influence of social media on nigerian undergraduates dressing habit (a case study of unn epe campus computer education students)

Description

Abstract

The research examines the influence of social media on Nigerian undergraduates dressing habit a case study UNN Epe Campus Computer Education Students.  Social media has remained a platform for interaction, communication, and buying and selling especially in this era where advertisers are targeting youth everywhere including on social media and other online platforms to facilitate online shopping and change of attitude including pattern of fashion.  Survey research method was adopted in which 200 copies of questionnaires were administered and 192 were retrieved and analysed using frequency and percentage. Findings show that 98% of the respondents use social media with many of them have at least 3 to 5years experience.

TABLE OF CONTENT

Title page

Approval page

Dedication

Acknowledgment

Abstract

Table of content

CHAPETR ONE

1.0   INTRODUCTION 

1.1        Background of the study

1.2        Statement of problem

1.3        Objective of the study

1.4        Research Hypotheses

1.5        Significance of the study

1.6        Scope and limitation of the study

1.7       Definition of terms

1.8       Organization of the study

CHAPETR TWO

2.0 Literature Review

CHAPETR THREE

3.0        Research methodology

3.1    sources of data collection

3.3        Population of the study

3.4        Sampling and sampling distribution

3.5        Validation of research instrument

3.6        Method of data analysis

CHAPTER FOUR

DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

4.1 Introductions

4.2 Data analysis

CHAPTER FIVE

5.1 Introduction

5.2 Summary

5.3 Conclusion

5.4 Recommendation

Appendix

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

• Background of the study

Communication is a veritable instrument that helps in creating and sustaining a conducive atmosphere in any society. Michael & Michael (1978:18) define communication as: symbolic behaviour that occurs between two or more participating individuals .It has the characteristics of being a process, it is transactional in nature, and it is effective. It is purposive, goal directed behavior that can have instrumental or consumatory endsIn essence, communication takes place between two or more people. It is a system of transmission of ideas which affect those concerned towards achieving a set goal or objective. It is germane and its effectiveness can be measured through the feedback. Information is an essential ingredient that makes human beings survive and interact meaningfully with one another. They communicate with one another to share, to inform, to persuade, to influence relationships, to discover and uncover information. The use of social media Web sites among today’s children and adolescents has become very rampant and trite. Sites like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, YouTube, gaming sites, and blogs are frequented by the youths. Social networks are Web-based services that allow individuals to construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, a view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system (Boyd, & Ellison, 2007). Anderson (2009) describes social networks as the networked tools that allow people to meet, interact and share ideas, artifacts and interests with each other. Shirky, (2008) succinctly says that social networks facilitate the creation of groups and the exploration of new ways of gathering and getting things done.In the past decade, social media has redefined the world we are living in. What began as a means to communicate, maintain contact, or reconnect with old friends, has slowly but surely evolved into a crucial part of our daily lives; severely altering the way business is done. One specific area of business that has been particularly affected by the social media revolution is the fashion industry. Through the institution of social media, what was once only available to elite insiders is now accessible by the masses. For example, because of a designer’s Facebook page, Twitter feed, or Instagram account, those previously unconnected to high fashion can now watch live footage from Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week taking place in Lagos capital City, an opportunity that was once only limited to industry insiders, celebrities, and socialites.

Before the existence of these social media outlets, sales, store traffic, and financial records were conceivably the only way to gauge consumers’ opinions. Today though, “the cliché that ‘the customer is king’ has taken on a whole new definition. Customer feedback today not only reaches the companies much faster, but can also spread out to a much broader audience through ‘friends’ of the customer commenting on social media” (Savitz). Companies are now forced to listen and pay attention to customer opinions because failure to do so could cause a demise of their reputation by means of social media slander.

This being said, there is no way to communicate that is more cost effective or time efficient than social media. In order to remain a market fixture, bricks and mortar retailers must adapt and begin utilizing social media as a cornerstone in their business structure. While the adaptation to changing technologies is vital to all types of retailers, Fashion retailers should take special notice. In some sense, fashion is a product of our environment. That is to say, trends constantly come and go and fashion is largely ever changing. From the consumer’s perspective, it is easy to see how social media could be a vehicle to expedite communication of these trends. However, from a retailer’s perspective it is vital to remain not only completely informed, but also very connected, in order to better serve customers’ needs Social media has also placed fashion designers on the spot light. It’s now easier for designers to exhibit their works online and have their numerous followers contact them via direct messages. Everything is faster now, even ordering of clothes from social media fashion retail pages.We are in the age where people are constantly dressing up not just to look good but to impress. Social media is one place new looks are showed off as most people are very particular about the image they share with the public online, and unconsciously have social media in mind when shopping for a new dressAfrican fashion style is fast becoming popular in different countries around the world. Foreigners are beginning to feel more comfortable with identifying with African outfits like the adire, iro and buba, akwete, asoeke, gele, agbada and moreThis has been made possible due to the fashion trends they see on social media. Also, shows like the GTBank Fashion Weekend, the Nigerian Fashion Week, etc., continue to impact greatly on fashion in Nigeria, using social media as one of its major showcase tools. Basically, any non-Nigerian who follows a Nigerian on social media knows about the popular aseobi, slay queens, Yoruba demons, and other Nigerian fashion trends.Before the social media era, there were no jobs like social media fashion influencers, social media fashion retailer, digital fashion critic, online fashion writer, etc., but today these are terms that people can relate with. Hopefully, Nigerian Fashion will continue to grow, not just on social media but everywhere fashion is mentioned.

• STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

It is no secret that social media dominates many facets of life as we know it. As stated prior, in the past decade particularly, social networking has grown exponentially. To say that the industry has skyrocketed would be an understatement—it has completely revolutionized the world we live in. While there are a number of different media sites, Facebook, Twitter, and most recently Instagram and Pinterest have soared and become part of the day-to-day life for many. One could say these four sites dominate the market and embody the ideas and things one associates with “social media” in conversation. It is in view of the above that the researcher intends to investigate the influence of social media on Nigeria undergraduate dressing habit.

• OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The main objective of the study is to ascertain the influence of social media on Nigerian undergraduate dressing habit, but to aid the completion of the study the researcher intends to achieve the following sub-objective;

1. To investigate the influence of social media on the dressing pattern of undergraduate student
2. To ascertain the effect of instagram on the dressing habit of student

• To evaluate the role of Facebook in modeling the dressing habit of undergraduate student

1. To access the relationship between social media and dressing habit of undergraduate students
   • RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

To aid the completion of the study, the following research hypotheses were formulated by the researcher

H₀:social media does not influence the dressing pattern of undergraduate students in Nigeria

H₁:social media does influence the dressing pattern of undergraduate students in Nigeria

H₀²:there is no significant relationship between social media and dressing pattern of undergraduate students in Nigeria

H₂:there is a significant relationship between social media and dressing pattern of undergraduate students in Nigeria

• SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

It is believed that at the completion of the study, the findings will be of great importance to undergraduate students of higher institution, as the findings will help them to take advantage of the tremendous benefit of social media, the study will also educate the fashion designers on the need to advertised their product and services on these social media outlet. The study will also be beneficial to researchers who intend to embark on a study in a similar topic as the study will serve as a reference point to other researchers, finally the study will be of great importance to students, teachers, lecturers, and academia as the study will contribute to the pool of existing literature in the subject matter.

• SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The scope of the study covers the influence of social media on Nigeria undergraduate dressing habit, but in the cause of the study, there were some factors which limited the scope of the study;

(a) Availability of research material: The research material available to the researcher is insufficient, thereby limiting the study.

(b) Time: The time frame allocated to the study does not enhance wider coverage as the researcher has to combine other academic activities and examinations with the study.

(c) Finance: The finance available for the research work does not allow for wider coverage as resources are very limited as the researcher has other academic bills to cover.

 

 

 

1.7 OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS 

Social media

 

Social media are computer-mediated technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, career interests and other forms of expression via virtual communities and network

Dressing

A covering or enhanced construction method to improve an object’s appearance

Habit

A settled or regular tendency or practice, especially one that is hard to give up

1.8 ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY

This research work is organized in five chapters, for easy understanding, as follows

Chapter one is concern with the introduction, which consist of the (overview, of the study), historical background, statement of problem, objectives of the study, research hypotheses, significance of the study, scope and limitation of the study, definition of terms and historical background of the study. Chapter two highlights the theoretical framework on which the study is based, thus the review of related literature. Chapter three deals on the research design and methodology adopted in the study. Chapter four concentrate on the data collection and analysis and presentation of finding.  Chapter five gives summary, conclusion, and recommendations made of the study.

CHAPTER FIVE

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

5.1 Introduction

It is important to ascertain that the objective of this study was to ascertain the influence of social media on Nigerian undergraduate dressing habit.

In the preceding chapter, the relevant data collected for this study were presented, critically analyzed and appropriate interpretation given. In this chapter, certain recommendations made which in the opinion of the researcher will be of benefits in addressing the challenges of social media usage by undergraduate student.

5.2 Summary

It was observed that the popular types of social media sites mostly visited in Nigeria were typically not different from those visited in other regions across the globe by the youths. These were facebook, YouTube and Twitter. They had served and still serving as vehicles for news, information, opinion sharing, entertainment, business development, and even cultural production. But the youths also were aware of the potential dangers of these media in the society. Some scholars had found out that social networking could be a bit more effective than traditional old media of communication with respect to dressing pattern, interactivity, an advantage which some corporations can utilize in acting upon complaints almost immediately. (Faraidooi, 2011). According to Internet World Statistics 2012, Nigeria constitutes 48.4% of Internet users in Africa with 6,630,200 facebook subscribers as at 31st December, 2012. This was quite reflected that social networking had been regularly and frequently used by Nigerian youths to share their ideas, thoughts and opinions with others.

5.3  Conclusion

The purpose of this research was to explore the ways social media affects fashion consumption, specifically in an area dominated by the college-age demographic and small boutique vendors. In order to accomplish this, I performed general exploratory research regarding fashion consumption and social media usage. I used my findings to tailor interview questions to gain further understanding regarding how the two are connected through qualitative measures. Finally, I administered a survey to achieve quantitative statistics and draw significant conclusions regarding the effects of social media on fashion consumption.

5.4   Recommendation

Based on the findings of the study, it is recommended that:

Social Media Sites (SMS) as veritable sources of socialization, communication, entertainment, motivation, learning opportunity and dressing pattern

Social Media Sites (SMS) can also be used for negative things such as texting, cyberbullying, sharing of obscene images, therefore the Nigerian youths should be properly guided in the way they use these media. They should equally be mindful of the fact that writing makes an exact person, therefore, they must not allow codes and abbreviations hamper the knowledge of good spelling skills expected of them in their writing skills.

Parents and guardians should as well exercise some control on what their children and wards engage in online as a form of check when they are at home.