FACULTY OF COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA STUDIES

This study evaluated social media as a communication tool for promoting effective public relations among organisations in Benin City. The study was guided by the Uses and Gratifications Theory and the Social Media Engagement Theory. The Objectives of the study were to: Identify the social media platforms most commonly used by organisations for public relations, ascertain how organisations use social media to communicate with the public, investigate the effectiveness of social media in improving PR outcomes and identify the challenges organisations face when using social media for public relations. The study used a survey research design and administered 258 questionnaires to undergraduate mass communication students at the University of Benin. The data was collected and analysed using descriptive statistics. The findings revealed that Facebook and X are the most commonly used platforms for public relations in Benin City. Organisations primarily use social media for oneway communication, such as product information, customer service, and press releases, with the most common posting frequency being daily or weekly. Social media was thought to be generally effective in increasing visibility, audience reach and cost-effectiveness, but its effectiveness in crisis management was moderate. The main challenges were identified as an unreliable power supply, poor internet connectivity, and a lack of professional expertise. The study concludes that, while social media adoption for public relations is high in Benin City, organizations must embrace interactive engagement, invest in professional training, and address infrastructure challenges to achieve the best PR results.

A Documentary film has become a veritable tool in the broadcasting industry, used to propagate and sensitise society towards social issues that must be understood and/or changed. As such this research studied how documentary films foster behavioural change in University of Benin students of Mass Communication Department. Its objectives were to assess the audience reception of documentary film, examine the awareness-creating capability of documentary films on social issues, to what extent documentary films have influence viewers attitudes on social issues and to ascertain if documentary film foster behavioural change among audiences. Survey research design was adopted and data collected using questionnaires and in depth interview. Findings established that documentary films made social issues understandable and have the capacity to expose audience to social problems they knew nothing about. Documentary film influences viewers' attitudes and perceptions on social issues by helping them understand problems through various perspectives and the study also showed that documentary films can foster behavioral change among audience, and sensitize society towards social responsibility. The study concludes that Documentary films are persuasive channels of communication that can affect attitudes, increase knowledge and instigate favorable behaviors among its viewers. As such, documentary films addressing social issues should be produced more frequently and distributed through appropriate media channels to sensitize society

This study examined the Impact of Social Media on Drugs Usage among Youth: A Case Study of Upper Sakponba in Nigeria. The study sampled 395 respondents in Upper Sakponba, Benin City and was anchored on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and Social Learning theories. The findings revealed that drugs usage among youth in Upper Sakponba, Benin City, Nigeria, is significantly correlated with social media, with Instagram serving as the main platform for drug-related content. The results show that easy access to drugs and cultural normalisation are major contributors to drug abuse, along with poverty, unemployment, peer pressure and a lack of parental guidance. The study further suggests that focused social media interventions, ethical influencer marketing, digital literacy courses and community-based projects. Stakeholders can encourage healthy lifestyles, offer counseling services and lower youth drug abuse by utilising social media platforms