SEMANTIC ANALYSIS OF FACEBOOK STATUS UPDATES OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS IN FEDERAL UNIVERSITY, LAFIA

Abstract

This study examines the semantic features of Facebook status updates among undergraduate students of the Federal University, Lafia, with emphasis on how meaning is constructed and interpreted within computer-mediated communication. Adopting Structural Semantics as its theoretical framework, the study specifically investigates the use of polysemy and hyponymy in students' online discourse. A qualitative descriptive research design was employed, using a purposive sample of ten Facebook status updates collected from active student users. The data were analyzed to identify semantic patterns embedded in lexical choices, figurative expressions, slang, abbreviations and context-dependent meanings. The findings reveals that students creatively exploit polysemous expressions to communicate resilience, identity, emotion and shared sociocultural experiences, while hyponymic relationships organise concepts relating to academic performance, institutional identity and everyday life. The study demonstrates that Facebook discourse is governed by systematic semantic principles rather than random linguistic deviations, highlighting social media as a dynamic site of linguistic innovation and meaning negotiation. It concludes that digital communication enriches contemporary language used by adapting lexical meanings to evolving social and technological contexts. The study contributes to scholarship on semantics, computer-mediated communication and digital discourse, while offering insights into the evolving language practices of Nigerian university students.