Study of Social Media and Electoral Participation Among Youth in Ekiti State

Youth voter apathy has been a recurrent concern in Nigerian democratic governance, and the potential of social media platforms to mobilise electoral participation among young voters in Ekiti State merits specific investigation in the context of the state's competitive electoral environment. This study examined the relationship between social media use and electoral participation among youths in Ekiti State, South West Nigeria. A descriptive survey was conducted among 280 registered voters aged 18 to 35 drawn from Ado-Ekiti, Ikere, and Ijero LGAs through multi-stage sampling. The questionnaire assessed social media political engagement behaviours (following political accounts, sharing political content, participating in online political discussions), offline electoral participation (attending campaigns, voting), and motivations for political engagement. Results showed that social media political engagement was high, with 79.3 percent following at least one political account and 64.6 percent regularly sharing political content. Actual voter turnout at the most recent gubernatorial election was 58.9 percent among respondents, higher than the national average. Social media political engagement was a significant positive predictor of voter turnout (beta = 0.41; p < 0.001). Peer influence through social media was the most cited motivation for first-time voting in the preceding election. However, 51.4 percent expressed concerns about social media election misinformation. The study recommends that electoral management bodies and civil society organisations invest in social media-based voter education campaigns targeting first-time voters in Ekiti State. Keywords: social media, electoral participation, youth, Ekiti State, voter mobilisation