Awareness and Utilization of Social Media Tools in Tracking Social Intervention Projects among Rural Women in Rivers State, Nigeria

The study investigated the awareness and utilization of social media tools in tracking Social Intervention Projects (SIPs) among women in rural households in Rivers State. A multi-stage random sampling procedure was used to select a sample size of 450 women from the study area. Data were collected using a questionnaire validated by the researchers, while descriptive and inferential statistical tools were used to analyze data. The result from the study showed that the majority of the respondents were within the age range of 31-40 years (mean age = 39 years), 47.4% had no-formal education, 88.8% were married, 58.2% of them have a household size of 4-6 persons, 33.2% and 32.1% are traders and farmers, respectively. Social media tools utilized are instant messages (98.0%) and WhatsApp (97.4%). SIPs provided were FADAMA (mean = 3.17), Skill Acquisition Training (mean = 2.83), among others. Tools used to access information for SIPs were Facebook (mean = 2.63), WhatsApp (mean = 3.03) and Instant Messages (mean = 2.99). The result showed that there was awareness in the use of WhatsApp (mean = 3.38) and Instant messages (mean = 3.81 in tracking SIPs among women. The study recommends that efforts should be made by non-governmental organizations, rural-based organizations and agencies to train rural women on the use of social media tools.