Social Media as a Facilitator of Youth Involvement in Cybercrime (Yahoo-Yahoo) in Nigeria: A Systematic Review

The rapid proliferation of social media platforms has revolutionised interpersonal communication, commerce, and networking globally; simultaneously, it has established novel conduits for cybercriminal exploitation. While empirical studies increasingly implicate social media in facilitating youth engagement in cyber-fraud (popularly termed Yahoo-Yahoo in Nigeria), empirical synthesis of platform-specific affordances and reinforcing socio-economic drivers remains fragmented. Grounded in Akers ’ Social Learning Theory and Cohen and Felson ’s Routine Activity Theory, this study conducts an integrative systematic review adhering to the PRISMA 2020 protocol to synthesise statistical evidence published between January 2021 and May 2026. Systematic literature queries across primary scholarly repositories yielded 30 initial records; following duplicate removal and stringent dual-stage eligibility screening, 18 primary empirical investigations comprising primary youth, student, and convict samples across geopolitical zones in Nigeria were included in the final qualitative synthesis. Methodological quality and risk of bias were appraised via the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Critical Appraisal Checklist for Analytical Cross-Sectional Studies. The synthesis demonstrates that social media platforms predominantly Facebook (16.7%), Instagram (16.7%), X/Twitter (16.7%), and WhatsApp (11 . 1%) serve as digital criminogenic ecosystems facilitating peer recruitment, technique diffusion, fraudulent profiling, and the ostentatious glorification of illicit wealth. Concurrently, youth involvement is strongly reinforced by endemic youth unemployment (55.6% of studies), intense peer influence (55.6%), acute poverty and economic distress (27.8%), the pervasive "get-rich-quick" syndrome (22.2%), and structural moral decadence (22.2%). The study concludes that social media functions not as an autonomous causal agent, but as an opportunity-rich learning and operational environment. Policy interventions must prioritise platform-specific digital guardianship, institutionalised cybersecurity curriculum integration, values realignment, and structured socio-economic youth empowerment programmes.