THE SOCIAL MEDIA AND VOTING BEHAVIOUR IN NIGERIA'S THIRD AND FOURTH REPUBLICS

The aim of this study is to investigate the influence of social media on voting behaviour in Nigeria's third and fourth republics. To achieve this aim, the study analyzed the influence of social media on voters' behavior in the third and fourth Republics of Nigeria, assessed the impact of social media on voters' participation in elections during the third and fourth Republics and also examined the impact of voters' behavior on the political development of Nigeria's third and fourth Republics. The Uses and Gratification theory and the Agenda setting theory was used in this study. The study was also guided by three (3) research questions and interpretive research design was used. The documentary method of data collection was used to collect data from secondary sources. The collected and validated data were analyzed using the qualitative content data analysis. The result of the findings reveals that social media has indeed influenced voting behaviour in Nigeria's third and fourth republics through Information Dissemination, Political Mobilization, Misinformation and Propaganda and Public Opinion Shaping. It was also unvieled that Social media has had significant influence in voters' participation in Nigeria like increased voter engagement and mobilization, Political advertising and Campaign Strategies and Misinformation and Disinformation. Voters' behaviour has also impacted in the political development of Nigeria through Electoral intergrity, Political Accountability, Electoral outcomes and policy changes. Based on the findings, it has been recommended that the Nigerian government should Enhance Digital Literacy to Combat Misinformation ,Utilize Social Media for Increased Voter Engagement, Strengthen Electoral Monitoring Through Social Media and also Promote the Use of Social Media for Political Accountability