DISRUPTIVE TENDENCY OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN FAMILY SOCIAL INTERACTION AMONG WOMEN IN BORGU LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, NIGER STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Modern communication technologies have created new information behaviour which is obstructing the conventional pattern of family social relationship and interaction, hence the study on uniting and disruptive tendency of social media in family social interaction among women. The survey study was carried out among 120 respondents’ to generate primary data through semi structured questionnaire and analyzed with percentage, mean and standard deviation. Findings showed that social media possessed both tendencies of uniting and disrupting conventional family social relationship and interaction due to new adopted lifestyle of women on mobile phone internet communication with social media platforms of WhatsApp (x̅=4.66), Facebook (x̅=4.52), YouTube (x̅=4.13) and Twitter (x̅=4.08). Social media enabled families to socially interact to express needs (x̅=4.85), family harmony (x̅=4.76), religious issues (x̅=4.74), resolving of family challenges (x̅=4.73), socialization (x̅=4.70) and health issues (x̅=4.70). Benefits of social media in uniting family relationship were to stay connected with members (x̅=4.82), quick passage of message (x̅=4.79), family bond (x̅=4.60), coordinate children activities (x̅=4.59) and cheap cost of communication (x̅=4.56). Observed disruptive tendencies of social media were distraction on face to face parenting, low quality time, creating depression, obstructing value, emerging internet addiction syndrome and less physical contact with family members. Prevailing evidences suggested moderation on usage to gainfully harness social media potentials as a uniting technology. Hence, women need sensitization, awareness creation and training to curtail excessive and abnormal disruptive tendencies of social media that are harmful to family relationship and interaction.

Keywords

• ict
• social media
• social interaction
• relationship
• communication
• family