CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

Over the past ten years, social media (SM) use has grown significantly in popularity, drawing millions of users from around the globe. Facebook, YouTube, and WhatsApp are the three most popular social media platforms, in that order, with WhatsApp being the most popular mobile messaging application (Statista, 2020). Social Media is now part of the rapid worldwide digital development reshaping the lives of many young people (Pfeiffer et al., 2014). Most young people in Nigeria's higher education institutions utilise social media. For instance, according to one survey, 97% of college students use Facebook, while 85% use WhatsApp (Tayo et al., 2019). Social media platforms are popular among youth due to a number of characteristics. For instance, users can build personal accounts on Facebook and Instagram, upload images and videos, and post messages to connect with other users (Moreau, 2019; Pempek et al., 2019). youths that utilise social media sites have a number of advantages, such as friendship, knowledge, and the ability to communicate with loved ones and family (Adil, 2018). However, there are a number of risks associated with using social media sites, including the possibility of sadness, wasting time, cyberbullying and harassment, hacking, fraud and scams, addiction, and exposure to sexually explicit content. (Adil, 2018). Pornography, another name for sexual content, is the term for items that reveal genitalia and engage in explicit sexual behavior (Peter & Valkenburg, 2007), and which are primarily meant to sexually arouse the audience (Malamuth and Impett, 2001). Exposure to explicit materials, whether deliberate or unintentional on social media, raises concerns due to the possible bad outcomes that may arise from this practise, such as emotional disturbance and change in behaviorial pattern (Arulogun et al., 2016). Additional repercussions include a higher propensity to accept and partake in sexually permissive behaviours. Additional repercussions include a higher propensity to accept and partake in sexually permissive behaviours, unfavourable opinion and a higher chance that youth, irrespective of gender, would consider women to be nothing more than sex objects (Peter & Valkenburg, 2019).

 Exposure to Sexual content on social media may also lead to addiction which is characterized by compulsive, repeated use of social media until it causes serious negative consequences to one's physical, mental, social, and/or financial well-being , and associated with masturbation addiction (Carvalheira et al., 2015). Moreover, it has been linked to increased levels of reported sexual victimisation among females and intensified attitudes supporting sexual coercion among males. (Simons et al., 2012; Ybarra et al., 2014). Nevertheless, some researchers have identified some benefits of social media including the fact that it can serve as a source of sexual knowledge for young persons , and that exposure to Sexual content on social media may reduce sexual anxiety and dysfunction, relieve stress, and encourage sexual expression and satisfaction (Igyuve and Agbeke, 2015).

The bulk of published available literatures on exposure to social media and sexual content and its potential influence on behaviourial pattern are obtaianable mainly among young people (Arulogun et al., 2016).

A related study by Tayo et al., (2019) focused on SM usage and its influence on undergraduate students, but did not explore how SM has affected the behaviorial pattern of the participants. Also, another study among students of tertiary institutions explored the correlation between exposure to Social media and sexual content and HIV risk behavior (Mayungbo et al., 2017). In this study, the study will center on  a Study On Social Media And Sexual Content On Behavioral Pattern Of Veritas University

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Since 1995, the effect of sexual content on social media on young people's behaviour patterns has become a topic of discussion. Their curiosity is piqued by limitless access to the internet and the plethora of services it offers, and the fast expansion of the internet and the ensuing online culture are the main factors that teens consciously select. As a result, the number of young people who have easy access to computers and cell phones is increasing every day. Another thing that makes media challenging is that there are no limitations or controls over the kind of information or images that may be delivered through it, nor over who can see or act upon the information or images that are shared (Mayungbo et al., 2017).

In addition to everything said above, there is a significant discrepancy in the knowledge that youths receive about sex and what they may access on social networking sites. Youths are unable to use media in a selective or different way since they lack sufficient, trustworthy, and pertinent information regarding sex (Mayungbo et al., 2017). Regarding the aforementioned, the rapid advancement of technology and the proliferation of internet access in recent years have led to unforeseen behavioural changes among Nigerian young. Today's youth have excellent access to internet services, especially those in tertiary schools. However, numerous studies have shown that the majority of young people are not using this service for educational or informational purposes; rather, they spend a lot of time on social networking sites for gaming, self-presentation, watching videos, pornographies, and other sex-related films (Amsale&Yemane, 2012). It is to this the study centres on A Study On Social Media And Sexual Content On Behavioral Pattern Of Veritas University.

1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STDY

 The main purpose of this study was to examine Study on Social Media and Sexual Content on Behavioral Pattern of Veritas University. Specifically, the objectives of this study were to:

1) To examine the impact of social media on behavioral pattern of veritas university studnets

2) To examine the relationship between the use of social media and sexual content among students in veritas university 

3) To outline the importance of social media usage among students in veritas university

4) To examine the influence of social media on sexual behavior of students in veritas university

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1) What is the impact of social media on behavioral pattern of veritas university studnets

2) what is the relationship between the use of social media and sexual content among students in veritas university? 

3) what are the importance of social media usage among students in veritas university?

4) what is  the influence of social media on sexual behavior of students in veritas university?

1.5 HYPOTHESES

HO1: there is no significant impact of social media on behavioral pattern of students in Veritas university

HO2: there is no significant relationship between the use of social media and sexual content among students in veritas university

1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The findings of this study will bridge the gap of lack of sufficient information on the impact of social media and sexul content on behavior pattern. The findings of this study may also be useful to the policy makers in various sectors of the government. For instance, in the educational sector curriculum developers will be informed when developing curriculum for the youth. In the health ministry, it will help doctors especially those dealing with counseling of the youth to know which tools to use to effectively communicate to the youth. The results of the study are likely to influence further scholarly research by other researchers who may be interested in this field of knowledge and initiate appropriate mitigation

1.7   SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The Study Is Restricted to A Study On Social Media And Sexual Content On Behavioral Pattern Of Veritas University

1.8 LIMITATION OF STUDY

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).

Time constraint- The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.

1.9 OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS

Sexual content: frequent depictions of sexual behavior, possibly including nudity. Sexual Content. Non-explicit depictions of sexual behavior, possibly including partial nudity.

Social media: Social media refers to the means of interactions among people in which they create, share, and/or exchange information and ideas in virtual communities and networks

Behaviorial pattern: Behavior patterns are recurrent ways of acting by an individual or a team toward a given object, in a given situation, or a recurrence of two or more responses that occur in a prescribed arrangement or order