International Journal of English Literature and Culture

Vol. 9(4), pp. 109-117, June 2021

 ISSN: 2360-7831

DOI: 10.14662/IJELC2021.120

 

Review

 

Abstract

 

The globalized and deregulated processes of informational production can, in Castells’ thought, be understood through the main concept of the network. Production, rather than mass and ‘routinized’, relies instead in the formation of informational networks, which generate the information, knowledge and techniques that lead to a more rationalized or efficient production. These informational networks operate as add-ons to industrial production rather than replacing it. The paper adopts Political Economy Theory and utilizes the descriptive research method whereby relevant literature, documents and records were consulted and analyzed based on existing literature. The paper discovered that the economic potentials of the social media would translate to economic success for Nigerians only to the extent social media has penetrated among the population. Without social media platforms being at the disposal of a reasonable portion of the population, realizing its economic benefits becomes a mirage. Again, low literacy rate is still a formidable challenge for African countries in their bid to maximize the economic opportunities offered by the social media. Similarly, social media is information technology-based and so its thriving requires ample availability of relevant information technology hardware and software. The paper concludes that within the conceptual framework of the political economy theory, which is understood as a collective term for theories and approaches that stress the necessity of analyzing the interrelations between economic processes and specific political circumstances. This concern, which might sound banal, is given a more meaningful twist when one look at the development of the interpretations that have been nurtured by it.

 

Keywords: Appraisal, new media, information capitalism, Nigeria and political economy.  

 

Cite This Article As: Yar’Adua, SM., Namadi, HM.,Msughter, AE(2021). An Appraisal of Political Economy of New Media in Nigerian Context. Inter. J. Eng. Lit. Cult. 9(4):109-117