Incidental news exposure and political behaviour among young social media users in Nigeria
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Date
2025
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Journal of Arab & Muslim Media Research, Online, Published by Intellect, Bristol, United Kingdom
Abstract
The explosion of social media is widely believed to have invigorated incidental
exposure to news content, transforming how users in the present digital dispen
sation encounter and consume news. Consequently, scholars have examined
the determinants of incidental news exposure and its consequences on different
political outcomes among social media users, with studies reaching divergent
conclusions. However, intellectual diagnosis into the rebranded concept of inci
dental news exposure has predominantly been concentrated in advanced, west
ern democracies, hence having research conducted in settings other than advanced
democracies is essential to cross-culturally generalize the resurged concept and
consequences of incidental news exposure. Thus, this study investigates the factors
that animate incidental news exposure and the corresponding effects on online and
offline political participation among social media users between the ages of 18 and 35 in Nigeria. The network sampling method was used to sample a total of 387
respondents who chiefly use social media routinely. The study found that generic
social media use, social media use for news and political interest are significantly
correlated with incidental news exposure among respondents. While incidental
news exposure was a positive and significant predictor of online political partici
pation, it did not correlate with offline political participation among respondents.
We conclude that incidental news exposure contributes to aspects of political
outcomes among social media users and recommend the need for further studies on
this phenomenon as well as the introduction of political education to assist politi
cal enculturation of the youths within the Nigerian democratic space due to its
strategic role on Africa’s political emancipation.
Description
Keywords
digital news active news exposure political interest online political participation offline political participation youths’ online activism social media
Citation
30. Mande, M.A., Mustapha, L.K., Omar, B., Ahmed, I.S.Y., Udende, P., & Abdulbaqi, S.S. (2025). Incidental news exposure and political behaviour among young social media users in Nigeria. Journal of Arab & Muslim Media Research, Online, Published by Intellect, Bristol, United Kingdom. Available online at: https://intellectdiscover.com/content/journals/jammr/fasttrack