The aim of the study was to appraise social media usage and insecurity in Nigeria. The objectives of the study were to: determine the social media network that has contributed more to insecurity in Nigeria; examine ways social media messages have been used to promote insecurity in Nigeria; and find out the causes of social media insecurity in Nigeria. The study was anchored on technological determinism and media equation theories. The study relied on data gathered from survey research method. Questionnaire was used in eliciting responses from Nigerians on social media usage and insecurity in Nigeria. The population of the study was 736,375 Nigerians derived from Akure, Awka, Damaturu, Dutse, Lokoja and Yenagoa. The sample size for the study was 600 respondents drawn from these capital cities representing the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria. The sample size was calculated using the Australian sample size calculator. The study utilised the frequency counts and percentages. The analysis was run using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software (version 23). Findings showed that WhatsApp is the social media platform that contributes more to insecurity in Nigeria. The study showed that social media have been used to promote insecurity in Nigeria. They have been used for recruitment, creating panic, propaganda, introduce virus in the systems, hack accounts and expand the network of criminal gangs. The results also indicated that lack of social media regulation is responsible for social media insecurity in Nigeria. It however, recommended among others that there should be policies and legal framework to regulate the negative use of social media in Nigeria.
Vol. 3, No 2, pp. 32-39.