The Effect of Identified Social ICT Platforms on Prevalence of Conflicts in Kenya

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume VI, Issue V, May 2022 | ISSN 2454–6186

The Effect of Identified Social ICT Platforms on Prevalence of Conflicts in Kenya

Dr. Jacob Asige Chavulimu, Ph.D.¹, Prof. Godrick Bulitia Mathews, Ph.D.^2
1Division of Academics and Students Affairs, Murang’a University of Technology
²Division of Academics and Students Affairs, Masai Mara University

Abstract: Information Communication Technology contributes immensely to the world economy. In Developed countries, ICT innovations are utilized for safety, economic improvement and health while much is yet to be realized in developing countries. Africa has advanced in ICT though not clear on how it enhances the people’s wellbeing apart from positive and negative causes on moral value erosion and wars. This paper sought to establish the influence of identified ICT platforms on conflict prevalence in Kenya. Specifically, the study objectives were to establish the effect of Facebook communication and information flow on conflict prevalence, establish the information flow through WhatsApp on conflict prevalence, determine the influence of Twitter on conflict prevalence and establish the influence of Instagram on conflict prevalence in Kenya. Social exchange and innovation theories were adopted. The population of the study will entail the general public with a sample of 384 respondents sourced through media. Simple random sampling was employed to get the sample respondents. Questionnaires were formulated and sent online through the media and feedback analyzed with the aid of SPSS. Reliability of the instruments was ensured using Cronbach’s reliability technique while validity was checked using content validity methods. The findings revealed a reliability coefficient of 0.83 for the overall instruments implying that it was reliable. Pearson product moment correlation and multiple linear regression models were mingled with descriptive statistics to obtain meaningful associations and ratings. The findings were presented in tables. First, it emerged from the demographic characteristics that most of the respondents, 200(52.6%) were aged 51-60, 171(45.0%) were male and majority of professionals worked in NGOs. The findings revealed that ICT platforms (social media) accounted for an overall significant variance of 72.1% in conflict prevalence. Facebook (β=.333, p<.05), WhatsApp (β=.329, p<.05), Instagram (β=.278, p<.05) and Twitter (β=.225, p<.05) has a significant effect on Conflict prevalence in Kenya. It was concluded that the selected social media ICT platforms contributed significantly to conflict prevalence in Kenya. The findings may be helpful to stakeholders in the ICT, scholars and conflict sector in controlling disruptive innovations and managing conflicts.

Key words: Conflict; disruptive; information; innovations; prevalence

I.INTRODUCTION

The advent in new technologies leading to improved social media is both important and dangerous to communities worldwide. In the conflict area, social media plays a huge role in both conflict management and acceleration (Zeitzoff, 2017). In developed countries like Israel, shifts in public support contributed to by information flow through social media largely reduce conflict intensity more than USA and

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