Perceived value of social media in students’ participation in social movement

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this study is to empirically investigate the use of social media (SM) and its influence for increasing students’ participation in the quota reform movement at the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Design/methodology/approach The revised technology acceptance model (TAM) was used to formulate this research’s hypotheses. A survey was administered to obtain data about students’ intention to use SM. The survey consisted of a set of questions based upon the revised TAM model. A total of 498 surveys were distributed and 304 students responded to it; hence, response rate was of 61.04%. A regression and single way ANOVA were conducted to test the hypotheses. Findings The results indicate that most of the students use SM for academic purposes and to get connected with friends. Among the social networking tools, Facebook is the most widely used by the respondents. Findings supported that perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness of SM affect student’s intention to increase participation in the quota reform movement. There were no significant relationships between gender and politics with the use of SM. Research limitations/implications A sample of students from Dhaka University was taken and the sample size was small. As a result, the findings of this study cannot be generalized in other settings. SM has a positive effect in the societies where change happens through collective actions. Originality/value Why and how students use SM has been widely discussed over the available literature, but students’ intention to use for it for social movements has not been studied. This study has made an effort to empirically examine the use of SM in the context of the quota reform movement in Bangladesh.