Exposure to David Jones's "Si Mba" Music Track on YouTube and Its Influence on COOU Undergraduate Students against Drug Abuse

Music has long been a tool for socialization, advocacy, and behavioral influence. With the rise of digital platforms, music tracks addressing social issues have gained widespread attention. David Jones’s “Si Mba” music track on YouTube is one such piece designed to discourage drug abuse among the youth. This study investigates the extent of exposure to the “Si Mba” music track by David Jones among COOU undergraduate students and the influence of such exposure on the respondents. The objectives that guided the work are to ascertain the frequency of exposure to David Jones “Si Mba” music track on YouTube by the respondents, assess their perception of the song, and evaluate its influence in shaping attitudes toward drug abuse. Social learning and Reception theories served as the theoretical framework underpinning this study. Survey research method served in this research with 17,257 COOU undergraduate students as the population of the study, which population was obtained from the office of the Registrar of the institution. Using Cozby’s table, a sample size of 370 respondents was selected. Findings revealed that a significant number of students have been exposed to “Si Mba” music track on YouTube and they acknowledge its strong anti-drug abuse message. The study also shows that digital platforms like YouTube are powerful tools for contents. However, the effectiveness of such messages depends on individual interpretation and pre-existing beliefs about drug use. Based on these findings, the study recommends that policymakers, educators and media practitioners leverage digital platforms for anti-drug abuse campaigns. Further research is suggested to examine the long-term impact of music-based advocacy on students’ attitudes toward drug abuse and other social vices.