X’s role in shaping mental health conversations in Nigeria

This study investigates the impact of tweets on mental health discussion and cultural taboos in Nigeria, user perceptions, and engagement on X. This study seeks to explore the impact of tweets on mental health discussion and how they break cultural taboos in Nigeria. Using a qualitative method, data were gathered by conducting semi-structured interviews among 15 Nigerian X users. Thematic analysis was performed to comprehend the manner in which tweets influence mental health discourse, specifically within the framework of entrenched cultural and religious beliefs. The findings show that although X unlocks more discourses, especially among young Nigerians, stigmas are still present with cultural stigmas being reinforced by tweets that attribute mental illness to spiritual reasons. While some users gain support and personal insight from such forums, fear of adverse reaction and criticism nevertheless constrains personal participation. While X offers a forum for the disruption of mainstream assumptions, the site’s brevity and public format operate to exclude more meaningful, substantial debate. In sum, while X is a valuable platform for raising mental health awareness in Nigeria, its constraints—among them the character limit and the prevailing cultural stigma—mean that offline education and expert campaigns are the way forward to more sustainable change. The novelty of the research is that it is set against the Nigerian background, and the intricacy of social media utilization for mental health campaigning in a nation where there are strongly rooted cultural taboos.