THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE PROMOTION OF INDECENT DRESSING AMONG FEMALE STUDENTS OF FEDERAL POLYTECHNIC NASARAWA

ABSTRACT This study investigated the impact of social media on dressing patterns of female undergraduate students at the Federal Polytechnic Nasarawa, Nigeria. A structured questionnaire comprising a 4-point scale was the instrument used for data collection. The population female undergraduates were the study population. Sample size of 300 female undergraduate students was randomly selected for the study using Multi-stage and simple random sampling but only 280 subjects filled and returned their questionnaires. The data collected were statistically analysed using simple percentages. The findings of the study among others revealed that the female undergraduate students dressing patterns are greatly influenced by imitation of celebrities, western dress styles, peer influence, mass media and fashion in vogue. The findings of the study also showed, among others, that female students were exposed to rape/sexual harassments; the image of such students/family were perceived as tarnished; they are also addressed as prostitutes and they are related with poor academic performance. The study recommends, among others, that parents, school authorities, lecturers, media houses, etc, should make both individual and joint effort to curb indecent dressing in the institutions of higher learning in Nigeria.