. The election was centered
around the filling up the position of President, Vice President, House of Representative and the
senate. Though it was characterized to be the most peaceful election by the African Union
[ CITATION Ann19 \l 1033 ], researcher s and observers feel otherwise as Momoh (2019) suggests
that the All Progressive Congress (APC) adopted the use and influence and impact of social media
towards the electorate and a political instrument during the period. [ CITATION Mom19 \l 1033 ]

Brief information about the election

Without any bias, the 2011 and 2015 elections were both which history will recon of which the
2011 election period witnessed gradual adoption of the social media for political electioneering.
2015 general elections it went beyond the regular uncertainty and power tussle between the
Christian southern Nigeria and the Muslim northern Nigeria, extreme adoption of online media for
a toll for political propaganda was evident [ CITATION Ona17 \l 1033 ]
Some of the main characteristics of “new media” are described by experts. Lister et al. speaks about
six main characteristics that comprise the term “new media”, i.e., digitalism, interactivity,
hypertextuality, virtuality, networks, and sometimes simulation (Lister, M.; Dovey, J.; Giddings, S.;
Grant, I.; Kelly, K. New Media: A Critical Introduction; Routledge: Abingdon, UK, 2008)

Interactivity: over the years, the definition of interactivity has pulled the interest of
numerous researchers such as (Avidar,2013; Heeter, 1989; Schultz, 2000; Areal 2007). The
word ‘interactivity' has been greatly discussed and redefined since the 1990s, However, most
observers agree that it is a notion that deserves additional clarification. Interactivity is seen as
magical in comparison to the old media (Aarseth, 1997) Interactivity has been a fundamental
ideological ‘value added' aspect of new media. Whereas ‘old' media were not interactive
(passive), modern media are interactive. A stronger feeling of user involvement with media
texts, a more autonomous relationship to information sources, personalized media usage, and
better user choice. This ideal of ‘interactivity' is definitely influenced by the neo-liberal
popular discourse, because it regards the user as a consumer. Interactivity as a characteristics
of social media signifies the unhindered ability of the users to directly intrude and make
necessary change to pictures and texts that they have accessibility. As a result, rather from
being just a 'viewer' of visual culture, cinema, and television, or just a 'reader' of literary
contents, those who use the new media is referred to as a 'user.' The user is required to
actively engage in interactive multimedia texts in the sense that he or she must act in addition
to just seeing or reading in order to make meaning. 'Playing, experimenting, and exploring'
are all types of involvement that are included under the umbrella term of interaction in this
intervention.

Digitalism: This characteristic is also referred to as digitality which in the account of Nicolas
Negroponte described digitalism as the describe the situation of living in a digital culture
(Nicolas ,1995). Among the elements of digitality are relatively constant contact with other
individuals and users of social media through cell phones, relatively quick access to
knowledge and information via World Wide Web, this is also interrelated to the third wave
information storage (in which any fraction in a document or text can be checked and
integrated for categorization, often via the search engines Google), and sharing information
through websites and blogs and e-mail (Frank, 2015).Digitalism as a major characteristic of
the new media [ CITATION Kar18 \l 1033 ] , with regard to identifiable traits to social media,
'Technological convergence', or the merging of various forms of information (text, audio, and
visual) into one single ‘system', has also been a result of digitalization. Just about all web
sites nowadays provide the combination of text and audio-visual relevant data, and with us
smart phones enable us to undertake a number of activities, including finding information,
sending texts, shopping, including using Global positioning system(GPS) functions.

Interactivity: When compared to the old media, in which viewers were passively consuming
broadcasts and were unable to do much more than consume media material, the new media is
a two-way street. Customers and users may become more active in New Media since it is a
two-way street. Unlike traditional media, it is a two-way method of direct interaction.
Facebook likes and comments on news articles and blogs are examples of basic actions of
engagement. However, many people become more engaged and produce their own blogs and
movies and actively contribute their own material as 'prosumers’. For whatever reason, the
function of the consumer of media material has become more confused in the wake of the rise
of new media. user-derived content creation:

Hypertextuality: this is a popular element in new media which can be addressed as

hypertext or links which gives the users greater control over how they access the many
sources of information accessible to them. Non-sequential linkages between various types of
data are made possible by the computer via links found on websites. In the views of
optimists, this characteristic opens up new avenues for users to take control of their own
choices while navigating through the virtual world of the wide web, enabling them to take
full advantage of the chances presented by new media marketplaces. (Thompson 2018).
When it comes to distinguishing internet media from several other sources, the capacity to
connect pages, sites, and documents stands out as one of the most important characteristics.
Hyperlinks and indeed the ability to combine them to construct hypertexts are advantages of
advanced technology and new media. [ CITATION Jul12 \l 1033 ]

dissemination: dissemination and usage of media content and technologies is important in

the commercialization and reification of ordinary life. = information conveyed and obtained
by the other users (Kleit ,2012). dissemination possesses features of the new media means to
the complete process by which particular materials are articulated, selected, turned into
content and resources, and absorbed by users as well as audiences. When it comes to
dissemination, it takes on some of the characteristics of the traditional idea of
communication, which comprises both the sender and the receiver. The typical
communication point of view may be split down into two parts: a sender who sends
information, and a receiver who collects the information, processes it, and then sends
information back. This is similar to how a telephone line works. Through dissemination, just
part of the entire communication framework is utilized. The information is exchanged, but
immediate response is not necessarily made. the user creates contents and then share the
information, not between a person, but to as many platforms. An example of this conveyance
of information is in domains of advertising, public announcements and speeches. Another
way to look about dispersion as a trait of the new media is that of which it originates from the
Latin origins, the spreading of seeds. These seeds are metaphorical for voice or words: to
disseminate voice, sayings, and thoughts to a listener. In contrast to the traditional
understanding of dissemination as referring to the last step of distribution, the conception of
social media content dissemination embraces the whole process, from articulation to receipt.
furthermore, in contrast to the traditional conception of dissemination as a mostly passive
process of transmission, the term "dissemination" refers to the act of spreading information
(Tenenboim, 2015).

Virtuality: "Virtuality," as it is understood in digital culture, is defined by Katherine Hayles

as the "perception that material things are interspersed with information patterns," according
to Katherine Hayles. The emergence of networked computers and multimedia is often seen as
the first kind of virtual reality media. This variation heralds the end of promiscuity as a result
of technological advancement (Hayles, 1991). There is complete freedom of information in
this virtual environment. It is the virtuality's electric world on earth. Based on the definitions
by Shukla and Singh (2011) of virtuality, it can be concluded that virtuality is intimately
associated with the scientific community.this as a characteristic of the new media
demonstrates how virtuality is enhancing our perceptions in a variety of ways. It offers up a
plethora of visible and unseen, viable and creative possibilities for us to explore.However, it
is bereft of realism[ CITATION Adi11 \l 1033 ]. The existence of a representation on an online
system, which may be characterized by the absence of materiality, may be described as the
absence of any connection to reality, the absence of existence in reality, the existence of just
in consciousness. A world that has been socially manufactured and is mediated via electronic
media. It describes the amount to which a group is geographically dispersed, organizationally
and culturally diverse, has varied work schedules, interacts electronically, and those whose
individuals are either self-employed or employed by a single organization [ CITATION Roc08 \l
1033 ].

Historical Development of ICT

The invention of the telegraph (1837) and the telephones (1876) made it possible to
communicate by line over distant places practically instantly, a significant advance across the
prior modes of rail, ship, and pony express communication. Over time telegraphs were used
wirelessly (1895), shortwave radio (1926), and eventually less dependable high-frequency
microwave radio (1946), communication was possible to overcome the physical limitation of
having to link any location with wires or cables. Microwave technology enabled the
transmission of television signals through higher-capacity communication channels, paving
the way for the creation of satellites and space communication systems (1957). The
development of mobile communication devices, as well as the underlying technological
underpinning for the Internet and the World Wide Web, occurred in the late 1970s. As a
result of its debut towards the 1980s, both internet and Mobile communication also saw
significant growth, to the point that mobile web access (via devices such as smartphones) is
the main and rapidly rising mode of communication.

It is the major goal of information and communications technology (ICT) development in the
twenty-first century to increase between the capabilities and the carrying capacity of the
equipment and facilities that are used to transmit information across telecommunication
networks. Technological convergence had already become popular in the 1990s and 2000s
which was used to describe how new information and communication technologies (ICT) are
being used to bring together what were previously separate communication media such as
voice telephone, radio, television, newspapers, and computer data as a single medium, the
Internet, which is delivered through improved and high-capacity broadband
telecommunication network infrastructure.

Increasingly sophisticated information and communication technologies (ICT) are being

developed and deployed in a variety of industries beyond the information and communication
industries, including banking, retail, and services; industrial production; agriculture;
education; and medical services. Software-based network applications are also being
deployed in government services ranging from the issuance of licenses to taxation. In
addition to providing new opportunities for beneficial applications in fields such as science,
health, and environmental monitoring, increased capabilities for gathering enormous volumes
of detailed information (meta data) and the establishment of networks of communicating
devices (e.g., the Internet) have facilitated serious erosions of privacy by enabling
governments, corporations, and sophisticated hackers to spy on individuals and organizations
[ CITATION Are16 \l 1033 ].

ICT (RECENT SOURCES)

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are those systems that allow people to
get access to information via the use of telecommunications networks. this is indeed related
to information technology in that it is mainly concerned with communication technologies.
This includes the internet, wireless networks, cell phones, and any other kind of transmission
channel that is now available. Using technology such as instant messenger, teleconferencing,
individuals may easily connect in perfect sync with others in various geographical locations.
Social networking websites such as Facebook enable users from all around the globe to stay
in touch and interact on a daily basis. ICT is one of the amazing product of contemporary
science and technology, and it's had a significant impact on the field of library and
information science in particular. It has ushered in a new era of library communication while
also facilitating worldwide access to knowledge spanning boundaries [CITATION Ree21 \l
1033 ]. Information technology refers to the utilization of computers, storage, networking, as
well as other connected devices, infrastructures, and processes to generate, process, retain,
secure, and distribute all sorts of electronic data (IT). Information Technology is often
utilized in the context of commercial operations, as opposed to personal or leisure technology
[CITATION Ric \l 1033 ] .furthermore, the phrase "Information and Communication Technology"
(ICT) refers to all of the technologies and services involved in computers, data management,
telecommunications, and the internet. This technology is concerned with both the sending and
receiving of data of some type. ICT pervades many parts of life, enabling individuals to
communicate, network, seek assistance, have access to information, and gain knowledge in
new, better, and faster ways[ CITATION Bro20 \l 1033 ] . As a result, communication is an
important element ICT when considering it as a mix. In recent years, the convergence of
many types of technology has increased the volume of alternatives available to individuals
and organizations for creating connections and staying in touch. According to Awati (2021)
Information Technology is not just only about installation of hardware or software,
troubleshooting systematic computer problems, or determining who has access to a certain
system. Information Technology specialists are in high request nowadays, and they also
design rules to guarantee that IT technologies perform efficiently and are consistent with an
objectives and mission to maintain networks and devices to guarantee optimum availability as
well as to automate operations to increase business efficiency, this also aims to guarantee
continuity and longevity, investigate, deploy, and manage new technologies to fit changing
general demand and maintain service levels, security, and connectivity.In reality, without
information technology, today's contemporary hyper-connected digital economy would
implode.

WEB 3.0 and 4.0

This makes the Internet system an AI (Artificial Intelligence) the web 3.0 is also known as
the Semantic web according to Pariente (2015). As it enables users to study, access, and share
data using Web 3.0. the user browser learns about user behaviour to offer results. Browser
and smart devises learns user behaviour to offer recommendations some worth improved
results and recommendations based on the analysis of previous usage or behaviours. This
tends to make cyberspace increasingly open, diverse, interconnected, sophisticated and
technically intelligent [ CITATION Gál19 \l 1033 ]. Despite so, Web 3.0 might not even
effectively offer all that is demanded by users in the information system. Instead, it gives
your users what they desire in an improved manner. It empowers users more than Web 2.0.
this thus imply for example traditionally, search engines like Google would offer results
based on keywords and article quality. Google will assess content relevance, content sharing,
who is sharing it, your online relationships, and more. Artificial Intelligence will then provide
results relevant to each individual user based on this data and their activity [ CITATION Bob21 \l
1033 ]. Other examples of artificial intelligent machines in the Web 3.0 includes Wolfram
Alpha, Apple’s Siri, Cortana, Alexa and so on.

4.0
The Web 4.0 is characterised with voice contact between user and machine is key to this
technology (Pacheco, 2015). Previously in the era of Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 where users had
to be seated in front of a computer to use the Internet, but mobile devices enable users to
continuously contribute, share, and distribute information. This is the "Symbiotic [ CITATION
Jor15 \l 1033 ] Web," where the results are dependent on who the users are, what they do, and
what they require. Furthermore, When it comes to the Web 4.0 evolution. Cadric Pariente
suggested that the Web 4.0 will bring about humans and robots can be coexisting. thus
bringing about an avenue design a more sophisticated interfaces like mind controllable
interfaces. But let's be clear: Web 4.0 is still a work in progress. It has no definition yet.
Many resources, researchers and writers refer to it as the “future”. For years, some, top tech
executives which includes Eric Schmidt, CEO of Alphabet, have warned that the Internet will
"disappear," because it will become so ingrained in our lives and surroundings that we will
lose track of it: with reference to the web 4.0. others believe we'll have to wait a few years for
web 3.0 and maybe web 4.0. But it's comforting to know there are tons of online initiatives
going on. Although there is no precise information on web 4.0 and its technologies, it is clear
that the web is advancing toward the use of artificial intelligence in order to become an
intelligent web. According to Pandora FMS (2021), Although no inherent specification for
Web 4.0 has been created, and no name has indeed been uniformly assigned, there are hints
on how this stage and systems may emerge.

Web 4.0 is thought to be distinct from all previous evolutionary phases. in the nearest future
when completely completed, it is planned to eliminate some of the stages necessary when
utilizing web 3.0, making its usage more straightforward and unobtrusive. To begin with,
conventional search engines will not vanish; rather, they will be incorporated within virtual
systems.However, these "simplification" or "activation" of network utilization will also be
incorporated in Web 4.0. Furthermore, it will be the network itself that will offer items in a
contextual manner - something that is now around us but is still relatively new, as seen by the
recommendations that reach our mobile phones.
 References

Aavidar, R. (2013). The responsiveness pyramid: Embedding responsiveness and interactivity into
public relations theory. Public Relations Review, 39, 440–450.

Heeter, C. (1989). Implications of new interactive technologies for conceptualizing communication.

In J. L. Salvaggio & J. Bryant (Eds.). Media use in the information age: Emerging patterns of adoption
and computer use (pp. 217–235). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
 Aarseth, Espen Cybertext – Experiments in Ergodic Literature, Baltimore, Md.: Johns Hopkins
University Press, 1997.

Stone, Allucquere Rosanne The War of Technology and Desire at the Close of the Mechanical Age,
Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1995.

1.  Franklin, Seb. “Control.” MIT Press, 3 Sept. 2015, mitpress.mit.edu/books/control.

1.  Buckingham, David (March 2007). "Digital Media Literacies: Rethinking Media Education in the
Age of the Internet".  Research in Comparative and International Education.  2 (1): 43–
55.  doi:10.2304/rcie.2007.2.1.43.  S2CID 51995385.

Hayles, N. Katherine How We Became Posthuman: virtual bodies in cybernetics, literature, and
informatics, Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 1999.

Lister, M.; Dovey, J.; Giddings, S.; Grant, I.; Kelly, K. New Media: A Critical Introduction; Routledge:
Abingdon, UK, 2008

Tenenboim-Weinblatt, K. (2015). INFOCORE Definitions: “News Dissemination”.

Jerusalem: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Online available at
http://www.infocore.eu/results/definitions/

References
Allyn, B. (2021, November 21). People are talking about Web3. Is it the Internet of the future or just
a buzzword? Retrieved from NPR: https://www.npr.org/2021/11/21/1056988346/web3-
internet-jargon-or-future-vision

Anna, C., & Dellay, J. (2019, February 25). Nigerian President Takes Early Lead Amid Vote-Rigging
Charge. Retrieved from Albuquerque Journal:
https://www.abqjournal.com/1285105/nigerian-president-takes-early-lead-amid-vote-
rigging-charge.html?amp=1

Arellano, A., Pineda, P., Solmayor, C., Tupas, N. H., & Urua, C. J. (2016, September 30). THE History of
ICT . Retrieved from https://historyofict.wordpress.com/2016/09/30/the-history-of-ict/

Brown, T. (2020, May 18). The Importance of Information and Communication Technology (ICT).
Retrieved from IT Chronicles : https://itchronicles.com/information-and-communication-
technology/the-importance-of-information-and-communication-technology-ict/
Castagna, R., & Bigelow, S. J. (2021, August ). Information Technology (IT). Retrieved from Search
Data Center : https://searchdatacenter.techtarget.com/definition/IT

Gálik, S., & Tolnaiová, S. G. (2019). Cyberspace as a New Existential Dimension of Man. IntechOpen,
1-13.

John, J. (2021, February 12). Spotlight: Tech News. Retrieved from Nairametrics:
https://nairametrics.com/2021/02/12/only-15-8-of-nigerias-population-is-active-on-social-
media-digital-report-2021/

Kemp, S. (2021, February 11). Digital 2021 : Nigeria . Retrieved from Data Reportal :
https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2021-nigeria

Luppicini, R., & Adell, R. (2008). Privacy, Contingency, Identity, and the Group. In S. Hongladarom,
Handbook of Research on Technoethics (pp. 496-511). Thailand.

Maeyer, J. D. (2012). The Journalistic Hyperlink. Journalism Practice , 692-701.

Momoh, Z. (2019). Influence of social media on Electioneering Campaign in Nigeria 2019 Gemeral
Elections . Scholarly Journal, 160-181.

Onafuwa, O. E. (2017, December ). Propaganda or Persuasion? A Review of the Nigeria 2015

Presidential Election Campaign Process via Social Media (Part Two). Retrieved from Research
Gate :
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321883535_Propaganda_or_Persuasion_A_Revi
ew_of_the_Nigeria_2015_Presidential_Election_Campaign_Process_via_Social_Media_Part
_Two

Pacheco, J. (2015, March 12). Understanding Web 2.0, Web 3.0 and Web 4.0. Retrieved from Kulture
Connect : https://blog.kulturekonnect.com/understanding-web-2.0-web-3.0-and-web-4.0

Pariente, C. (2009, June 29). Web 3.0 and 4.0. Retrieved from Finextra :
https://www.finextra.com/blogposting/3003/web-30-and-40

Shukla, A. K., & Singh, S. (2011). New Media: Virtuality Vs Reality. Research Gate , 1-5.

Thomson, K. (2018, December 13). Main characteristics of New Media. Retrieved from Reverse
Sociology : https://revisesociology.com/2018/12/13/main-characteristics-new-media/

Tomar, R. (2021). Information Communication Technology. Research Gate, 1-10. Retrieved from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/350087090_INFORMATION_COMMUNICATION_
TECHNOLOGY