Substance-reference content, social media and substance use among university students in Abeokuta, Nigeria

Abstract

There is an increase in the rate at which young populations are being exposed to substance-related content in the media, linking it to the increase in substance use among the population. There is, however, scant literature on this among the Nigerian population. This study, therefore, investigates the prevalence and relationship between substance-reference content exposure on social media and substance use behaviour among university students in Abeokuta, Nigeria. A descriptive survey was conducted among a sample of 328 (65.5% female), aged 22.27±4.25 years, university students in Abeokuta, Nigeria. Data were collected using an online survey containing measures of substance use and social media content. Prevalence estimates and Chi-square analyses were conducted on SPSS v.25 to analyse this study’s objectives. Results show that the majority of the participants, constituting 85.1% of the total sample, reported often using social media. Concerning substance use, alcohol emerges as the most commonly used substance, followed by cigarettes and marijuana. There was a significant association between exposure to substance-related content on social media and alcohol use (ꭓ2 (6, N = 328) = 14.52, p < 0.05) and cigarette use (ꭓ2 (6, N = 328) = 15.60, p <0.05). However, exposure to substance-related content is not significantly associated with marijuana use (ꭓ2 (6, N = 328) = 9.39, p = 0.15). Social media content has a significant influence on substance use behaviours among Nigerian university students, emphasising the importance of targeted interventions to reduce the potential harms associated with substance-related content on social media.