**3. The types of social media used in Sub-Saharan Africa**

We have many types of social media used in Sub-Saharan Africa and other parts of the world. Some authors in their research identified the various types of social media popularly use in Sub-Saharan Africa including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Zoom, Twitter, Skype, YouTube, WhatsApp, Google+, Blogs, ResearchGate, Pinterest, MS Teams, TikTok, Telegram, WeChat, Quora, SciHub, SciFinder, Gmail and Outlook [4, 5]. In Nigeria, Kutu and Kutu [4] attested that eight different types of social media networking sites are popularly used in Sub-Saharan Africa and as well in other parts of the world. Therefore, the authors outlined the eight social media networking sites to include:


Similarly, in Tanzania, "apart from Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Blogs, WhatsApp and Instagram, local popular social media platforms such as Jamii Forum, Michuzi blog, Mabadiliko forum, Millard Ayo blog, Mpekuzi blog, Bongo 5, Bongo-Lob, and others have been deployed to be used in various activities. Other sites with added social media features include newspaper sites such as the Citizen, Daily News, Global Publishers, and This Day" Bennett [6] and Stelzner [7]. And it was also revealed that "Facebook 86.55% was ranked the highest used social media, followed by YouTube 7.14%, Twitter 2.76%, Instagram 1.7%, and Pinterest 1.56% respectively are the top popular social media used in Africa (https://www.newsafrica.com). Each month, across Sub-Saharan Africa more than 95 million people access Facebook, with 97% of them using their mobile phones (https://facebook.com). It was further reported that, by the end of 2020, Nigeria was the country in West Africa with the largest number of Facebook subscribers. About 31.6 million users have a Facebook account, followed by Ghana with almost 8 million users [8].

A critical examination of the various reports, regarding the different types of social media used in Sub-Saharan Africa and other parts of the world, the paper established that additional customized types of social media are also used in Sub-Saharan Africa.

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

## **4. The purpose of social using media in Africa**

In Sub-Saharan Africa, like in any other part of the world, social media technologies are used for different purposes. Perhaps sharing of information is the major reason why many people widely embraced social media in both developed and developing countries. Sub-Saharan African countries are not industrial countries, so their major occupation is agriculture. Therefore, it is not out of place that social media are used in disseminating agricultural activities among the farmers and as well among buyers of farm products. Before the advent of social media technology, perhaps the inhabitants were solely depending on town hall meetings, cultural gatherings, community meetings, traditional rulers, and friends to gather information relating to fishing and farming activities. As of today, information relating to agricultural activities is shared at an accelerated speed with the aid of social media. There are different groups of users and, their purpose of usage differs from one group to another. In Africa, most users were confirmed using social media to keep in touch with friends or to measure the impact of services, build an audience, monitor trends, and stay informed. Others used them to read and watch online news, interact with colleagues, teach and learn, and do business [9]. In Nigeria, for example, it was discovered that librarians' purpose in using social media was to disseminate information and render services to library users. Similarly, in the education sector, African undergraduate and postgraduate students use social media for different academic purposes [10].

In South Africa, social media are used to develop online participation where people share, contribute and communicate knowledge and content on the Internet. The authors also revealed that the main academic purposes for which students used social media are learning, personal research/development, personal growth, and assignments [4]. In South Africa also, eNCA, SABC News, and Newsroom, Africa effectively employed Twitter to engage and keep their online audience abreast about the dangers, prevention measures, and containment of the coronavirus pandemic. Furthermore, the majority of rural-based youth who were active users of Twitter were always engaged and well-informed about the breaking news stories and spread of the Covid-19 pandemic [11]. The social media platform has become a site for the production and consumption of breaking news stories and a platform for the interaction between journalists and politicians". Recently, Twitter is the most used online platform by various news media organizations to disseminate news and timely information to the users" [11].

Similarly, the 23 anglophone Sub-Saharan African countries' national health ministries and infectious disease agencies disseminated COVID-19-related information through their social media accounts within the first three months after the declaration of COVID-19 as a pandemic by the World Health Organization. Over 86%of the African countries had a presence on social media; Facebook was the most popular, though Twitter contained more posts and information dissemination became more deliberate and increased significantly after the announcement of the first cases of COVID-19 in the countries under review. Awareness creation, updates, and news constituted the major categories of information that were disseminated, mostly in the form of derivative social media information before the announcement of the first COVID-19 case in the surveyed African countries" [12].

In the area of security, social media technologies used in Africa are a more or less double-edged sword. For example, the Government, particularly the security agencies used it to fight against crime and terrorist, and bandit activities while, in return, the terrorist and other criminal groups use the technology to advance crime and other

menaces in the continent. Some scholars in their various research affirmed these facts when they reported that "terrorists used Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and other social media platforms to attract, train and communicate with followers and potential recruits. Al-Shabaab, Boko Haram, Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), and other violent extremist groups in Africa now use social media to share voice and video messages" [13]. It was stated that:

"Al-Shabaab uses social media to share propaganda, recruit followers, coordinate activities, and secure access to funding, particularly active on Twitter, YouTube, and its al-kataib news channel and also use Video communication to focus on recruiting foreign fighters and demonstrating military strength. In areas with limited Internet access, the group uses radio programming to engage with local communities. Boko Haram also uses social media purposely to share propaganda, attract recruitment and coordinate its activities. Similarly, the ISIL also uses a very wide range of social media. Today, reports revealed that ISIL has a preference for Twitter but recently shifted to Telegram in response to Twitter crackdowns ISILs emphasis on social media is linked to its far-reaching international support base" [13].
