An Analysis of Social Media Influence on Juvenile Delinquency in Murang’a East Sub County, Murang’a County, Kenya

Abstract

Juvenile delinquency pertains to the involvement of minors in criminal conduct. Juvenile criminality is on the increase around the globe and this could be attributed to the social, economic upheavals and transformations that have taken place in Africa and around the world. The specific objectives of this study were to determine how social media influence abuse of drugs in adolescents, to evaluate how social media influences the culture of violence in adolescents, to investigate the relationship between social media and truancy amongst adolescents in schools and to establish how social media contributes to moral decadence in adolescents. The study adopted the theory of planned behavior, the social learning theory and the social information processing theory. The study looked into how social media use affects juvenile criminality using a survey method. The investigation was conducted in Murang'a County, Kenya, specifically in Murang'a East Sub County. The study focused on the 36 secondary schools recognized by the Ministry of Education office in Murang'a East Sub County. Purposive sampling was chosen as the favored approach from a sample frame of 125 secondary schools in Murang'a East Sub-County due to the large number of schools. A total of 96 respondents, comprising 80 pupils from two schools and 16 head teachers, were included in this study. As primary data gathering methods, interviews, key informant interviews, and focus group discussions were used in the study. The analysis of findings disclosed that social media exerted an influence on drug abuse among adolescents in schools within Murang’a East Sub-county. According to the respondents, social media contributed to the development of a violent culture among teenagers. Additionally, the study discovered that teenage school absenteeism was influenced by social media. Most respondents firmly thought that social media use was to blame for a discernible increase in moral decadence incidents in schools. The study concluded that drug misuse in Murang'a East Sub County was impacted by social media. Furthermore, it was determined that social media had a role in the culture of violence and absenteeism that prevailed among teenagers attending schools in the Murang'a East Sub County. The results also indicated that teenagers in the designated region's schools were experiencing moral degeneration due to social media use. The report suggests that school boards and administrators take a more active role in advising juveniles on safe usage of social media. It also recommends more parental supervision for juveniles when it comes to social media usage.