International Journal of Applied Research in Social Sciences, Volume 5, Issue 6, August 2023 Kefe & Oji, P.No. 143-158 Page 143 PERCEPTION OF SOCIAL MEDIA REPORTAGE OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC AMONG YOUNG PERSONS IN DELTA STATE Echaranini Kefe 1 & Majority Oji 2 1&2 Department of Mass Communication Delta State University, Abraka, Nigeria. ______________________________________________________________________________ *Corresponding Author: Echaranini Kefe Corresponding Author Email: Kefe.echaranini@gmail.com Article Received: 05-07-23 Accepted: 24-07-23 Published: 02-08-23 Licensing Details: Author retains the right of this article. The article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 License (http://www.creativecommons.org/licences/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the Journal open access page. ______________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACT Social media was a major source of health information during the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria. Studies have shown that young people in Nigeria use social media mostly for informational and recreational purposes. Thus, the purpose of this study was to determine how young people in Delta State view health information on COVID-19 posted on social media and how much exposure they had to it. The study used a 384-respondents' sample size and a survey research design. The posed hypothesis was examined utilizing the statistical method of regression analysis. The study founded on media ecology theory thoroughly explored how technology, media, and communication processes affect human perception, feeling, understanding, and value. The study discovered a strong link between young people's perceptions of COVID-19 and their exposure to social media reports on the COVID-19 pandemic in Delta State. It advises the Federal Government and other interested agencies to increase their investment in social media initiatives to properly deal with the problems of OPEN ACCESS International Journal of Applied Research in Social Sciences P-ISSN: 2706-9176, E-ISSN: 2706-9184 Volume 5, Issue 6, P.No. 143-158, August 2023 DOI:10.51594/ijarss.v5i6.523 Fair East Publishers Journal Homepage: www.fepbl.com/index.php/ijarss