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sur le développement des zones arides et semi-arides

Titre : The usage of social media among young adults living in Nairobi, Kenya : only entertainment or contributions to societal change ?

Auteur : Jäntti, Piia

Université de soutenance : Jyvaskyla University

Grade : Master’s thesis 2015

Résumé partiel
Social media usage has been found to have increased all over the world, also in the so-called developing countries. Although the percentages are still rather low, it can be argued that the use of social media is becoming increasingly important also in African countries. Kenya has been found to be one of the leading countries regarding social media usage in East Africa. Although research on social media has been conducted, for instance, on the use of social media in protest movements and in the areas of users’ motivation, less emphasis has been placed on their developmental aspects. Thus, to gain a deeper understanding of the usage of social media in the so-called developing countries, this study will focus on the perceptions of the actual users. Through the users’ own reflections, the study will not only look at which platforms the interviewees were using and how, but also examine the users’ motivation for the usage. Furthermore, the study will explore whether the interviewees perceive social media as channels to have an impact on civic life related issues, and therefore use them for developmental purposes. In order to answer these questions, thirteen semi-structured interviews were conducted among young adults in Nairobi, Kenya. Half of the interviewees were living in an informal settlement and half were from middle class families. Young adults were chosen as the target group, since they can be assumed to be more familiar with social media than the older generations. Furthermore, they are the coming generation to take over the civic responsibilities from the older generations and therefore, their perceptions and attitudes can be said to reflect the future developments in the country. The data was analyzed by utilizing qualitative content analysis

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