Social Media Influence on Personal Security among the Youth in Nairobi City County, Kenya
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Date
2023
Authors
Soita, Sally
Njoroge, Harrison
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
EANSO
Abstract
This study examined positive uses of social media that include warning
and preventing individuals from violence resulting from negative uses of
social media and user victimisation. The study was guided by Space
transition theory which states that criminals are more likely to commit
crimes in cyberspace more than in physical space due to anonymity and
identity flexibility. The objective of the study was to determine the forms
of social media use among the youths in Nairobi County. The target
population were members of the Professional Criminologists Association
of Kenya (PCAK). Purposive sampling was used to select 155 youth
respondents from a population of 15000 youths and 145 law enforcement
informant interviewees drawn from 2,000 law enforcement officers in
PCAK in Nairobi County. Piloting of the questionnaire was disseminated
among 30 PCAK youths Nakuru chapter. The research instruments were
verified by the supervisor for content validity. Statistical Packages for
Social Sciences, SPSS and Microsoft Excel software were used in data
entry and descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data. Qualitative
data were analysed using content analysis, coding, classification, and text
inferencing. This study was significant to academic research, criminal
justice practitioners and the private sector to assist in goal formulation
and achievement of cyber security. The results of this research showed
that the form of social media that youth mostly prefer +are WhatsApp
over other social media platforms. The most preferred social media
platforms by both genders were found to be WhatsApp and Twitter. It
was recommended that future research could focus on the modern
methods of social media as technology is dynamic. This will give
direction on the contemporary forms of social media and their
relationship to personal security; this, in turn, improves the security
settings suitable for the users.
Description
Article
Keywords
Social Media, Personal Security, PCAK, Cyber Security, Youth, Law Enforcement, Nairobi, Cyberspace, Physical Space, Cyber Security and Technology
Citation
Soita, S., & Njoroge, H. (2023). Social Media Influence on Personal Security among the Youth in Nairobi City County, Kenya. East African Journal of Information Technology, 6(1), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.37284/eajit.6.1.1112