**5. Importance of social media in Sub-Saharan Africa**

The importance of the use of social media in Africa cannot be overemphasized. In Sub-Sahara Africa, there is no aspect of human life that social media do not have an impact on. The importance of social media has been significantly reflected in our social life, economy, business transaction, education, etc. In "South Africa for example, it was affirmed that social media came with an important development in creating online participation, where people share, contribute and communicate knowledge and content on the Internet" [14–16]. Similarly, the importance of social media in human culture and values is that it deeply transforms humankind's culture and values. In just a few decades, social media platforms managed to permeate the society and ultimately changed their lives and play an integral role in the daily habits of people" [17].

The platforms also give people the opportunity to air their views on the problems and progress of society in evaluating successive governments' policies" [18]. And due to its ease of use, speed and reach, internet spread and connectivity are a vital component and a driver for e-governance. Not only does it provide a platform for dialogue and engagement among citizens, government and businesses but also offers citizens an opportunity to engage in governance, including demand for accountability" [19].

In education in Sub-Saharan Africa, "social media has demonstrated its strengths in connecting several stakeholders, including students to each other, teachers to themselves, students and teachers, all the entities in the university, as well as external actors" [20]. "Universities are not excluded from using social media to engage with their stakeholders. Unlike most other brands, universities do have a diverse range of stakeholders which inadvertently influences their communication strategies, suggesting the need to recognize and embrace the benefits and opportunities that social media can bring as a tool" [20]. Unfortunately, very few African universities have communication strategies and are present on social media, whereas Africa has one of the highest rates of social media use, given that young people are strongly represented. For many African institutions, social media is limited to entertainment and friendly exchanges. The strategic communication aspect is strongly neglected. Social media is exponentially invading many parts of African society, and education

*Perspective Chapter: The Use of Social Media in Sharing Information in Sub-Saharan Africa… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.108473*

is the most affected sector. This is because the majority of Internet users in Africa are mostly young, and this amount has doubled since 2010" [20].

Therefore, in conclusion, the review shows that social media network sites are very important to the region, particularly in areas of sharing health information, e-government, transforming culture and values, reporting news items and communicating knowledge.
