NJOMACS

The emergence of social media has continued to change political activities across the world. Today, social media remains a strong political communication platform, giving political actors and their supporters the avenue to sell and promote themselves and their intentions to a wider audience with less stress. Therefore, this study set out to examine the importance and challenges of the use of social media for political campaigns among residents of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria. The research utilised the Technological Determinism Theory. The study collected data from 300 respondents through the questionnaire. The study found that Facebook is the most used social media platform for political engagement among the respondents. Findings equally indicated that through social media platforms, electorates get quick updates regarding policy positions from political actors and key players like the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Further, the audience can create and share their views and opinions on political campaign issues concerning aspirants, candidates and political institutions like INEC through social media. In addition, social media remains a susceptible communication platform for political hate speeches, a breeding ground for attacks on candidates, aspirants, their supporters and political parties as well as their views on issues. It concluded that, though social media presents some challenges of misinformation during political campaigns, it has proven to be a useful tool in political activities. The study recommended, among others, that the government in Nigeria needs to reassess its media laws and policies to accommodate the peculiarities of new communication platforms like social media. If this is done, Nigeria’s democracy will benefit more from the advantages of social media in democratic engagements.