The 20th annual Symposium will be held on Thursday, April 23, 2009.

Media Portrayal of America and its Influence on Young People’s Migration Intentions in Nigeria
Norris 104, 1:30 PM

Amanda  Vocke,   '10 66
   Majors: French, Spanish
   Hometown: Otsego, MI

Sponsor(s): ‘Dimeji Togunde
Support: FURSCA

Abstract: 
The question of why people migrate has attracted a plethora of theoretical disquisitions especially in the last four decades. But as useful as these theories are, research shows that they do not explain the possible influence of such societal agencies as the media. In an era of media globalization and free-trans-border flow of media products, it is incomplete to account for international migration intentions without factoring in the media. As such, the objective of this research is to examine the extent to which the media influence the intentions of young people in Nigeria to migrate to the United States. We examine the image of the US presented in the Nigerian media through interviews/survey of 678 Nigerian undergraduates, content analysis of media reports, and qualitative data obtained from focus group discussions. In using multiple methodological approaches, we want to examine if young people engaged in any selectivity process in their treatment of information about the US. Findings show that Nigerian undergraduates receive a wide array of information about the US: positive, negative and mixed; true and false, but most of them believe only positive information. Negative portrayal of the US by some of the media is incapable of discouraging migration intentions. Almost 90% of our respondents want to visit the US, and more than half want to go as permanent residents because it is a place where dreams of comfort and success can be easily realized. Some could abandon their studies if given the opportunity to relocate to the US, even when they have just a few months to complete their studies.

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