Over 40m Nigerians spend six hours daily on social media – NDPC

Over 40 million Nigerians spend an average of six hours daily on social media, according to the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC).

Vincent Olatunji, the national commissioner, of NDPC, gave the statistics during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) and social media influencer Enioluwa Adeoluwa in Abuja.

Olatunji emphasised the importance of data privacy and understanding the risks associated with sharing personal information on social media platforms.

According to him, “Over 40 million Nigerians use social media daily for an average of six hours and they need to know how delicate the information they provide online is.”

Read also: Top 5 African countries with the highest average time spent on social media.

He noted that the NDPC has been actively educating Nigerians on data protection since the enactment of the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA), in 2022, however, there was still more work to be done, especially to reach individuals in rural areas who may be unaware of their rights.

“There is a clarion call globally for the protection of rights, privacy and countries are deploying emerging technologies to protect the rights of their citizens,” Olatunji noted.

He further emphasised that with about 65 per cent of Nigerian youth actively engaging on social media for both personal and business purposes, the platforms offer an ideal opportunity for the NDPC to spread its message.

“We have over 65 million Nigerians using social media platforms, and it’s critical we use these platforms to reach them with vital information about data protection,” he explained.