Diffusion of Innovations: The Adoption of Facebook among Youth in Malaysia

The popularity of social media has invited questions about how and why people use Facebook. With its ability to allow users to post or change their content, Facebook has emerged as the most pervasive and the most personal of the new media. It has generated questions about the factors that influence users to adopt or reject it and about the their level of involvement in the “Facebook community.” The decision to adopt or reject Facebook is subject to a wide variety of factors. Past researchers have shown that social variables such as peer support or peer pressure, shared values, and mentors influenced people’s choices regarding new innovations and technologies. Through a survey method, this paper seeks to address the factors that have an impact on the adoption of Facebook among youths and to enhance our understanding of the diffusion of Facebook in Malaysia. Results indicated that youths were influenced by peer pressure to use Facebook. Spending time on Facebook appears to be part of the daily routine of most Malaysian youth.