What is the impulse behind your work?

Dr. Blessing Adeoye: The Internet is clearly changing the way people receive and transmit information. It enables individuals to communicate with one another regardless of their locations. In Nigeria in particular, these changes can be seen in the life of our youth. Many are found at Internet cafés and other places where they have the opportunities to use the Internet. Many are found on the Internet chatting with friends, families, and often even with strangers from various part of the world.

While parents, guardians, and teachers are happy that these young people are able to compete globally with other students around the world, it is not really clear if the Internet is contributing positively to their academic and professional development. I often visit a local Internet café, and I have and found many people surfing on pornography websites and both young boys and girls chatting with strangers and discussing sexual issues and exchanging personal information.

In fact, I have even seen young girls exposing their breasts before the camera to their online "friends". I have also seen many young people sending messages seeking others' financial information and making well-known fake promises of transferring millions of dollars into their correspondents' accounts.

Despite these saddening abuses, we are curious about how young people create social reality through the Internet. When they seek friendships online, which kinds of relationships do they actually develop? Who do they chat with and what are the natures of their online chatting?

Who is involved in the project?

Dr. Blessing Adeoye: We started this investigation with the students at the University of Lagos. The gender composition of the participants was 53.6% male and 46.4% female. In regard to the participants' ages, 78% were between 15 and 35 years old. Nineteen percent (19%) were between 26 and 36 years old. The participants represented various educational levels, but the majority are from the Faculty of Education.

What are the principal aims of the research?

Dr. Blessing Adeoye: Our goal was to explore virtual construction of social reality through the Internet and its applications among Nigerian university students. Many students did not reply sincerely to the questions we asked them in the survey instrument because many were not comfortable with the questions. They did not know what our objectives were, and some were afraid of being set up for arrest, etc.

What is the future direction of the work?

Dr. Blessing Adeoye: We are hoping to expand this study beyond the university campuses, and we also plan to use direct observations in the near future to support our current findings. The outcome of this study will help educators understand how students develop relationships online and how these relationships might enhance their learning.