Abstract

Digital media literacy skill and competency is now a basic requirement in our relationship with the media. The media have saturated our lives and have thus shaped our realities including the way we live and the way we want to be defined. The social media seems to have now taken over the space and heat deep into all spheres of human endeavors. This study, therefore, assessed digital media literacy in the utilization of social media among postgraduate students in selected universities in Kwara State. The study sought to determine digital media literacy’s influence on the choice of social media platforms and contents. Anchored on the Uses and Gratification Theory of the media, the study employed the survey, which is rooted in the quantitative research paradigm as a methodology.  Given that the study population focused on postgraduate students of University of Ilorin, Kwara State University and Al-Hikmah University, it used simple random sampling technique to draw 372 respondents for instrument administration, out of which 354 were correctly filled and analyzed. Research questions and hypothesis were analyzed and tested within the purview of correlation as well as descriptive statistical analysis to determine the findings. The study found that postgraduate students of universities in Kwara State were social media literate and they utilized this knowledge in their use of social media.

Key Words: Digital Media, Digital Media Literacy, Postgraduate Students, Social Media, Social Media Utilization 

About the Authors

*    Semiu Bello, Ph.D., is an Associate professor in the Department of Mass Communication, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, Nigeria. His research interests span print journalism studies, health and development communication, media literacy, mass media and society, communication theories, media research, new/digital media and public relations.

**  Gloria Balogun is the Deputy Director in the News and Current Affairs Department of the Taraba State Broadcasting Service, Jalingo, Nigeria. Her research interests are health communication, mass media and society.

*** Agnes Joe Shaibu is a Lecturer in the Department of Mass Communication, Kwara State University, Malete, Nigeria. Her research interests include broadcast journalism studies, new media and development communication.

^JCMR Journal of Communication and Media Research, Vol. 16, No. 1, April 2024, pp. 22-31

© Association of Media and Communication Researchers of Nigeria (AMCRON).

Article Citation

Bello, S., Balogun, G., & Shaibu, A. J. (2024). Digital media literacy and the utilization of social media among postgraduate students in Kwara State, Nigeria. Journal of Communication and Media Research, 16 (1): 22-31.

Full Article

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