FROM SCREENS TO STREETS: SOCIAL MEDIA'S INFLUENCE AND PEER PRESSURE IN THE RISE OF RITUAL KILLINGS AMONG YOUTHS IN IBADAN METROPOLIS

Abstract

Ritual killings among youths in Nigeria, especially in Oyo State, represent a significant societal issue rooted in socio-economic and cultural challenges. These violent acts are increasingly driven by peer pressure and the pervasive influence of social media, which shape young people's aspirations for social acceptance and perceived wealth. Many youths are compelled to engage in ritual killings due to the glorification of such acts within their social circles, while social media distorts perceptions of success and normalizes criminal behaviors. The study examines the impacts of peer pressure on pathway to ritual killings among youth killings, the role of the social media world towards the pathway for ritual killings among youths, the incidences of youth ritual killings and effects of ritual killings amongst youths. The study anchored itself on Social Learning Theory. The study engaged an exploratory and qualitative research methodology and collected data through 5 in-depth interviews, 10 key informant interview. The increasing pressure on Nigerian youth to engage in ritual killings highlights a disturbing social and cultural crisis. This form of violence, driven by desires for quick wealth, is symptomatic of deeper societal issues such as economic hardship, lack of education, peer pressure, and moral erosion. Hence, the volume of content portraying wealth and success achieved from the perpetration of crime or violence should be reduced, and likewise collaboration must be done by governments and other relevant parties with the owners of social media. Film industries like Nollywood should be encouraged in the direction of producing content that focuses on the consequences of such crime and violence, rather than aggrandizing them.

Keywords: Peer Pressure, Ritual Killings, Social Media, Social Learning Theory, Ibadan Metropolis