Abstract

The emergence of social media channels has promoted the development of forms of unacceptable communication and social practices which can lead to coercion, victimization and threat to the decorum in the society. The abduction of about 276 schoolgirls by Boko Haram insurgents in Chibok, Borno State, Nigeria drew wide attention across the world. Patience Jonathan, the then First lady of Nigeria, broke down in grief while addressing a group of women and the principal of the school where the girls were abducted. The video footage of the incident was later rated by Google as the most watched non-musical video on YouTube. This article explored the ideological standpoints advanced in its discourses based on the context of Public Sphere Theory. The questionnaire survey, conducted among 300 university undergraduate students in South-east geo-political zone in Nigeria revealed that the flood of social media discourses on the video triggered its offline discourses which attracted more people to the video. While social media has granted more people the opportunity to partake in the discourse, it was inadequate as a platform for discussion on the issue of the day. The study recommended that owners of blogs and media houses who now post their contents on the social media should coordinate comments on such platforms and continue developing mechanisms that work to regulate the quality of posted content.

Key Words: Social Media, Public Sphere, Social Discourse, South-East, There is God Video.

______________

*Nkiru C. Ezeh, Ph.D., is of the Department of Mass Communication, Madonna University, Okija, Anambra State, Nigeria

**Gloria Nneka Ono, Ph.D., is of the Department of Mass Communication, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State, Nigeria

^JCMRJournal of Communication and Media Research, Vol. 8, No. 2, October 2016, 125 – 140