GENERATION Z AND SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS: IMPLICATIONS FOR SOCIAL MOBILITY, VALUES, AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Generation Z—commonly defined as the cohort born approximately between 1997 and 2012—has become the most digitally connected generation in Nigeria. Social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and X now shape how young Nigerians learn, communicate, seek work, build businesses, participate in politics, and negotiate cultural values. This paper examines the implications of social media use among Nigerian Generation Z for social mobility, values formation, and sustainable development. It argues that social media is neither automatically emancipatory nor inherently harmful; rather, its development outcomes depend on digital access, skills, platform governance, economic opportunity, and the quality of public discourse. The paper shows that digital platforms can expand social capital, entrepreneurship, political awareness, and access to global markets, thereby supporting upward mobility. At the same time, unequal access, misinformation, cybercrime, consumerism, online harassment, and precarious digital work can reproduce or deepen existing inequalities. The paper concludes that Nigeria can harness Generation Z’s digital practices for sustainable development only through coordinated investment in digital infrastructure, digital literacy, ethical education, youth entrepreneurship, online safety, and inclusive platform governance.