Exploring the Realities and Prospects of
YouTube in Nigeria
OLADOKUN OMOJOLA* Ph.D AND NGOZI DORIS MORAH**
Abstract
The advent of the Internet has brought with it the reality of social media. They
are still incipient in Nigeria but growing. This is especially true of YouTube,
the video streaming website. Hinged on the Uses and Gratification, Agenda
Setting and Public Sphere theories, this study assessed YouTube videos to
determine the construction of representations of Nigeria. It adopted a mixed
method to assess YouTube’s influence on its audience. Content analysis of
videos showed a preponderance of entertainment, though news and
information, religion, aid work and commercials were also visible. A multiple
regression of eight carefully selected cases of expectations (predictors) against
a criterion of satisfaction was carried out, collectively giving rise to a
significant model (F8,78 = 4.268, p < 0.0005). Individually, however, two of the
eight were significant with the remaining six less consequential, thereby giving
an insight into YouTube’s influence on the respondents. The paper canvasses
the eradication of identified barriers as a way of realizing the potentials of
social media in the country.
Key Words: Nigeria, YouTube, Expectations, Satisfactions, Social Media.
Introduction
Established in 2005, YouTube, the video streaming website, is sometimes labelled the
most successful internet website. As of 2010 it exceeds two billion views per day while
videos are uploaded simultaneously every second. YouTube is a social media site, not a
mere video repository. The site has a number of social networking features by which it
enables various forms of interactions, including possibilities to comment and rate videos
(Ellison and Boyd, 2007). It also supports interaction and subscription. As Rotman and
Preece (2010: 330) put it, YouTube is more like a community than a broadcasting
platform:
The immense scale of a site such as YouTube may be seen as an
obstacle to the establishment of an intimate community. However…
subgroups of smaller communities are created within the larger scope of
the larger site, enabling users to find kinship and cultivate close
relationships.
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*Dr. Oladokun Omojola is a lecturer in the Department of Mass Communication, Covenant University, Ota
Ogun State, Nigeria.
**Ngozi Doris Morah is a lecturer in the Department of Mass Communication, Madonna University, Okija,
Anambra State, Nigeria.
JCME
Journal of Commuication and Media Research, Vol. 5, No.1, April 2013, 41-56.
© Delmas Communications Ltd.