188 EXAMINING TEENS' LEVEL OF FACEBOOK USE IN SOUTHEAST NIGERIA: THE IMPACT OF PARENTAL MEDIATION Bartholomew Nnaemedo Department of Mass Communication, Abia State University Uturu & Walter Ihejirika Faculty of Communication and Media Studies, University of Port Harcourt & Paschal Ihechu, PhD Department of Mass Communication, Abia State University Uturu nnaemedobartholomew@gmail.com DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.33952.39688 Abstract This study examined the level of Facebook use of 15-19-year-old teens in SouthEast Nigeria: the impact of parental mediation. It embodied four research objectives and four research questions. The study's theoretical frameworks were the theories of planned behaviour and parental mediation. Besides, the study adopted a survey as its research design. The research instruments were questionnaires and informant interviews. The sample size for the questionnaire-based or quantitative survey research design was 400, calculated using the Taro Yamane formula. Besides, the sample size for the interview-based or qualitative survey research design was 40, obtained using the Hagaman and Wutich data saturation method. The study presented and analysed its data using a 5-Likert scale, frequency table, simple percentage, and weighted mean scores. The findings showed that 15-19-year-old teens operated functional Facebook accounts. Hence, Facebook was popular among them. The findings also indicated that most teens started to use Facebook after thirteen years of age. Further, the findings revealed that most teens spent 30 minutes to two hours per Facebook visit. Likewise, the findings showed that most teens used Facebook multiple times daily. Besides, the findings indicated that parental mediation positively and negatively impacted 15-19-year-old teens. Subsequently, this study recommends, among others, media literacy to ensure optimal Facebook use among teens and their parents. Keywords: Duration, Facebook, Parental mediation, Reactance, and Teenagers Introduction It is no longer news that contemporary society is a digital era, evidenced by the rapid phasing out of traditional media (Calvert, 2015). Hence, today, there is an emphasis on new media, especially social media, comprising collaborative projects, content communities, blogs and microblogs, virtual game worlds, virtual social worlds, and social networking sites (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010). Some examples of social networking are Twitter, Telegram, WhatsApp, YouTube, Facebook, etc. Today, Facebook leads other social networking sites, followed by YouTube and WhatsApp (Dixon, 2024; Statista, 2024a; Orioque, 2021). The London School of Economics and Political Science (2017) and Facebook Users by Country (2024) also classified it as the leading global social network site. As of Feb 9, 2024, the fourth quarter of 2024, Facebook has approximately 2.1 billion daily active users and 3.1 billion monthly active users (Statista, 2024b; Dixon, 2024; Kemp, 2024). It is the third most visited site, with Google and YouTube taking the first and second positions, respectively (Kemp, 2019; SimilarWeb, 2024). Extant studies have shown that young people are the most active users of Facebook (Rideout, Foehr, & Roberts, 2010; Monks et al., 2015; Calvert, 2015). The studies have also shown that the IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities. Vol. 10. No. 5, (2024) ISSN: 2488- 9210 (Print) 2504-9038 (Online) Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Tansian University, Umunya 189 extent of their Facebook use varies. For instance, Rideout et al.(2010) underscored that social media, especially MySpace, Facebook, and video sites such as YouTube, now consume more than seven and a half hours of teenagers between 8-18 years daily. However, Mensah & Solomon (2019) and Tayo, Adebola, & Yahya (2019) also stated that they consume much of young people's time. For instance, while Mensah & Solomon (2019) said they take 1-4 hours daily, Tayo et al. (2019) noted that they consume 2-3 hours daily. Extant studies showed that parents have employed several strategies to control their children's Facebook. They include restrictive mediation, active mediation, co-use, participatory learning, distant mediation, monitoring, interpretative, enabling, and wholeness approach (Livingstone & Helsper, 2008; Zaman, Nouwen, Van Attenhoven, de Ferrers & Looy, 2016; Smahelova, Juhová, Cermak, &Smahel, 2017). Despite previous studies on the level of Facebook use among young people, as shown above, there remains a knowledge gap concerning the level of Facebook use by 15-19-year-old teenagers in South-East Nigeria: considering parents mediation. It is this epistemological gap that this paper aims to fill. The study's location is South-East Nigeria, which includes Imo, Abia, Anambra, Enugu, and Ebonyi. Research objectives This study examines the level of Facebook use of 15-19-year-old teens in South-East Nigeria: the impact of parental mediation. Specifically, it i. Studies 15-19-year-old teens' Facebook statuses in SouthEast Nigeria, ii. Determines 15-19-year-old teens' frequency of Facebook use in SouthEast Nigeria, iii. Investigates 15-19-year-old teens' Facebook duration in SouthEast Nigeria and iv. Considers the impact of parental mediation on 15-19-year-old teens' level of Facebook use in SouthEast Nigeria. Research questions Centrally, this study raises the following research question: What is the level of Facebook use among 15-19-year-old teenagers in SouthEast Nigeria? Specifically, this study asks: i. What are the Facebook statuses of the 15-19-year-old teens in SouthEast Nigeria? ii. What is the frequency of Facebook use by 15-19-year-old teens in SouthEast Nigeria? iii. What is the duration of Facebook for 15-19-year-old teens in SouthEast Nigeria? iv. What impact does parental mediation have on 15-19-year-old teens' level of Facebook use in SouthEast Nigeria? Literature review To undertake a good literature review of the subject matter of this study, it is crucial to begin with the meaning of social media as an umbrella embodying social networking sites from which Facebook exists as a subset. The first work that deserves attention here is Nations (2021), which defines social media as web-based communication applications or tools that allow people to interact or interrelate with each other by sharing and consuming information. Likewise, Dollarhide (2023) defined social media as computer-based technology enabling users to exchange ideas, thoughts, and information through virtual networks and communities. The two definitions above show that social media are interactive and computer-mediated. Hence, Hadiapurwa, Joelene, Nugraha, & Komara (2023) correctly viewed social media as interactive digital channels for virtually creating and sharing information, ideas, and interests through communities and networks. Another interesting fallout from Hadiapurwa et al. (2023) is that it IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities. Vol. 10. No. 5, (2024) ISSN: 2488- 9210 (Print) 2504-9038 (Online) Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Tansian University, Umunya 190 emphasised user-generated content as one of social media's basic features. Social media embody collaborative projects, content communities, blogs and microblogs, virtual game worlds, virtual social worlds, and social networking sites (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010). Social networking sites include WhatsApp, YouTube, Telegram, Facebook, etc. Facebook is a foremost subset social networking site (Whatis.com, 2013; Kashif, 2013; Popiołek, 2015; Orioque, 2021; etc.). Chowdhury & Saha (2015) define it as an "internet-based social space designed to facilitate communication, collaboration, and content sharing across networks of contacts" (p.28). Likewise, Amante & Mendes (2017) described it as a social network site that enables or allows users to create profiles that join or combine information provided by themselves and their friends. Following Boyd (2008), Amante & Mendes (2017) assigned four functions to Facebook: persistence, replicability, scalability, and searchability. Persistence shows that the recording and archiving of online expressions are automatic. Replicability indicates that its content is duplicable. Scalability implies that the potential visibility of content in networked publics is great. Finally, searchability portrays that its content is accessible to the networked public through search. A significant aspect of Facebook concerns the frequency and duration of its use, especially among young people. Mathew, Ogedebe, & Ogedebe (2016) did empirical studies on the frequency of Facebook use in North-East Nigeria. The findings showed that most respondents accessed their Facebook accounts daily. Nevertheless, unlike this study, it did not focus its investigative searchlight on any particular age group. Mensah & Solomon (2019) undertook an empirical survey of Senior High School students in a related development. The findings indicate that young people spend 1-4 hours on social media daily. Likewise, Tayo et al. (2019) undertook a similar study among Obafemi Awolowo University undergraduate students and found that social media consumes 2-3 hours of their time daily. However, the last two empirical studies depict that young people use social media for diverse purposes such as socialisation, information sharing and gleaning, academic, business, and entertainment. Parents have also adopted measures to control their teens' Facebook use, such as restrictive mediation, co-use, active mediation, participatory learning, distant mediation, and a wholeness approach (Zaman et al. 2016). Besides, Smahelova et al. (2017) included supervision, parent as a role model, and trial and error to the list of strategies. Extant studies have also revealed that children sometimes resist parental mediation, leading to psychological reactance, which is an aversive affective reaction towards regulations that intrudes into their perceived freedom or autonomy (Brehm & Brehm, 1981; Valkenburg & Peter, 2013; Steindl, Jonas, Sittenthaler, Traut-Mattausch, & Greenberg, 2015; White, Rasmussen, & King, 2015; Liu, Wu, Sun, Bai, & Duan, 2023). The implication is that parental mediation could trigger teens' reactance. Theoretical framework The theoretical frameworks for this study are the theory of planned behaviour and parental mediation theory. Suffice it to discuss them one after the other. The theory of planned behaviour The theory of planned behaviour was advocated by Icek Ajzen in 1985. It arose from the theory of reasoned action proposed by Martin Fishbein and Icek Ajzen in 1980. It embodies six constructs: attitudes, behavioural intention, subjective norms, social norms, perceived power, and perceived behavioural control (Ajzen, 1991). Attitude is the extent to which a person IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities. Vol. 10. No. 5, (2024) ISSN: 2488- 9210 (Print) 2504-9038 (Online) Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Tansian University, Umunya 191 effectively or ineffectively appraises an interested behaviour. Behavioural intention represents the motivational factor influencing a given behaviour. A solid inclination to undertake the behaviour represents the probability of performing the behaviour. Subjective norms are beliefs about people's endorsement or discontent with a behaviour. Social norms stand for the customary behaviour and codes regulating a group. Perceived power is the perceived presence of factors that improve or impede behaviour performance. Perceived behavioural control portrays a person's perception of ease or difficulty intrinsic in interested behaviour performance (LaMorte, 2016). Therefore, the theory of planned behaviour enables one to understand people's attitudes, resulting in their physical actions. It aims to illuminate all behaviours in which one can exercise self-control. Besides, it can predict and explain many health-related issues and habits, such as smoking, drinking, utilisation of health services, breastfeeding, and substance use. Hence, it would help this study to examine the level of Facebook use by 15-19-year-old teenagers in SouthEast Nigeria. Parental mediation theory Nathanson (1999) was among the earliest literature on parental mediation theory, where he used it to discuss parental control of children's television use. Other literature used it to discuss parental regulation of children's online media (Cark, 2011; Zaman et al., 2016). Livingstone & Helspher (2008) applied it to all media. For Clark (2011), parental mediation theory has evolved to consider how parents utilise interpersonal communication to moderate the adverse effects they believe communication media has on their children. So, the theory deals with different ways parents control their children's Facebook use. It embodies active, restrictive, monitoring, co-use (co-viewing), distant and participatory mediation. Parental mediation theory is appropriate to this study as its components served as proper tools for determining the impact of parental mediation on the level of teens' Facebook use in SouthEast Nigeria. Research methodology This study used a quantitative (questionnaire-based) and qualitative (semi-structured informant interviews-based) survey research design. The target population is 3,002,493, and the study population is 1,904,376. The two are the 2022 projected populations of 13-19-year-old and 15- 19-year-old teens in SouthEast Nigeria, respectively. The projections for the two populations rest on the national population, which was conducted in 2006 (National Population Commission, 2020). The sample size for the quantitative survey research design is 400, calculated using the Taro Yamane formula. Besides, the sample size of the qualitative survey research design is 40, obtained using Hagaman & Wutich's (2017) data saturation method. The study also used secondary sources such as books, journals, the Internet, etc. Further, it analysed data using a 5- Likert scale, simple percentages and weighted mean scores. Data presentation and analysis The data presentation and analysis involve quantitative and qualitative data. The former entails tabular presentations of the four research questions outlined above, using a 5-Likert scale (ranging from Strongly Agree - Strongly Disagree), and analysed with a frequency table, simple percentage, and weighted mean scores. The latter, qualitative data presentation and analysis, follows it. Starting the two processes with research question one (RQ1) suffices. Here, RQ stands for Research Question. IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities. Vol. 10. No. 5, (2024) ISSN: 2488- 9210 (Print) 2504-9038 (Online) Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Tansian University, Umunya 192 RQ1: What are the Facebook statuses of 15-19-year-old teens in SouthEast Nigeria? To tackle research question one, the researcher asked the respondents to rate the three questions in Table One below. What follows is the result of their response. Table 1: Teens' Facebook users and their statuses Table 1, index 1, shows that 185 respondents strongly agreed that they have functional Facebook accounts, while 201 moderately supported them. The weighted mean score is 4.48, so accepted. Therefore, the findings indicated that all the respondents had functional Facebook accounts. Likewise, Table 1, index 2, portrays that 211 respondents use Facebook as their favourite social networking site, while 170 respondents do not use it in a like manner. However, only 5 respondents were indecisive. The weighted mean score is 3.18, so accepted. Thus, the findings showed that Facebook was the favourite social networking site of most 15-19-year-old teens in SouthEast Nigeria. Besides, Table 1, index 3, indicates that 54 respondents admit that they started using Facebook before 13 years of age, as opposed to 325 respondents who maintained a contrary view and 7 who were undecided about it. The weighted mean score is 2.04, so rejected. In the qualitative domain, 40 interviewees were asked whether they had a functional Facebook account, considered it their favourite, and opened it before they were 13. Interestingly, their responses corroborated the result of the quantitative analysis above. RQ 2: What is the frequency of Facebook use by 15-19-year-old teens in SouthEast Nigeria? The researcher asked the respondents three questions to address research question two, as shown in Table 2 below. The table also shows their responses. Table 2: Teens' frequency of teens' Facebook use Indices SA 5 A 4 U 3 D 2 SD 1 Σ f Σfx WMS X Remarks 1. I have functional Facebook accounts 185 47.9 % 201 52.1 % 0 0 0 386 100 % 1729 4.48 89.6% Accepted 2. Facebook is my favourite social networking site. 108 28% 103 26.7 % 5 1.3% 92 23.8 % 78 20.2 % 386 100 % 1229 3.18 63.6% Accepted 3. I began to use Facebook before 13 years of age 30 7.8% 24 6.2% 7 1.8% 196 50.8 % 129 33.4 % 386 100 % 788 2.04 40.8% Rejected IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities. Vol. 10. No. 5, (2024) ISSN: 2488- 9210 (Print) 2504-9038 (Online) Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Tansian University, Umunya 193 Table 2, index 4, indicates that 205 respondents admitted visiting Facebook multiple times a day, while 179 maintained a contrary view, and 2 were undecided. The weighted mean score is 3.21, so accepted. Therefore, the findings showed that 15-19-year-old teens in the SouthEast visited Facebook multiple times daily. Table 2, index 5 reveals that 76 respondents admitted using Facebook once a week, while 302 completely differed with them, and 8 were undecided. The weighted mean score is 2.43, so rejected. Hence, the findings showed that most 15-19-year-old teens in the SouthEast did not use Facebook weekly. Table 2, index 6 portrays that 17 respondents use Facebook once a month, while 364 disagreed with them, and 5 maintained undecided status. The weighted mean score is 2.08, quite below the average score, so rejected. Thus, the findings showed that most 15-19-year-old teens in the SouthEast did not use Facebook monthly. In the qualitative survey research design, the 40 interviewees were asked whether they used Facebook multiple times daily, weekly, or monthly. Their responses verify the result of the quantitative analysis above. Therefore, 15-19-year-old teens in the South visited Facebook multiple times daily. RQ 3: What is the duration of Facebook for 15-19-year-old teens in SouthEast Nigeria? To address the above research, the researcher asked the respondents three sub-questions, as shown in Table 3 below. The table also embodies their responses. Table 3: Teens' Facebook duration Indices SA 5 A 4 U 3 D 2 SD 1 Σ f Σfx WMS X Remarks 4. I use Facebook multiple times a day 120 31.1% 85 22% 2 0.5% 113 29.3% 66 17.1% 386 100% 1238 3.21 64.2% Accepted 5. I use Facebook Once a week 50 12.9% 26 6.7% 8 2.1% 256 66.3% 46 12% 386 100% 936 2.43 48.6% Rejected 6. I use Facebook Once a month 15 3.9% 2 0.5% 5 1.3% 340 88.1% 24 6.2% 386 100% 802 2.08 41.6% Rejected IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities. Vol. 10. No. 5, (2024) ISSN: 2488- 9210 (Print) 2504-9038 (Online) Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Tansian University, Umunya 194 Table 3, index 7 indicates that 63 respondents admitted that they visited Facebook beyond 2 hours daily, as against 320, which completely differed from them, and 3 maintained an undecided status. The weighted mean score is 2.40, so rejected. Table 1, index 8 indicates that 303 respondents admitted visiting Facebook between 30 minutes to 2 hours daily, 74 adopted a contrary view, and 9 opted for a neutral stance. The weighted mean score is 3.87 and is accepted as having scaled above the minimum score. Thus, the findings showed that most 15-19-year-old SouthEast teens visited Facebook between 30 minutes to 2 hours daily. Table 1, index 9 reveals that 78 respondents visited Facebook below 30 minutes daily, 311 maintained a contrary position, and 7 adopted a neutral stand. The weighted mean score is 2.32, so rejected since falling below the minimum score. Therefore, the findings showed that most 15- 19-year-old South-East teens did not visit Facebook for less than 30 minutes daily. From the qualitative domain, the researcher asked the 40 interviewees about the duration of their Facebook use, the rationale behind the duration, and their uses of the site. Interestingly, their response to the first sub-question aligned with the quantitative survey results for teens' duration of Facebook visits. Their response to the second sub-question indicated that the socio-economic situation informed the duration of teens' Facebook of the geopolitical zone. Finally, their response to the third sub-question showed that 15-19-year-olds visited Facebook for information gathering and dissemination, to connect with people, etc. Nevertheless, they noted that some teens abused the site. RQ 4: What impact did parental mediation have on 15-19-year-old teens' level of Facebook use in South-East Nigeria? The researcher asked the respondents five questions to address research question four, as shown in Table four below. What follows is the outcome of their response. Indices SA 5 A 4 U 3 D 2 SD 1 Σ f Σfx WMS X Remarks 7. I visit Facebook for more than 2 hours daily. 50 12,9% 13 3.4% 3 0.8% 296 76.7% 24 6.2% 386 100% 927 2.40 48% Rejected 8. I visit Facebook between 30 minutes to 2 hours daily 125 32.4% 178 46.1% 9 2.3% 56 14.5% 18 4.7% 386 100% 1494 3.87 77.4% Accepted 9. I visit Facebook below 30 minutes daily 46 11.9% 22 5.7% 7 1.8% 245 63.5% 66 17.1% 386 100% 895 2.32 46.4% Rejected IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities. Vol. 10. No. 5, (2024) ISSN: 2488- 9210 (Print) 2504-9038 (Online) Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Tansian University, Umunya 195 Table 4: Impact of parental mediation on the level of teens' Facebook use IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities. Vol. 10. No. 4, (2024) ISSN: 2488- 9210 (Print) 2504-9038 (Online) Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Tansian University, Umunya Table 4, index 10, indicates that 175 respondents admitted that their parents' efforts to monitor Indices SA 5 A 4 U 3 D 2 SD 1 Σ f Σfx WM S X Remark s 10. My parents' efforts to monitor my Facebook use violate my online privacy. 92 83 49 78 84 38 6 1179 3.05 Accepte d Percentage (%) 23. 8 21. 5 12. 7 20. 2 21. 8 10 0 61 11. It is proper for my parents to set rules about where I can use Facebook. 101 113 51 40 81 38 6 1271 3.29 Accepte d Percentage (%) 26. 1 29. 3 13. 2 10. 4 21 10 0 65.8 12. It makes for my Facebook safety. 110 103 58 54 61 38 6 1305 3.38 Accepte d Percentage (%) 28. 5 26. 7 15 14 15. 8 10 0 67.6 13. It makes me adopt secret ways to bypass my parents' control of my Facebook use, such as password-hiding, co- use avoidance, etc. 98 95 42 64 87 38 6 1211 3.14 Accepte d Percentage (%) 25. 4 24. 6 10. 9 16. 4 22. 5 10 0 62.8 14. It makes me seek peer support for my Facebook activities. 78 97 54 81 76 38 6 1178 3.05 Accepte d Percentage (%) 20. 2 25. 1 14 21 19. 7 10 0 61 IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities. Vol. 10. No. 5, (2024) ISSN: 2488- 9210 (Print) 2504-9038 (Online) Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Tansian University, Umunya 196 their Facebook activities violated their online privacy. Then, 162 opposed the view, while 49 were indecisive. The weighted mean is 3.05 and hence accepted. Subsequently, the findings revealed that parental Facebook monitoring mediation violated the Facebook privacy of 15-19- year-old teens. Table 4, index 11, shows that 214 respondents upheld that it is proper for their parents to set rules to restrict their places of Facebook use, while 121 disagreed with the proposition. 51 were undecided. The weighted mean is 3.29, and so is accepted. The findings showed that most 15-19- year-old teens in the zone admitted the appropriateness of their parents' location-based rule- setting measures. Table 4, index 12, shows that 213 respondents agreed that parental mediation is for their online safety. I15 opposed it, while 58 were undecided. The weighted mean score is 3.38 and hence accepted. So, the findings showed that most teens held that parental mediation is for their online safety. Table 4, index 13 shows that 193 respondents admitted that parental mediation made them adopt secret online behaviours to bypass their parents' Facebook control. I51 opposed it, while 42 were undecided. The weighted mean score is 3.14 and hence accepted. So, the findings showed that most teens maintained that they adopted secret online measures against their parents' Facebook mediation. Table 4, index 14 indicates that 175 respondents admitted their parents' attempts to control their Facebook use made them seek peer support for their Facebook activities. 157 opposed it, while 54 were undecided. The weighted mean score is 3.05, so it is accepted. The finding showed that parental mediation made the teens seek peer support for their Facebook activities. In the area of qualitative analysis, the researcher asked the 40 interviewees whether their parents' efforts at moderating their Facebook use violated their online privacy, made them adopt secret online parental mediation bypass measures, sought peer support for their Facebook activities, or whether it was for their online safety and whether they considered the location-related rules set by their parents as proper. Their answers corroborated the findings from the quantitative analysis. Discussion of findings The analysis of the first research questions indicated a high level of Facebook usage among 15- 19-year-old teens in the SouthEast, as portrayed in indices 1-3 in Table 1. Index 1 shows that all the respondents (386 or 100%) had functional Facebook accounts. Index 2 reveals that most (211 or 54.66%) used the site as their favourite. Index 3 indicates that most (325 or 84.20%) began to use the site after thirteen years. The quantitative survey results corroborated the above findings. Therefore, the above findings helped the researcher address the first research question by asserting that examination of Facebook statuses of 15-19-year-old SouthEast teens indicated that they had functional Facebook, most regarded Facebook as their favourite site and visited it between 30 minutes to 2 hours daily. The above findings validate Mahmood et al. (2019), Okocha & Agbele (2023), and Statista (2024a&b). These works of literature underscore the popularity of Facebook among young people compared with their usage of other social networking sites. The findings also validate the theory of planned behaviour, which indicates how teens' constant interaction with the Facebook virtual setting can improve their site usage. IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities. Vol. 10. No. 5, (2024) ISSN: 2488- 9210 (Print) 2504-9038 (Online) Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Tansian University, Umunya 197 Also, the findings from the analysis of the second research question showed a high frequency of Facebook use among 15-19-year-old teens in the SouthEast, as depicted in indices 4-6 in Table 2. Index 4 shows that 205 (53.12%) respondents used Facebook multiple times daily. Index 5 indicates that 302 (78.24%) objected to using Facebook weekly. Index 6 shows that 364 (94.30%) objected to using it monthly. The result of the qualitative survey also agreed with the findings above. Therefore, the above findings enabled the researcher to address the second research question thus: 15-19-year-old teens in the SouthEast used Facebook multiple times daily. The findings corroborate those of Mathew et al. (2016), who showed that Facebook users access it daily. However, unlike in this study, the users are mixed up. The findings also further confirm the theory of planned behaviour, which indicates how teens' continuous interaction with the Facebook virtual environment could enhance their site usage. Besides, the third research question analysis showed a long duration of Facebook use among 15- 19-year-old teens in the SouthEast, as portrayed in indices 7-9 in Table 3. Index 7 shows that 320 (82.90%) respondents rejected visiting Facebook beyond 2 hours daily. Index 8 indicates that 303 (78.50%) accepted visiting Facebook between 30 minutes to 2 hours daily. Index 9 shows 311 (80.57%) disagreed that they visited Facebook below 30 minutes daily. The qualitative survey results corroborate the findings above. Further, it portrayed that socio-economic factors, such as availability of power supply, funds, etc, influenced teens' duration of Facebook visits. It also showed that teens visited Facebook for information gathering, sharing, and other interpersonal reasons. Therefore, the above findings helped the research to address the third research question thus: 15- 19-year-old teens in the SouthEast visited Facebook between 30 minutes to 2 hours daily for information gathering and sharing and other interpersonal reasons; the duration, which depended on socio-economic factors such as availability of power supply, fund, etc. However, this study differs somewhat from Mensah & Solomon (2019) and Tayo et al. (2019) regarding the duration of a Facebook site visit. First, the extant works of literature were not specifically on Facebook but on social media in general. Second, they differed in terms of time range. For instance, while Mensah & Solomon (2019) put it at 1-4 hours, Tayo et al. (2019) had it as 2-3 hours. The findings of this study showed that 15-19-year-old teens in SouthEast Nigeria spend between 30 minutes to 2 hours per Facebook visit. Perhaps the differences in duration between this study and previous ones could also have arisen due to the socio-economic factors cited above. As teens require light sources to charge their phones, such affects the duration of their Facebook visits. The findings also validate the theory of planned behaviour, which indicates how teens' constant interaction with the Facebook virtual setting can improve their site usage. For example, it portrays how teens, due to their experience of the positive comments about others' posts, are encouraged to imitate or take to and repeat similar actions, resulting in constant site visits. Therefore, Facebook's popularity, frequency and long duration among 15-19-year-olds in SouthEast Nigeria could have arisen due to reinforcement given to the site by other users, ipso facto, authenticating the theory of learned behaviour. The analysis of the fourth research question shows parental mediation had positive and negative impacts on 15-19-year-old teens in the zone, as depicted in indices 10-14 in Table 4. Index 10 IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities. Vol. 10. No. 5, (2024) ISSN: 2488- 9210 (Print) 2504-9038 (Online) Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Tansian University, Umunya 198 shows that 175 respondents admitted that parental Facebook monitoring mediation violated their Facebook privacy. Index 11 indicates that 214 held that it was proper for their parents to set rules to restrict their places of Facebook use. Index 12 reveals that 213 respondents admitted that parental mediation was for their online safety. Index 13 indicates that 193 respondents agreed that their parents moderated their Facebook use and made them adopt secret Facebook bypass measures. Index 14 reveals that 175 respondents agreed that their parents' efforts to control their Facebook use made them seek peer support for their Facebook activities. The findings of the qualitative analysis verified the above findings. Hence, the findings above enable the researcher to address the fourth research question by stating that parental mediation positively and negatively impacted 15-19-year-old SouthEast teens' Facebook use. Positively, as it was for their online safety, its location-based rules were considered proper. Negatively, it infringed on their online privacy, made them adopt secret behaviours, and sought peer influence. The findings above corroborate Sadiku, Ashaolu, Ajayi-Majebi, & Musa (2021) on the need for parents to set rules towards their teens' online safety. The results also verify Harrison-Evans & Krasodomski-Jones (2017) and Liu et al. (2023), who critiqued parental monitoring mediation as possessing the possibility of generating counterproductive attitudes in young people. Also, the findings authenticate the theory of planned behaviour, as parental mediation coupled with proper motivation could lead to teens' view of the parents' Facebook measure as something meant for their safety. The theory also explains why improper parental mediation and motivation could negatively impact teens. The findings also verify parental mediation theory, which considers how parents use interpersonal communication to regulate the antithetical effects they believe communication media has on their children. Summary of findings This study examined the level of Facebook use by 15-19-year-old teenagers in SouthEast Nigeria: the impact of parental mediation. Subsequently, below is the summary of the findings: i. Most 15-19-year-old SouthEast teens had functional Facebook, regarded Facebook as their favourite site, and visited it between 30 minutes to 2 hours daily. ii. Most 15-19-year-old teens in the SouthEast use Facebook multiple times daily. iii. Most 15-19-year-old teens in the SouthEast visited Facebook between 30 minutes to 2 hours daily for information gathering and sharing and other interpersonal reasons; the duration depended on socio-economic factors such as availability of power supply, funds, etc. iv. Most 15-19-year-old teens in the SouthEast admitted that their parents' Facebook mediation had positive and negative impacts on them. Conclusion This study dealt with Facebook, a social networking site. It examined the level of Facebook use among 15-19-year-old teens in SouthEast Nigeria. It discovered a high level of site usage in the zone. Besides, the findings also showed that teens visited it between 30 minutes to 2 hours daily, and most used it multiple times daily for diverse interpersonal engagements that could be constructive or deconstructive. Further, the study discovered that the duration of site use is influenced by socio-economic factors such as the availability of power supply, funds, etc. That explains the difference in duration between this study and previous ones. The users need electricity to charge their phones for subsequent Facebook activities. Whereby this is unavailable, the duration of their site use is also affected. Besides, the study found that parental mediation positively and negatively impacted teens. The study finally recommends that parents IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities. Vol. 10. No. 5, (2024) ISSN: 2488- 9210 (Print) 2504-9038 (Online) Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Tansian University, Umunya 199 and stakeholders involved in teens' development should embark on media literacy to train parents and teens on responsible Facebook usage. It also suggests that parents employ tested and more advanced Facebook users to teach their teens how best to use the site. Further, parents should create activities that regulate their teens' Facebook activities towards responsible site use. Recommendations Given the level of Facebook among 15-19-year-old teens in the SouthEast, as depicted in the findings, this study recommends the following in tandem with the research objectives: i. Since Facebook trends among most 15-19-year-old teens in SouthEast Nigeria, there should be stress on media literacy in the zone using various platforms available here, such as churches, schools, traditional authorities, etc. Media literacy is for parents and teens. Parents ought to know about the site to moderate their teens' usage of it better. Nemo dat quod non habet – no one gives what he does not have. ii. Parents should engage their teens in monitored activities that encourage optimal Facebook usage to moderate the frequency of their Facebook usage. Parents who cannot employ sophisticated monitoring instruments can use other activities within their control, such as ensuring their teens have study timetables and keeping to them. iii. Parents should teach their teens proper use of time by letting them know there is time for everything. Such would expose teens to the danger of time-wasting on their Facebook accounts. iv. Parents should avoid Facebook's mediatory actions that could demean the dignity of the teenagers. References Ajzen, I. (199 1). The theory of planned behaviour. Organisational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. 50. 179-211. 10.1016/0749-5978(91)90020-T Amante, L & Mendes, C.M. (2017). 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