Social Media Use and Exposure to Criminal Victimization in Calabar Municipality, Nigeria

Abstract

Social networking sites has been researched by different scholars. It is argued that these sites contributes to socio-economic development. However this assumption has barely been studied empirically even when the use of sacial media platform and its potentials to expose users to victimization continue to thrive. The current study explores the nexus between social media platform and exposure to criminal victimization in Cross River State. The study examined the factors that promote the use of social media sites, the cyber space activities that exposes users to criminal victimization and the common crimes that social media users are often exposed to in the cyber space. The study employed the survey research design. Three hundred and eighty nine (389) respondents were selected using simple random sampling technique. The questionnaire and in-depth interviews were employed to collect data from the respondents. Quantitative data was presented on tables, frequencies and percentages, while qualitative data was analyze via manual content method. Findings revealed that the income level, internet availability and accessibility and level of education were some of the factors that promote the use of social media sites. It was also ascertained that activities like posting pictures and revealing of personalbelongings were partly responsible for projecting the users to victimization by criminals in the cyber space. More so, cyber fraud, online sexual harassment, cyber bullying were some of the crimes users are exposed to and that both male and femnale are prone to victimization. It was recommended that the exposure to criminal victimization could be addressed via the sensitization of users on the need to regulate information that is divulged on the social media platform. There is need for users to endeavor to report cyber criminals to the rightful authorities for investigation and possible prosecution.