CORONA VIRUS AND THE UPSURGE IN VIRTUAL MEDIA USAGE FOR ORGANISATIONAL COMMUNICATION IN NIGERIA

ABSTRACT: When the outbreak of coronavirus started in Nigeria, many could not predict how their lives andevent would be affected. However, with the restriction of movements and interstate lockdown, many businessesand firms began to create new ways to operate their businesses. This unpredictable change gave rise to anincrease in the use of digital media for both internal and external communication. While the use of virtualcommunication media and platforms is not new, being faced with an unpredictable situation such as a pandemicthat places one at a static point has opened the eyes of employers and business owners to see the possibility ofhaving an effective digital platform despite the pandemic. Using a quantitative research design, this studyexamined the role of virtual media platforms for communication. It further addresses the effect of the CoronaVirus pandemic (Covid-19) on organisational communication. This study assumes that the outbreak of thecoronavirus has resulted in changes that would promote global communication just at one’s fingers tips. Thestudy revealed a significant increase in the usage of digital platforms for organisational communication. Afurther stretch into the research found out that the outbreak of the coronavirus (Covid-19) gave prominence tothe usage of virtual communication media as a formal tool for organisational communication. Nevertheless,despite this progress, it was discovered in this study that adapting to the usage of this digital media posed somechallenges. Bearing this in mind, this study recommends a further study to assess the challenges of using digitalmedia for organisational communication. It further recommends that business owners, organisations andemployers of labour as well as employees should ensure the promotion of virtual communication even after thecoronavirus pandemic.

Key words: Organisational Communication, Corona Virus, Pandemic, Virtual Media, Digital media