Social Media Entrepreneurship and Youth Unemployment Reduction in Nigeria

Social Media Entrepreneurship and Youth Unemployment Reduction in Nigeria

¹Dr. Nwankwor, Paulinus Paul., ²Dr. Odanwu, Augustine Ituma., ³Osarosee, Ekhator Osagie., ⁴Dr. Arumede, Martin Uhuo

¹Department of Educational Foundations, University of Nigeria, Nsukka

²Open, Distance and e-Learning Centre, University of Port Harcourt

³Department of Management (Entrepreneurship), Ignatius Ahuju University of Education.

⁴Department of Public Administration and Local Government, University of Nigeria Nsukka

DOI: https://doi.org/10.51244/IJRSI.2024.1109076

Received: 06 September 2024; Accepted: 11 September 2024; Published: 14 October 2024

ABSTRACT

This study focuses on social media entrepreneurship and youth unemployment reductions in Nigeria. It aims to analyze the impacts of social media content creation on youth engagement, to examine the impact of social media marketing on job creation and to find out factors affecting social media entrepreneurship in Nigeia. The study was domiciled in Rivers State and the population of the study comprises 2,796,276 Rivers State youths. A sample size of 400 youths was drawn using Taro Yameni formula. The study adopts descriptive sample survey method and the data generated through questionnaire items was analyzed using SPSS statistical tools. The results revealed that social media content creation has provided youths with opportunities to engage themselves in self-employment and that social media marketing has enabled youth to sale their goods and services virtually thereby creating more jobs. However, the study identified that inadequate networks and lack of digital skills hinder social media entrepreneurship. Therefore, the study recommends for awareness creation on the need for more youths to engage on social media content creation for more unemployment reduction. Network providers should strengthen and extend their services to rural area for more youth engagements on social media in order to eradicate youth unemployment.

Key Words: Social media Entrepreneurship, Content Creation, Unemployment reduction and Job Creation

INTRODUCTION

Nigeria like other developing nations are faced with challenges of poverty, unemployment; especially youth unemployment and epidemic diseases. The report from Labour Force Survey shows that Nigeria’s unemployment rate surged to 5.0 per cent in the third quarter of 2023 from 4.2 per cent in the previous quarter (Aina and Olufemi, 2024). The persistent increase in unemployment rate in Nigeria as a result of government inability to absorb the teaming graduates and non-graduates who are skilled in one form or the others has made people especially the youths to shift focus and embrace the use of global digital technology that allows the sharing of ideas and information, including text and visuals, through virtual networks and communities to engage in one form of creativity, innovation, trade and investment.

Social media as defined by Kaplan and Haenlein (2010) is “a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and allow the creation and exchange of user-generated content”. Social media is a mixture of two words; social, which means exchange of information and media which is the medium of communication. It involves series of websites and applications that enables human beings to distribute content like links, pictures, posts, texts, etc. quickly, on time and efficiently (Roopak, 2021). According to Datareportal, Nigeria is home to 36.75 million social media users as at January 2024, which amount to 16.2% of Nigeria total population. Social media platform such as; Youtube, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, X, TikTok, Snapchat etc., has disrupted the way we interact with each other. Due to social media wide coverage entrepreneurs are exploiting its functionalities to gain access to online resources for their business operations this has helped them to be well positioned in the market through strategic partnerships and increase in their contact with customers and suppliers. With the current digital business trend, it has become imperative for entrepreneurs to register their businesses on social media which will serve as a medium of communicating their products and services to consumers. Social media is also influencing employment both as an industry that creates jobs and as a tool that empowers workers (users) to access new forms of work, in new and more flexible ways (Vein 2013).

Social media entrepreneurship is a new entrepreneurial phenomenal that is predominant among youths also it is a recent innovative business venture that influences change which has disrupted a lot of business operations. Social media entrepreneurship is the process of seeking profitable opportunities through social media and initiating and managing the business within the social structure. This includes marketing of products or services within social media platforms, as well as making money through the content which was produce.

Youths are viewed as the bedrock of any nation, if well harnessed, they will become a formidable advantage to the economy. However, youth unemployment is a major issue facing Nigeria and Rivers state by extension, this unemployment has reached a record high. Nigeria Labour Force Survey (NLFS) report for Q3 2023 released by National Bureau of Statistics on Monday 12th February, 2024 reported that Nigeria’s unemployment rate surges 5% in Q3 2023, also a survey on Thisdaylive on 19 August, 2022 reported that unemployment in River’s state is over 1.7 million. Universities in Rivers state turnout a lot of graduates every year, these graduates are hardly independent or established after school even those without formal education who engaged in vocational training are also not able to find job.

In relation to the aforementioned, Nigeria youths are looking beyond paid employment and are focusing on self-reliant, self-employment and entrepreneurship skills to be able to provide for themselves and their families. Social media entrepreneurship is changing the perspective and narratives of prospective and existing entrepreneurs relying on the physical environment and stores (bricks and mortar) for business interactions and engagements. Through social media, entrepreneurs don’t need to rely on physical stores and physical interactions for businesses as engagement and negotiations can be done virtually while deliveries are done physically (click and mortar). Also, the difficulties securing paid jobs have propelled a lot of youths across the globe to go into digital entrepreneurship. Some youths are now leveraging on social media platform to create new ventures which has led to the current emergence of social media entrepreneurship.

However, irrespective of the impact of social media entrepreneurship on job creation around the globe, so many Nigeria youths especially in Rivers State have not yet realized that through various social media ventures such as content creation, e-marketing and social media ads, they can be usefully engaged and unemployment drastically reduced. Even though Rivers state is called the treasure base of the nation due to its richness in oil and gas which is currently the main stay of Nigeria’s economy, compare to other rich oil and gas cities in the world, its development over the years has been constrained by poor economic environment for broad-economic growth. As a result of this dwindling economic activities in the state there has been a skyrocketed rate of unemployment.  So many Rivers State youths instead of discovering the positive potentiality of using the social media skills for job creation rather use social media to abuse, peddle false information, and commit heinous crimes. Arising from the above, the study focused on identifying the pattern and trend that may highlight the impact of social media content creation on youth employment. The Nigeria population is estimated to be about 220 million people and youth form 70% of her total population according to NGYouthSDGs 2024 report. Despite Nigeria high youth workforce, a lot of them are bedeviled with unemployment leading to loss in national productivity. In relation to the above this study becomes imperative as part of the solutions to the problem of youth unemployment facing Nigeria as a developing nation. This study proffer social medial entrepreneurship through digitalization as an effective solution to youth unemployment. Additionally, the study seeks to analyze how social media marketing has enabled job creation among the youth. Finally, the study explores the factors affecting social media entrepreneurship and employment opportunities among youth in Nigeria

Conceptual Issues

Social Media

The rise of digital and mobile technologies has enabled interaction on a large scale easier for individuals, as a result, a new media age was born which ensured that interactivity was placed at the center of new media functions. According to Wikipedia, social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the creation, sharing and aggregation of content, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. Social media are interactive web based technologies that fosters establishment and sharing of information, concepts and thoughts through virtual networks and communities (Kietzmann and Kristopher, 2011). Social media is a significant media platform which disseminate information due to its huge audience using most major social media platforms. Facebook is an example of social media and it is the largest social media platform in Nigeria. According to Chinwe Michael (2024) on Businessday.ng, there is an estimate of 36 Million Facebook users in Nigeria. There are other social media platforms including Whatapp, Youtube, (X), TikTok, Snapchat, LinkedIn and Instagram which have users base of more than 90.45 million collectively.

Benefits of Social Media to Youths

1. Connectivity

Social media allow young people to connect with one another making it easy for them to share countless information and interact with one another.

2. Education

The use of social media among youths for educational purposes is very commendable. It enable young learners as well as young educators to enroll in global collaborative platforms to facilitate constructive learning. It also aids young people in skill improvement by fostering their knowledge and creativity.

3. Mental Health

Youths use social media as a tool to relieve stress. Youths create support groups on social media that enable them help members struggling with stress, loneliness and depression.

4. Provides Entertainment

Young individuals access latest music and movie videos on social media platforms like YouTube, they watch shot-clip videos on TikTok, Instagram and Facebook.

5. Platform for Societal Change

Due to its mass scale discussion and coordination, young people have used social media to facilitate societal change through positive movement like End SAS in Nigeria and Arab Spring revolution in Morocco.

6. Business and Marketing Opportunity

A lots of youth create awareness of their products and services on social media, they also generate sales and retain customers using social media. Content creation and its views monetization is another avenue young people use to create businesses on social media.

Challenges of Social Media to Youths

Social media has been viable towards youth empowerment. However, this has also come with some challenges, some of these challenges are:

1. Addiction: The research by Chou, Condron, and Belland (2005) cited in Umeogu and Ojiakor (2014) observed that most youths especially students are obsessed with the internet, their addition to the internet goes beyond just using it for academic purposes.
2. Poor academic performance: A lot of young people are not able to strike a balance between maximizing the prospects of social media while guarding against its effect on one’s academics.
3. Cyber bullying or online harassment: This is very common in Nigeria where young people shutout those with opposing views, they also use social media to peddle false information. This can cause psychosocial outcomes like depression, anxiety and isolation (Amita 2016).
4. Distractions: Young people are very much distracted by these social media platforms. Agbawe (2018) found out that social media addicts give more than 20% of their daily time schedule to chatting or browsing on social media platform.
5. Lack of self-control: Lack of self-control among young people on social media leading to moral decay, low educational values and unethical behaviors, (Agbawe 2018; Umeogu & Ojiakor 2014).

Entrepreneurship

The word ‘entrepreneur’ originated from the 17^th century French word ‘entreprendre’ which means between-taker or go-between. An Irish economist called Richard Cantillon who lived in France was the first to employ the term in this context. He described the entrepreneur as an economic agent who buys factors of production at fixed prices, combine them into products and services and sells at uncertain prices (Ottih, 2016).

Entrepreneurship is defined as the identification of venture ideas and opportunities, the employment of resources commensurate to these ideas and the assumption of requisite risk without regards to the amount of resources presently owned and the eventual establishment of the venture to a steady stable state for the purpose or benefits to self and society.

Social Media Entrepreneurship

Since the early 90s, the internet is becoming accessible by the general public, currently we have 103 internet users in Nigeria (Simon, 2024). With the increasing popularity of social media, a new type of entrepreneurship seems to have been developed, the more people started using social media due to their easy accessibility of the internet the more social media entrepreneurship became a thing.

In this digital age, social media has helped increased identification of new ventures ideas and opportunities. There are identified three global drives responsible for this increase:

1. Greater connectivity: There are over 80% of mobile telephones penetration in more than 120 countries.
2. Digitalization of work aspects: A lot of post-covid businesses have embraced telecommuting and outsourcing as their standard business practices.
3. More globalized skills: In Africa, Nigeria has the highest young skilled IT population, this has made Nigeria to become the major outsourcing hub for ITC jobs in Africa.

Social media entrepreneurship is a sub group of digital entrepreneurships which involves leveraging on social media platforms to create and grow a business. Social media entrepreneurship can also be defined as an entrepreneurial business venture which is carried out through a digital channel. Social media entrepreneurship is simply making money from social media. It include from being an influencer to sharing products on social media and get paid for that. Social media entrepreneurship as an act of identifying and utilizing new business opportunities which are offered by social media platforms.

Those who started as random internet users have realizes that by leveraging on social media they could make a viable career by monetizing their skill and knowledge as content creators or by advertising and selling their products and services on social media. Social media entrepreneurship does not just provide wealth to the entrepreneur and the organization it has multiplier effects due to the potentials of benefiting the society as well through reduction in unemployment thereby reducing social vice.

Content Creation

Dictionary.com posited that, content refers to “something that is to be expressed through some medium, as speech, writing or any of various arts” for self-expression, distribution, marketing and/or publication. According to Wikipedia, Content creation is the act of producing and sharing information or media content for specific audiences, particularly in digital contexts. Content creation envelop various activities which include maintaining and updating blogging, social media account, videography, web sites, photography, online commentary, article writing, and editing and distribution of digital media.

Content creation also refers to the process of generating topic ideas that appeal to the audience by creating written or visual content around those ideas, and ensuring that information are easily accessible to the audience in form of video, blog, infographic, or order forms of content formats.

The creator economy provides potentials for youths with creativity and expertise to leverage upon to create digital ventures such as blogs, content creation, online marketing and social media influencing. Whether creating YouTube and TikTok videos, sharing insigintful Facebook and Instagram posts, youths can truly showcase their creativity to a large audience and still make a living out of it. Youths also create job opportunities for themselves by developing digital content such as e-books or online courses in catering, sewing, carpentry etc.

Social Media Marketing

The concepts e-marketing and digital marketing are still very dominant, however, among both practitioners and researchers, social media marketing is becoming more popular. Social media marketing is the use of social media platforms and websites to promote a product or service. Social media marketing can also be defined as the use of social media platforms (from content platforms (like YouTube) and social sites (like Facebook) to microblogging services (like X) to build social network and share information aiming at promoting sales of a product or service. In addition to the sales of an entrepreneur’s product or services, it also provides the entrepreneur with the opportunity to engage with existing and new customers. Social media marketing can be performed on almost every social media platform. E.g. YouTube serves as a major video hub, Pinterest as an image hub, LinkedIn as video and image hub while Facebook and WhatsApp as an all-rounder.

Social media marketing is fast becoming a vital component to many Nigeria businesses market mix. According to Simon Kemp (2024) there are 36.7 million Nigerians who are active on social media platforms, this is about 16.2% of our population, youths involve in social media marketing should have a viable presence on social media, this is an effective way to establish connection with both current and potential customers. As an entrepreneur, no matter your industry, social media is an effective way to reach your target audience, strengthen your brand, establish a loyal customer base and increase your revenue.

Social media has become a useful tool at the disposal of entrepreneurial youths used to engage themselves in selling goods and services to customers as well as getting customer’s perspectives or feedback. They rely on blogs content communities, and forum where individuals share their reviews and recommendations of their brands, products, and services to get feedback.

In conclusion, social media marketing has a profound impact on youths entrepreneurship, offering several opportunities for building a brand, engaging customers, and targeting audiences, customer feedback, networking, and overcoming challenges.

Youth Unemployment

According to National Bureau of Statistics (2023) unemployment rate is defined as the share of the labour force (the combination of unemployed and employed people) who are not employed but who are actively searching and are available for work. NPC further posited that marginal rate of unemployment in Nigeria in Q2 2023 grew from by 4.1% to 4.2% with youth unemployment increased to 8.6% in Q3 of 2023 from 7.2% in Q2 of 2023. This rise in unemployment among youth is evident that there is a huge problem in our hand because with a great army of unemployed youth there is a high possibility of some of these youths participating in various acts of crime and deviant behavior. Even though the present Nigeria youth unemployment epidemic is looking pessimistic, there is still a reason for hope as social media space has created novel opportunities whereby if these youths tap into it, they can create business ventures therefore creating employment for themselves.

The Role of Social Media Entrepreneurship on Unemployment Reduction in Rivers State

From 2000 to 2008 Social media growth has passed over 90% and it is still witnessing an upward trend in Nigeria to 2024. Again, social media fact sheet (2021) revealed that users of social media are mainly youths of which 90% are between the ages of 18 and 29. With youth unemployment in Rivers state on a high rise, which is becoming an epidemic, Rivers state youths must therefore equip themselves for self-employment to achieve notable independence via job creation. Social media entrepreneurship provides a powerful tool to assist these youths fight unemployment because social media entrepreneurship offers innovative and creative solutions to unemployment among young people. Social media entrepreneurship reduces the rate of unemployment through ICTs like internet, mobile technology, social computing and digital platforms (Davidson & Vaast, 2010; Oestreicher-Singer & Zalmanson, 2013; O’Reilly, 2007; Onetti, Zucchella, Jones, McDougall-Covin, 2012).

The content creation economy is growing into becoming one of the biggest employer of young people in Nigeria. This was why Vanguard newspaper on 14^th February, 2024 wrote that Corporate Affairs Commission of Nigeria recognizes content creation as a large emerging system producing a lot of business ventures, as a result, CAC urged social media content creators with large followers to register their businesses with the commission in accordance with the Company and Allied Matters Act 2020. Mr. Hussaini Magaji, the Registrar General of CAC said there is an ongoing plans by the Federal Inland Revenue Services to onboard media content and influencer into its tax system. According to him this will widen the tax net, encourage businesses, and more jobs will be created for Nigerians.

METHODOLOGY

This section comprises the procedures and methods used in carrying out this study. The research design, area of the study, nature and sources of data, population of the study, determination of sample size, sample and sampling technique, method of data collection, validity of the instrument, reliability of the instrument and method of data analysis.

Research Design

This study adopts descriptive survey method. Descriptive research design helps to ascertain the nature of a given phenomenon and is concerned with conditions or relationships, prevailing practices, beliefs, point of view, or attitude (Iyiogwe, 2002). This design is considered appropriate for this study because it enables the researcher to gain a more profound knowledge of the research problems. The method can accurately gather necessary information using quantitative and qualitative data to provide relevant and accurate information within a limited time frame. The study made use of both primary and secondary sources of data. The primary source of data came mainly from well-articulated questionnaire and in-depth interview. The secondary source came from journal articles and newspapers publications.

Population of the Study and Sample Size Determination

The population of the study comprises of 2,796,276 youth of Rivers State.

The sample size was determined using Taro Yamani population size determination formula as follows

n =   N/(1+N(e)²)       

Where:

n = Desired Sample Size

N = Total Population Size (2,796,276)

e = Level of precision (allowable error) that is 5% or 0.05.

Thus, the sample size estimation is given as:

n = 2796272/(1+2796276(0.05)²)

n = 2796272/(1+2796276(0.0025) )

n = 2796272/6991

400

Therefore, the sample size for this study is 400.

Sources of Data Collection: Primary and secondary sources were used in this study. The primary information came from field research, questionnaire replies, and in-depth interviews. The secondary data came from published materials, including online and offline journal articles, textbooks, newspapers, and government documents.

Methods of Data Collection: The study used a self-structured questionnaire and in-depth interviews based on the insight from reviewed literature to collect data from the sampled subjects. The questionnaire, a quantitative instrument, was the principal instrument for data collection. The researcher conducted an in-depth interview (IDI) with some already known social media entrepreneurs in Rivers State. This enables the researcher to critically analyze the subject matter. The questionnaire consists of two sections: Section A contained items designed to obtain socio-demographic data from the respondents, such as sex, age and social status. Section B includes well-structured questions derived from the study research questions, objectives, and hypotheses. The questionnaire was structured in concise and simple English to enable easy understanding and response to the given questions.

Validation of Instrument

The study determined the validity of the instrument using content validity measures. The questionnaire items drafted were presented to three senior lecturers from the field of Entrepreneurship at the Ignatus Ajuru University of Education for proper scrutiny to ensure that the items accurately represent or measure the information being assessed. The observations they raised were duly followed, thus reinforcing the quality of the instrument.

Reliability of the Instrument

A pre-test of the research instrument was carried out using ten (10) 20 youths in Rivers State. After two weeks, the same instrument was re-administered to the same set of youths. The pre-test result was tested using the Cronbach alpha reliability test, and a reliability level of 0.98 was obtained, confirming the instrument’s reliability

Method of Data Analysis

The findings from the study are represented in frequency percentages tables. The hypotheses were tested using Chi square (x2) inferential statistics.  The data analysis was facilitated using the International Business Machine (IBM) Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21 and Microsoft Excel

RESULT AND DISCUSSION

Section A: Demographic Distribution

Figure1: Age Descriptions

Source: Field Survey, 2024

Figure 1 above present the age rage of the respondents to the questionnaire distributed. The responses showed that 21.6% of the respondents were under the age of 18 years. 27.0% fall under 18-28years, 35.1% were between 29-39years and 15.7% were between 40-50years while only .5% is above 50years. This shows that majority of the social media users in Rivers State are still at the prime youth age.

Table 1: Social media platforms frequently used by youths

Platforms	Frequency	Percent	Valid Percent	Cumulative Percent
Facebook	130	35.1	35.1	35.1
Instagram	20	5.4	5.4	40.5
TickTock	80	21.6	21.6	62.2
YouTube	140	37.8	37.8	100.0
Total	370	100.0	100.0

Source: Field survey, 2024

Table 1 shows the social media platforms mostly used by the youths in Rivers State. From the responses, 140 (37.8%) use YouTube, 130(35.1%) use Facebook, 20(5.4%) use Instagram and 80(2.6%) use Ticktalk.

Figure 2: Youths activeness on social media

Source: Field Survey, 2024

Figure 2 shows the level of youth activeness on the social media. From the responses, 160(43.2%) are highly active, 90(24.3%) are often active, 70 (18.9%) are active on average rate, 40(10.8%) are less active and 10 (2.7%) are not active at all. This shows that majority of youths who engage of social media are mostly active.

Figure 3: Content regularly shared by the youth on social media

Source: Field Survey, 2024

Figure 3 above shows the type of content youth creates on the social media for their audience. From the responses, 120(32.4%) of the respondents create and post video content, 90(24.3%) create contents using pictures, 80(21.6%) post written content and 80(21.6%) create meme contents. This shows that majority of the respondents create video contents.

Hypothesis 1: Social media content creation has not significantly impacted youth engagement in Rivers State Nigeria

In trying to substantiate if content creation has impacted youth unemployment, the study sought to know if the respondents have been able to create employment and generate revenue (through audience views, likes, shares and subscriptions) for myself through creating contents on my social media platforms.

Table 2: Social media Content Creation and Youth Engagement in Rivers State.

Responses	Frequency	Percent	Valid Percent	Cumulative Percent
Strongly Agree	120	32.4	32.4	32.4
Agree	165	44.6	44.6	77.0
Undecided	15	4.1	4.1	81.1
Disagree	40	10.8	10.8	91.9
Strongly Disagree	30	8.1	8.1	100.0
Total	370	100.0	100.0	Mean 3.8

Source: Field Survey, 2024

Table 2 above presents the responses on the questionnaire items which sought to address hypothesis 1. Item 1 on the table sought to know the impact of social media content creation on youth engagement in Rivers State. From the responses, 120(32.4%) of the respondents agreed that they have been able to create employment and generate revenue (through audience views, likes, shares and subscriptions) for themselves through creating contents on my social media platforms. 165(44.6%) agree, 15(4.1%) were undecided, 40(10.8%) disagree and 30(8.1%) strongly disagree. The mean average of 3.8 is a strong indication the social media content has impacted employment creation and revenue generation for the youths of Rivers state.

Table 3: Engaging the expertise of youths in creating contents for my social media platforms

Responses	Frequency	Percent	Valid Percent	Cumulative Percent
Strongly Agree	100	27.0	27.0	27.0
Agree	130	35.1	35.1	62.2
Undecided	20	5.4	5.4	67.6
Disagree	70	18.9	18.9	86.5
Strongly Disagree	50	13.5	13.5	100.0
Total	370	100.0	100.0	Mean 3.4

Source: Field Survey, 2024

Table 3 sought to know how social media contribute to unemployment reduction. From the responses, 130(35.1%) strongly agree that they reduce youth unemployment by engaging the expertise of youths in creating contents for their social media platforms. 130(35.1%) agree, 20(5.4%) were undecided, 70(18.9%) disagree and 50(13.5%) strongly disagree. The mean average of 3.4 indicate that social media has contributed to unemployment reduction in Rivers State.

Table 4 Social media and Wealth Creation

Responses	Frequency	Percent	Valid Percent	Cumulative Percent
Strongly Agree	120	32.4	32.4	32.4
Agree	150	40.5	40.5	73.0
Undecided	10	2.7	2.7	75.7
Disagree	60	16.2	16.2	91.9
Strongly Disagree	30	8.1	8.1	100.0
Total	370	100.0	100.0	Mean 3.7

Source: Field Survey, 2024

Table 4 sought to know the impact of social media on wealth creation. From the responses, 120(32.4%) of the respondents agreed that through content creation for their various social media platforms, they have networked with other entrepreneurs who mentored them on wealth creation through self-employment. 150(40.5%) agree, 10(2.7%) were undecided, 60(16.2%) disagree and 30(8.1%) strongly disagreed. The mean average of 3.7 is a strong indication that social media has impacted wealth creation among the youths in Rivers state

Test of Hypothesis 1

In this study, we used Chi² (ꭓ2) to establish the significant impact of the variables under study. Chi² (ꭓ2) is used to compare observed and expected frequency objectively. The formula for calculating ꭓ2 is

ꭓ2 =     ƹ ((O-E)²/E)

Where O =      Observed Frequency of the ith row and jth column

            E=       Expected Frequency of the ith row and jth column

Degree of freedom = (r-1) (s-1)

Decision Rule

We accept the Null hypothesis if the calculated value is less than the table value and reject the Null hypothesis if the table value is greater than the estimated value.

However, we applied an automated method using SPSS.

Table 5 Social Media entrepreneurship vs Employment creation and Revenue Generation

Responses	Observed N	Expected N	Residual
Strongly Disagree	30	74.0	-44.0
Disagree	40	74.0	-34.0
Undecided	15	74.0	-59.0
Agree	165	74.0	91.0
Strongly Agree	120	74.0	46.0
Total	370
Chi Square	229.324
Df	4
Asymp. Sig	.000
a. 0 cells (0.0%) have expected frequencies less than 5. The minimum expected cell frequency is 74.0.

Source: Field survey, 2024

Research Result: From the computation in Table 3, the Chi-Square Calculated (ꭓ2c) is 229.324a, while the Chi-Square Tabulated (ꭓ2t) is at the expected frequency 74. Thus, the Chi-Square Calculated is greater than the Chi-Square Tabulated. Based on this, we reject the null hypothesis and accept the alternative hypothesis. Therefore, we acknowledge that social media content creation has significantly impacted youth engagement in Rivers State Nigeria.

Youths in Rivers state have turned social media content creation industry in the state from what was once considered as an informal work into a viable industry, creating jobs opportunities not only for themselves but also for others. The content creation industry contribution to the state unemployment reduction has multiplier effects because most the content creators start alone, nevertheless, it’s never a one-man show for too long as services of other youths with various expertise will be engaged. Content creators in Rivers like Mark Angel Comedy and Oga Sabinus not only became self-employed but also employers of labour as they employed other youths to perform many of the internet skills and business functions they couldn’t perform, so they tend to hire managers, copywriters, digital marketers, graphics designers etc. this has absorb a lot of unemployed youths in the state and reduction of employment by extension.

River’s state young content creators have been able to monetize their content through various methods, such as brand partnerships, affiliate marketing, and sponsored posts. They partner with brands that are in consonance with their niche or audience, through this they have been able to earn income in foreign currency. Popular youths in Rivers state who created employment for themselves through content creation on social media are; Mark Angel Comedy, Oga Sabinus, MC Dave, Nasboi and Bros Jay kay.

Hypothesis 2: Social media marketing has not significantly impacted job creation among the youths in Rivers State Nigeria

In the table 6, the study sought to know how social media marketing has enabled job creation in Nigeria. The respondents were asked if they have been able to start a business by advertising my products and services on various social media platform.

Responses	Frequency	Percent	Valid Percent	Cumulative Percent
Strongly Agree	90	24.3	24.3	24.3
Agree	110	29.7	29.7	54.1
Undecided	25	6.8	6.8	60.8
Disagree	70	18.9	18.9	79.7
Strongly Disagree	75	20.3	20.3	100.0
Total	370	100.0	100.0	Mean 3.18

Source: Field Survey, 2024

From the responses, 90(29.7%) strongly agree that they have been able to start businesses of their own by advertising products and services on various social media platforms. 110(29.7%)  agreed, 25(6.8) were undecided, 70(18.9%) disagree, and 75(20.3%) strongly disagreed.  The Mean average of 3.18 shows that shows that social media marketing has impacted job creation among the youths in Rivers state.

Table 7: becoming self-employed through the use of social media platforms

Responses	Frequency	Percent	Valid Percent	Cumulative Percent
Strongly Agree	80	21.6	21.6	21.6
Agree	120	32.4	32.4	54.1
Undecided	30	8.1	8.1	62.2
Disagree	80	21.6	21.6	83.8
Strongly Disagree	60	16.2	16.2	100.0
Total	370	100.0	100.0	Mean 3.2

Source: Field Survey, 2024

Table 7 sought to know how the use social media platforms have enabled the youth to be self-employed. From the responses, majority of the respondents opined that they have become self-employed by using their social media platforms as medium to link both sellers and buyers of various goods and services. Hence, 80(21.6%) strongly agree, 120(32.4%) agree, 30(8.1%) were undecided, 80(21.6%) disagree and 60(16.2%) strongly disagreed to the questionnaire item. The mean score of 3.2 is a strong indication that social media has made youth to be self-employed

Table 8: Using social media ads to start up a business.

Responses	Frequency	Percent	Valid Percent	Cumulative Percent
Strongly Agree	90	24.3	24.3	24.3
Agree	105	28.4	28.4	52.7
Undecided	21	5.7	5.7	58.4
Disagree	80	21.6	21.6	80.0
Strongly Disagree	74	20.0	20.0	100.0
Total	370	100.0	100.0	Mean 3.1

Table 8 sought to know if the youth has started their business through social media. The responses showed that majority of the respondents 90(24.3%) and 105(28.4%) strongly agree that by creating social media ads for business owners, they have been able to start businesses for themselves. Only 21(5.7%) were undecided, 80(21.6%) disagree and 74(20.0%) strongly disagree.

Test of Hypothesis 2

Table 9: Social Media Marketing and Job Creation

Responses	Observed N	Expected N	Residual
Strongly Disagree	75	74.0	1.0
Disagree	70	74.0	-4.0
Undecided	25	74.0	-49.0
Agree	110	74.0	36.0
Strongly Agree	90	74.0	16.0
Total	370
Chi Square	53.649
Df	4
Asymp. Sig.	.000
a. 0 cells (0.0%) have expected frequencies less than 5. The minimum expected cell frequency is 74.0.

Source: Field Survey, 2024

Research Result: From the computation in Table 9, the Chi-Square Calculated (ꭓ2c) is 53.6a, while the Chi-Square Tabulated (ꭓ2t) is at the expected frequency 74. Thus, the Chi-Square Calculated is less than the Chi-Square Tabulated. Based on this, accept the null hypothesis and reject the alternative hypothesis.

Recognizing the need to improve youths digital skills as a way of empowering them to be self-employed and independent, the Federal Government of Nigeria in 2021 through National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) trained 6,000 youths on content creation and digital marketing, also in 2023 the Federal targeted to train three million youths on digital skills through her 3MTT program as a way of reducing youth unemployment.

Also, as youth unemployment reduction became a need in Rivers state, the concentration on how to start a business venture is growing with utmost importance among Rivers state youths. As a way of getting themselves engaged, many of these youths start businesses by selling their goods and services on social media platform like Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp thereby been self-employed and independent and unemployment is also reduced. They start by advertising goods and services on various social media platforms to potential customers and converting some of these potential customers to actual sales.

Social media marketing has a positive influence on Rivers state young entrepreneurs. It enables them to build their brand identity as well as attract the attention of customers. Social media marketing adds to value and brand equity including relationship equity among young entrepreneurs, this increases their interest in entrepreneurship and job creation. Youths with entrepreneurial mindset use social media platform such as Facebook, Instagram and WhatApp to promote the sales of their products and services and this has proven to produce a positive outcome.

Finally, due to its ease of entry, social media entrepreneurship has reduced unemployment among youths in Rivers state through propelling youths who are unable to find paid employment to start new businesses virtually using their laptops, mobile phones and other IT devices.

Hypothesis 3: Factors such as inadequate networks and lack of digital skills do not affect social media entrepreneurship and employment opportunities among youths in Rivers State

Table 10: Inadequate internet networks

Responses	Frequency	Percent	Valid Percent	Cumulative Percent
Strongly Agree	110	29.7	29.7	29.7
Agree	150	40.5	40.5	70.3
Undecided	9	2.4	2.4	72.7
Disagree	65	17.6	17.6	90.3
Strongly Disagree	36	9.7	9.7	100.0
Total	370	100.0	100.0	Mean 3.6

Source: Field Survey, 2024

Table 10 above presents the responses on the questionnaire items addressing research hypothesis 3. On item 1, 110(29.7%) and 150(40.5%) strongly agree that inadequate internet networks affect youth engagement on social media. 9(2.4%) were undecided, 65(17.6%) disagree and 36(9.7%) strongly disagree. The mean score of 3.6 is a strong indication that inadequate internet networks affect both social media engagement and youth employment in Rivers state.

Table 11: Inadequate power supply and high cost of fuel

Responses	Frequency	Percent	Valid Percent	Cumulative Percent
Strongly Agree	90	24.3	24.3	24.3
Agree	105	28.4	28.4	52.7
Undecided	15	4.1	4.1	56.8
Disagree	65	17.6	17.6	74.3
Strongly Disagree	95	25.7	25.7	100.0
Total	370	100.0	100.0	Mean 3.0

Source: field Survey, 2024

Table 11 sought to know if inadequate power supply and high cost of fuel affect social media and youth employment. From the responses, 90(24.3%) strongly agree, 105(28.4%) agree, 15(4.1%) were undecided, 65(17.6%) disagree and 95(25.7%) strongly disagree respectively. The mean score of 3.0 indicates that inadequate power supply and high cost of electricity affect the use of social media and youth employment

Table 12: Poor tools and equipment

Responses	Frequency	Percent	Valid Percent	Cumulative Percent
Strongly Agree	130	35.1	35.1	35.1
Agree	140	37.8	37.8	73.0
Undecided	10	2.7	2.7	75.7
Disagree	50	13.5	13.5	89.2
Strongly Disagree	40	10.8	10.8	100.0
Total	370	100.0	100.0	Mean 3.7

Source: Field Survey, 2024

Table 12 sought to know if poor tools and equipment affect the use of social media and youth employment. 130(35.1%) respondents strongly agree, 140(37.8%) agree, 10(2.7%) were undecided, 50(13.5%) disagree and 40(10.8%) strongly disagree. The mean score of 3.7 indicates that poor tools and equipment hinder youth engagement on social media and contribute to youth unemployment in Rivers state.

Table 13: Test of Hypothesis 3: Factors affecting youth engagement on social media

Responses	Observed N	Expected N	Residual
Strongly Disagree	36	74.0	-38.0
Disagree	65	74.0	-9.0
Undecided	9	74.0	-65.0
Agree	150	74.0	76.0
Strongly Agree	110	74.0	36.0
Total	370
Chi-Square	173
Df	4
Asymp. Sig	.000
a. 0 cells (0.0%) have expected frequencies less than 5. The minimum expected cell frequency is 74.0.

Source: Field survey, 2024

From the computation in Table 12, the Chi-Square Calculated (ꭓ2c) is 173, while the Chi-Square Tabulated (ꭓ2t) is at the expected frequency 74. Thus, the Chi-Square Calculated is greater than the Chi-Square Tabulated. Based on this, we reject the null hypothesis and accept the alternative hypothesis. Therefore, we agree that factor such as inadequate internet networks, power supply and high cost of fuel and poor tools and equipment affect youth engagement on social media and therefore lead to increase in youth unemployment in Rivers state

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The result of this study has revealed that the advent of social media has changed how youths carry out their day-to-day activities by allowing them to gain access to resources that were previously not at their disposal. With the use social media for content creation, e-marketing, and advertisement, jobs are been created and social and economic activities are improved. Youths who are aware of the economic viability of social media and use social media for economic activities have been able to create jobs for themselves as well as create employment for other youths. Thus, the concept social media entrepreneurship sprung out from this and has been a source of income to many youths, and also greatly reducing unemployment. However, the study has identified lack of awareness, inadequate networks, lack of capital to assemble tools for social media engagement as the major challenges preventing the youth from active social media entrepreneurship. To mitigate these, therefore, the study recommends that should be more awareness creation on the need for more youths to engage on social media content creation for more unemployment reduction. The unemployed youths should leverage on social media marketing to create ventures which will serve as source of livelihood thereby reducing youth unemployment. Finally, network providers should strengthen and extend their services to rural area for more youth engagements on social media in order to eradicate youth unemployment

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