Digital Devices and Self-Expression among Teenagers in Osogbo, South-Western Nigeria

Abstract

Digital devices have reshaped human communication in today's technology driven society. These devices, as a medium of identity and self-expression, now determine personal, domestic, and corporate interactions by providing access to digital and online facilities enabled by an influx of computer and portable mobile devices into the Nigerian market. The effect of this digitalization on self-expression cuts across contexts and age categories. This study, driven by new media theory and the theory of transitivity in systemic functional linguistics, examined the influence of digital devices on identity and self-expression among undergraduate teenagers in Osogbo, Osun State. Carefully selected through stratified and convenience sampling techniques, undergraduate teenagers involved in the survey-which employed a questionnaire-and focus group discussions, revealed that their preference for interactive chats, social media picture galleries, captions on photographs, and video subtitles outweighed their propensity to read long or academic texts and partake in online economic activities. Most of our respondents explored online communication through their mobile devices, while others accessed the internet on personal computers at home with little or no parental guidance or supervision. Subsequently, age falsification, wrong or misleading self-identification, and a consequent cultural literacy were common among undergraduate teenagers online. A selfregulation facility was then recommended alongside parental and caregiver monitoring of teenagers' virtual communication to reduce the influence of social media on teenagers' time management and self-identity. Further research is also recommended in the field of ICT to detect age falsification and other forms of online false-identity among minors.