SOCIAL MEDIA GENDER EQUALITY ADVOCACY AND THE SURVIVAL OF MARRIAGE AMONG COUPLES IN SOUTH-WEST, NIGERIA

Abstract

Information on social media platforms has significant influence on the survival of marriages in Southwest, Nigeria. Although, these messages, in most cases are necessary to make good decisions in recent time, some information on social media have become dangerous to humanity most especially to marriage institution. This study examined the influence of social media gender equality advocacy on the survival of marriages among couples in Southwest Nigeria. It determined whether social media enhanced women participation in decision making in the family and also ascertained which of the genders feels more oppressed in relationships. The Framing Theory, Uses and Gratification Theory and Liberal Feminism Theory were adopted for the study. Research design for the study was a mixed approach using a convergence of survey research method and In-depth interview. The population consisted of couples from nine (9) local government areas in three selected states of, Osun, Oyo and Ekiti. Multi- stage sampling technique was used to select 400 couples from 228,027 couples in the selected local governments. The sample size was determined using Taro Yamane formula. Key informant interview was conducted with three (3) journalists, two (2) social media influencers and two (2) gender equality advocates in the three selected states, and discourse analysis was applied on the data obtained. The study revealed that gender equality advocacy was on all social media platforms, especially Facebook and Instagram which were predominantly used to advocate for gender equality with 54.4% and 41.3% of married couples in three selected states in Southwest, Nigeria. They were actively involved in the usage of social media platforms. It was discovered that young couples were largely exposed to social media messages as 88.1% of the respondents were fully aware of gender equality advocacy. The study established that, social media gender equality advocacy also contributed to the failure of marriages in South-West, Nigeria to a large extent as 58.7% respondents agreed to the statement. The study also revealed that social media gender equality advocacy enhanced couples’ participation in decision making at home with 66.6% and 23.0% of married couples in three selected states agreed that both parties should actively participate in home affairs. Besides, each gender considered themselves as being oppressed in a relationship. The study concluded that, social media gender advocacy contributed to marital discord, due to individual differences in role of perception in marriage. The study therefore recommends that social media influencers, content creators and journalists at all levels should be wary of gender related information they put on social media, as such information are found to influence people’s actions in their marriages. The imperative of interpersonal communication among couples should be encouraged by gender advocates, as it is going to bridge apparent communication gaps among many couples. Both genders should appreciate and respect each other. That will help build ideal families and society.