SOCIAL MEDIA AND THE CHANGING PERCEPTIONS OF GENDER ROLES AMONG CONTEMPORARY NIGERIAN YOUTHS

Abstract

Social media has become one of the most influential spaces through which contemporary Nigerian youths encounter, interpret, contest, and reproduce ideas about gender. Platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube, and Telegram expose young Nigerians to local and global conversations on masculinity, femininity, marriage, paid work, domestic responsibility, sexuality, body image, leadership, and gender-based violence. This paper examines how social media is changing perceptions of gender roles among Nigerian youths. It argues that social media does not simply replace traditional gender norms; rather, it creates a contested digital environment in which patriarchal expectations, feminist advocacy, religious teachings, consumer culture, humour, celebrity influence, and youth subcultures compete for attention and legitimacy. Using social learning theory, gender schema theory, hegemonic masculinity, performativity, and networked publics as interpretive frameworks, the paper shows that Nigerian youths are increasingly exposed to egalitarian ideas about gender, while simultaneously encountering digital content that reinforces male dominance, female respectability, financial dependence, and rigid family roles. The paper concludes that social media has expanded the imaginative possibilities available to Nigerian youths, but its impact depends on digital literacy, offline social structures, religious and family expectations, economic conditions, and the quality of gender-related content young people consume. Recommendations are offered for educators, parents, policymakers, civil society organisations, and platform designers.