Interrogating Social Media’s Influence on Women's Empowerment Programme Outcomes in South West, Nigeria

Abstract

Introduction: Several studies on women empowerment have focused on the use of the media to campaign for women to be empowered, whereas little attention has been paid to checkmate the influence of social media use for empowerment programmes in the lives of women especially those in South West, Nigeria, aside from just raising awareness on women's issues.

Objectives: To assess the benefits of social media usage among women beneficiaries.  To identify challenges that may impede the effectiveness of such empowerment outcomes. To evaluate its influence on their participation and success in empowerment programmes.

Methods: The study employed a quantitative research approach, specifically survey methods, to gather data on the influence of social media use on women's empowerment programmes outcomes in South West Nigeria using structured questionnaires administered to the sampled participants. The total population of the study for women in selected states is 8,250,204.

Results: Findings from the study reveals that, women who participated in social media empowerment programmes got personal gains, particularly learning new things (mean = 2.85), feeling more confident and good about themselves (2.84), and being more aware of their rights and chances for empowerment (2.81). However, fewer respondents reported increased financial situation (2.39), project collaboration (2.20), and financial empowerment through grants and loans (mean = 2.12). Lack of time (25.7%), trouble validating information (46.1%), and unreliable internet access (50.6%) were the main obstacles. Overall, 69.4% of respondents had participated in such programs, and 76.4% of them expressed satisfaction with the results, compared to 37.7% of non-participants. participation and program satisfaction showed a weak but statistically significant link (Cramer's V = 0.206, χ² = 19.231, p <.001), indicating that social media participation had a beneficial impact on empowering outcomes.

Conclusions: the study concludes that social media significantly enhances the outcomes of empowerment programmes among women in South West Nigeria. By providing platforms for information dissemination, skill acquisition and networking, social media serves as a powerful tool for improving women’s access to resources, knowledge, and economic opportunities.