Determinants of social media usage among a sample of rural South African youth

TLDR

Youths adopt ICT rapidly, with Facebook and Instagram becoming dominant platforms, yet research on rural South African youth’s social media use remains limited. The study examined how knowledge sharing, habitual use, and perceived obligation relate to social media usage among rural South African youth. A descriptive survey of 447 rural Eastern Cape youths, all social media users, used a self‑administered questionnaire and Pearson correlation analysis to assess relationships. Knowledge sharing, habit, and obligation were all significantly positively correlated with Facebook usage, supporting the need for theory‑based interventions.

Abstract

Background: Youths have been found to utilise and adopt information communication technology (ICT) faster than any other population cohort. This has been aided by the advent of social media, especially Facebook and Instagram as platforms of choice. Calls have been made for more research (especially in rural communities) on the usage of ICT platforms such as social media among the youth as a basis for interventions that not only allow for better communication but also for learning. Objectives: The research investigated the relationship between knowledge sharing, habit and obligation in relation to social media usage among a sample of rural South African youth. Method: This study is descriptive by design. Primary data were collected from 447 youths domiciled within a rural community in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa using a self-administered questionnaire. The respondents to the study were all social media users. A combination of descriptive statistics and Pearson’s correlation analysis was used to make meaning of the data. Results: The study found a significant positive correlation to exist in all three independent variables (knowledge sharing, habit and obligation) with the dependent variable (social media usage) concerning Facebook usage among the sample of South African rural youth. Conclusion: Based on the findings of the research, recommendations and implications with regard to theory and practice are made.