Social Media Trends and Public Opinion Dynamics in Port Harcourt

This study examined how social media trends influence agenda-setting and public opinion formation in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, with specific focus on the X platform (formerly Twitter). Anchored on the Agenda-Setting Theory, the research investigated three key questions: why Nigerian X users engage with certain trends over others, how frequently these trends shape opinion formation, and how influencers direct public discourse. Using a descriptive survey design, the study sampled 384 respondents from Port Harcourt's population of 3,688,308 through multi-stage sampling techniques. Data collection involved 323 valid questionnaire analyzed using frequencies and mean scores. Findings revealed that Nigerian X users engage with trends based on multiple factors: algorithmic visibility and frequency of appearance on timelines emerged as the strongest determinant, followed by entertainment value, emotional connection, and personal relevance, peer influence, and political importance. Social justice movements, particularly #EndSARS and #EndBadGovernance, dominated as the most prominent trends, followed by politics and governance and public health issues. The study demonstrated that X trends frequently influence opinion formation across social issues and political matters, health issues and popular culture, and economic concerns. Influencers emerged as powerful agenda-setters who determine topic visibility, frame discourse through strategic presentation, serve as thought leaders, and actively engage followers to shape public opinion. However, challenges persist regarding misinformation dissemination, echo chamber effects, and the quality of public discourse. The study recommends that influencers promote constructive dialogue, X platform collaborate with fact-checking organizations, and stakeholders encourage critical thinking among users to improve the quality and credibility of digital public discourse in Nigeria's evolving media landscape.

Agenda-setting, public opinion formation, social media trends, X platform

1. Adebanjo, A. (2020). E-commerce growth in Nigeria: Opportunities and challenges. African Journal of Business Management, 14(2), 77-89. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

2. Adekunle, A. (2021). Entertainment-based trends on Nigerian social media as emotional buffers. Nigerian Digital Culture Review, 7(3), 112-125. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

3. Adepoju, A. (2017). Migration in Nigeria: A country profile. Geneva, Switzerland: International Organization for Migration. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

4. Adesina, A. (2023). Digital culture and lifestyle choices among Nigerian youth. Journal of African Studies, 32(4), 145-162. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

5. Adesoji, A. O. (2019). The dynamics of news media and public opinion. Ibadan, Nigeria: Ibadan University Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

6. Akinfeleye, R. & Okoye, J. (2022). Algorithmic exposure and trend uptake on social media platforms in Nigeria. Digital Media Studies, 18(3), 89-104. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

7. Akinyemi, A. & Ogunyemi, O. (2021). Digital activism and social movements in Nigeria. Journal of African Communication, 14(2), 78-93. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

8. Ake, C. (2000). The feasibility of democracy in Africa. Dakar, Senegal: Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

9. Asogwa, C. E. (2021). Cultural relevance and social media engagement in Nigeria. African Journal of Communication Studies, 15(3), 123-138. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

10. Bandura, A. (2001). Social cognitive theory of mass communication. Media Psychology, 3(3), 265-299. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

11. Benkler, Y., Faris, R., & Roberts, H. (2018). Network propaganda: Manipulation, disinformation, and radicalization in American politics. Oxford University Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

12. Boulianne, S. (2019). Revolution in the making? Social media effects across the globe. Information, Communication & Society, 22(1), 39-54. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

13. Castells, M. (2012). Networks of outrage and hope: Social movements in the internet age. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

14. Dalton, R. J. (2013). Citizen politics: Public opinion and political parties in advanced industrial democracies (6th ed.). Washington, DC: CQ Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

15. Dike H. W., (2025), Crisis Communication Strategies and Organizational Resilience: Lessons from Nigerian Financial Institutions, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, 9, (4), 2357-2374 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

16. Dike, H. W, (2025), Telecommunication Challenges and the Path to Integrating Telemedicine in Nigeria’s Healthcare System, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, 9, (1), 436-444 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

17. Druckman, J. N. & Parkin, M. (2005). The impact of media bias: How editorial slant affects voters. The Journal of Politics, 67(4), 1030-1049. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

18. Effiong, D. O., & Inyang, B. (2016). Social media and agenda setting: Implications for political communication in Nigeria. Journal of Media Studies, 20(2), 45-58. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

19. Entman, R. M. (1993). Framing: Toward clarification of a fractured paradigm. Journal of Communication, 43(4), 51-58. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

20. Entman, R. M. (2017). Framing bias: Media in the distribution of power. Journal of Communication, 57(1), 163-173. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

21. Enyindah, C.J., & Wilcox, W. (2025). Social-agency electioneering in Nigeria: Social media leverage in the 2023 presidential election in Rivers State. International Journal of Innovative Information Systems & Technology Research, 13, (1), 159-172. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

22. Eze, S. & Adebayo, T. (2022). Social media and economic discourse democratization in Nigeria. African Economic Review, 28(3), 156-171. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

23. Falola, T., & Heaton, M. M. (2008). A history of Nigeria. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

24. Folarin, S. (2022). Digital influence and activism in contemporary Nigeria. Lagos Journal of Media Studies, 8(2), 45-60. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

25. Friggeri, A., Gan, Q., & Klein, D. (2014). Understanding information spread patterns on social media. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 19(2), 234-248. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

26. Hodkinson, P. (2017). Media, culture and society: An introduction. London: Sage Publications. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

27. Ibrahim, A. (2020). The influence of social media on youth activism in Nigeria: A case study of #EndSARS. African Journal of Communication, 23(1), 89-105. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

28. Inglehart, R., & Baker, W. E. (2000). Modernization, cultural change, and the persistence of traditional values. American Sociological Review, 65(1), 19-51. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

29. Iwokwagh, N. & Edewor, P. (2022). Emotional engagement and social media trends in Nigeria. Communication Research Quarterly, 15(4), 201-216. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

30. Iwuoha, V., Anyanwu, M., & Okafor, C. (2023). Social media health communication during COVID-19 in Nigeria. Health Communication Review, 19(2), 87-102. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

31. Iyengar, S. (1991). Is anyone responsible? How television frames political issues. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

32. Iyengar, S. & Kinder, D. R. (1987). News that matters: Television and American opinion. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

33. Kaplan, A. M. & Haenlein, M. (2015). Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of social media. Business Horizons, 53(1), 59-68. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

34. Katz, E. & Lazarsfeld, P. F. (1955). Personal influence: The part played by people in the flow of mass communications. Glencoe, IL: The Free Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

35. Kietzmann, J. H., Hermkens, K., McCarthy, I. P. & Silvestre, B. S. (2015). Social media? Get serious! Understanding the functional building blocks of social media. Business Horizons, 54(3), 241-251. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

36. Labrecque, L. I., vor dem Esche, J., Mathwick, C., Novak, T. P., & Hofacker, C. F. (2013). Consumer power: Evolution in the digital age. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 27(4), 257-269. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

37. Lim, M. (2022). Digital platforms and opinion crystallization in developing nations. New Media & Society, 24(8), 1845-1863. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

38. Liu, S., Jiang, C., Lin, Z., Ding, Y., Duan, R., & Xu, Z. (2015). Identifying effective influencers based on trust for electronic word-of-mouth marketing. Information Sciences, 306, 21-36. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

39. McCombs, M. E. (2004). Setting the agenda: The mass media and public opinion. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

40. McCombs, M. E. (2005). A look at agenda-setting: Past, present and future. Journalism Studies, 6(4), 543-557. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

41. McCombs, M. E., & Shaw, D. L. (1972). The agenda-setting function of mass media. Public Opinion Quarterly, 36(2), 176-187. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

42. Meraz, S. (2019). The fight for 'how to think': Traditional media, social networks, and issue interpretation. Journalism, 12(1), 107-127. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

43. National Bureau of Statistics. (2023). Population statistics for Nigerian cities. Abuja: Federal Government Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

44. Noelle-Neumann, E. (1993). The spiral of silence: Public opinion—Our social skin (2nd ed.). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

45. Nwabueze, C. & Okorie, N. (2022). Celebrity endorsements and social media trend participation among Nigerian youth. Celebrity Studies, 13(3), 445-461. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

46. Nwachukwu, O. (2021). Digital media in Nigeria: Patterns of usage and impact on public opinion. International Journal of Social Media Studies, 11(4), 213-229. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

47. Obono, K. & Madu, S. (2021). Entertainment trends and emotional buffering on social media in Nigeria. Journal of Digital Culture, 6(4), 278-293. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

48. Ogunyemi, O. (2023). Digital activism and civic engagement in Nigeria. African Journal of Political Science, 18(2), 134-150. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

49. Ogunyemi, O. & Okorie, N. (2020). Social media, protests, and social change: The #EndSARS experience in Nigeria. Journal of Communication and Media Research, 12(2), 137-146. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

50. Ojebuyi, B. & Salawu, A. (2020). Twitter and digital activism in Nigeria: The #EndSARS movement. Global Media Journal, 18(34), 1-12. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

51. Ojo, E. O. (2017). Traditional rulers and local government in Nigeria: A symbiotic relationship. Ile-Ife, Nigeria: Obafemi Awolowo University Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

52. Okon, E. & Bassey, S. (2022). Microblogging platforms as digital public squares in Nigeria. Communication and Society, 25(3), 412-428. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

53. Olanrewaju, F. (2023). Digital activism and civic awareness in contemporary Africa. African Studies Review, 66(2), 289-305. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

54. Oloruntoba, S. O., & Falola, T. (Eds.). (2018). The Palgrave handbook of African politics, governance and development. London, UK: Palgrave Macmillan. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

55. Page, B. I. & Shapiro, R. Y. (1992). The rational public: Fifty years of trends in Americans' policy preferences. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

56. Papacharissi, Z. & Rubin, A. M. (2000). Predictors of internet use. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 44(2), 175-196. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

57. Pariser, E. (2017). The filter bubble: What the internet is hiding from you. New York, NY: Penguin Books. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

58. Ruggiero, T. E. (2000). Uses and gratifications theory in the 21st century. Mass Communication & Society, 3(1), 3-37. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

59. Scheufele, D. A. & Tewksbury, D. (2017). Framing, agenda setting, and priming: The evolution of three media effects models. Journal of Communication, 57(1), 9-20. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

60. Suberu, R. T. (2016). Federalism and ethnic conflict in Nigeria. Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

61. Sunstein, C. R. (2001). Republic.com. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

62. Sunstein, C. R. (2017). Republic.com 2.0. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

63. Tufekci, Z. (2014). Big questions for social media big data: Representativeness, validity and other methodological pitfalls. In Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference on Weblogs and Social Media (pp. 505-514). [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

64. Tversky, A. & Kahneman, D. (1973). Availability: A heuristic for judging frequency and probability. Cognitive Psychology, 5(2), 207-232. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

65. Vosoughi, S., Roy, D. & Aral, S. (2018). The spread of true and false news online. Science, 359(6380), 1146-1151. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

66. Yahaya, M. (2022). Urban digital engagement and political discourse in Nigeria. Urban Studies Quarterly, 29(4), 178-192. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

67. Zaller, J. (1992). The nature and origins of mass opinion. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

• Social Media and Ghanaian Youth: A Systematic Review of Impacts and Implications
• The Impact of Social Media Information in Checkmating Social Injustice and Bad Governance in Nigeria
• The Impact of Image-Based Brand Content on Moroccan Consumers Engagement on Social Media