The Influence of Selected Social Media Platforms on the Moral Life of Youths in Anyigba Community

Abstract

The widespread use of social media platforms among the youths has raised concerns regarding its impact on their moral life. Young people now spend a substantial amount of their daily activities, social contacts, and information consumption on social media platforms, which have grown in popularity and influence especially in recent time. The potential negative impact of social media on young people’s moral beliefs and behaviors is one of the main focuses of this research.  The variety of content available on social media platforms, such as user-generated posts, videos, photographs, and adverts, can have positive impact on youths; it can as well expose them to a range of moral dilemma.   The aim of the research is to determine the impact of social media platforms on the moral values of the youth in Anyigba community.  It uses sociological, evaluative and historical approaches, drawing data from books, journals, articles and interviews. This study indicates that social media usage among the youth in Anyigba community is pervasive, with a significant portion of their daily lives being spent on these platforms. It also reveals that social media has a mixed impact on the moral values and behaviors of the youth. While it provides opportunities for learning, social interaction, and self-expression, it also exposes them to various moral challenges, including cyber bullying, cybercrime, privacy invasion, sexual promiscuity, fake lifestyle and the propagation of harmful content. The study identifies a correlation between excessive social media use and a decline in offline moral behaviors among the youth.  It concludes that social media has significant moral Impact on the youth of Anyigba community.  The study recommends that parents, guardians, and educators should educate the youth on the responsible use of social media. Social media platforms should also take responsibility for regulating the content on their platforms to promote ethical values. The government should also enact policies that regulate the use of social media to protect the moral values of the youth.