ASSESSMENT OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN THE PROTECTION OF PRIVACY AMONG RESIDENTS OF SABO IN CHIKUN LGA OF KADUNA STATE, NIGERIA

This study assessed social media in the protection of privacy among residents of Sabo in Chikun LGA of Kaduna State, Nigeria. Using a survey method, a sample size of three hundred and seventy-seven was (377) studied. Among the objectives was to identify the commonest social media networking sites where personal information of residents of Sabo in Chikun LGA of Kaduna State are brought to the public space, also to discover the possible danger of disclosing personal information in the social media in the protection of privacy among residents of Sabo in Chikun LGA of Kaduna State. Two hypotheses were tested and the results showed that the awareness level of social media privacy rights is likely a factor in the protection of privacy among residents of Sabo in Chikun LGA of Kaduna State. Since 263.92 is greater than 9.488 which is the value of alpha (0.05) in the probability level, it is therefore supported that there is significant relationship between the possible dangers of disclosing personal information in the social media and the protection of privacy among residents of Sabo in Chikun LGA of Kaduna State. The study concluded that as users post content online, most of them are ignorant of the implications and consequences of sharing such content on social media platforms. It was strongly recommended that the residents of Sabo in Chikun LGA of Kaduna State should specifically gear towards understanding the privacy settings of online platforms so as to use it with a sense of responsibility. Facebook as a networking site should also be more ethical in safeguarding the personal data of users.