CHAPTER ONE
1.1    BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
    Social media as sources of communication and connection across the world. It tends to improve the psychology of human being. It helps to ensure that the update of event and motivational traits swings among every socialized individual. This is implemented through communication.
    Communication is a basic human need and for that reason, man has always found a means of meeting those needs. The media which is an umbrella term for various means of communication had been show case as an integral part of human around and across the world. The weakness of not being able to communicate to large audience led to the development of mass media in Nigeria such as writing the earliest forms of personal media, speech and gestures has the benefits of being easy to use and did not necessarily need complex technology.
    The development of communication technologies have profound the role of the media in the society has being more significant. Also in relevant to cultural and civilized education. According to “John Dewey” the role of media is to educate. “James Ages and Walter” also highlighted the function of the media as a source of trapping information around the globe and as a means of entertainment.
     However, it’s a form of electronic communication which facilitates interaction based on certain intervals and characteristics. Social media is a medium for social interaction using highly accessible and scalable publishing techniques. Social media uses water base technologies to transform and broadcast media monologues and social dialogues.
It supports the democratization of knowledge and information and transforms people from content consumer to content producers. social media are element o of new media and according to “Dammy Shea” in the Huffington post accessed 20th June 2012 social media have become the highest activity on the internet. The rapid growth of social media activities that has been observed over the last two to three years as in distractive of its entry into main stream culture and its integration on the daily lives of many individuals.  
    In parallel with this, social media have also gained considerable attention form the academic and business world. The new technology has led the types of media and their ability to use diverse forms of the media in relation to the world demanding means of the communication and connection. Also gratification and crowd sourcing as engagement techniques for human right organization.
    Mass media have become part of the society even so much as the additional media in all parts of the world. In few years the term “new media” might not be very suitable because these forms are becoming part of our daily lives and the fusion with traditional media could be referred to has alternative media some theories which applicable to traditional media might be apply to new media as well, humanity has always lived through times of great change. Every age it has passed through has been on beliefs and new technologies, responding to the needs of individuals anxious to adjust to new forms of socialization.
    In view of this, there is ever-continuing convergence between the social media which are believed to be changing how people use the mainstreaming media and roles ascribed to them by their users. Based on this the research is aimed at investigating how the social media are interacting with the traditional ones and the possible nurture of influence they have on the media consumer.
 1.2    OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY   
     This study intends to:
examine the importance of social media among Nigerian youths to be able to assist in the smooth usage of newly impacts as well as the social media towards the connectivity in the globe.
    The study also creates ideology to explaining existing opportunities in the society by pronouncing the relationship between the mass media and social media. The study also generates observation of he users (mostly youths) of the social media on it prominent activities and official benefits.
1.3    RESEARCH QUESTION
    For the purpose of this study, the following research questions are formulated.
i.    What is the nature of function (s) ascribed in the social media by Nigeria youths?
ii.    What influence dos the advent of social media have on the lives of youths?
iii.    Does the social media serves as substitute to the traditional mass media?
iv.    How does the social media attract youths to social activities and issues?
v.    What measure should be put in place to ensure responsible usage of social media among Nigerian youths?
vi.    What is the nature of communication exchange among the social media users?