Abstract
Social media is a group of internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0 and allow the creation and exchange of user-generated content. While the social media have been gaining wide attraction among young people, there is concern over the adverse consequences of exposing children to the excessive social media usage. This paper explored some challenges of the social media to the Nigerian child. Using documentary sources, the paper identified some of the undesirable influences of the social media; employed the Bandura’s social learning theory to explain the possibility of the Nigerian child imitating some of the unwanted contents of the social media; and canvasses for a way out of the social media negative influence on the Nigerian child. Among others, the paper advocates for parental censorship of social media use among children as well as due consideration by relevant authorities for the contents flowing online.