Chapter Nine: Youthful Sexuality and Human Rights in the Era of Social Media in Nigeria: Emerging Themes and Insights

Social life is becoming digitized due to technological advancement, especially the Internet and social media, which have changed interaction, communication and the trajectories of human relationships. Access to the Internet and social media have practically altered the extent of youth inclusion in or exclusion from social, cultural, political and economic activities. Similar to the experience in many developing nations, the majority of Nigerian youth have unequal access to resources, rights and opportunities compared to their counterparts in economically advanced nations due to different norms, values, beliefs, ideologies, institutions and behavioural patterns. The experience of social exclusion negatively impacts their sense of belonging and expressly triggers social vices (Hilker and Fraser, 2009). However, the extent to which the Internet and social media have shaped youth exclusion/inclusion in Nigerian social life is vague. This chapter explores how social media norms of engagement have influenced youth social exclusion/inclusion, particularly in social discourse around sexuality and human rights, by tracing the historical development and implications of youth participation in digital interaction on society.