The Impact of Social Media Applications on the Value Pattern of University Rural Youth

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Department of Rural Society and Agricultural Extension - Faculty of Agriculture - Ain Shams University - Egypt.

Abstract

This research aims to: 1) measure the degree of use of some social media applications (Facebook - Twitter - Instagram - WhatsApp - Snapchat - Messenger) among university rural youth, 2) identify the nature of the value pattern of the respondents (values ​​of confidence in individuals and in institutions, value pattern concerning the aspirations of the homeland, and the personal pattern of values), 3) determining the associative relationship between respondents' value pattern and their accessibility to and usage of the studied social media applications. Field data was collected from a sample of 110 respondents from rural students at the Faculty of Agriculture, Ain Shams University, representing 10% of the total of 1,100 student, during the period from Feb. to Mar. 2020. Frequencies, percentages, mean, range, standard deviation, relative weight, and Chi Square were used for data analysis and presentation. The results indicated that majority of respondents (56.97%) use WhatsApp, followed by Facebook (51.82%), and Messenger (50.91%). With regard to the respondents' pattern of trust in individuals, trust in family members came first (with a relative weight of 96.67%), followed by trust in people they know on a personal level (77.88%). As for trust in organizations, Al-Azhar institution was in the first place (76.67%), followed by trust in banking institutions (73.94%). Regarding the overall degree of trust pattern, the results indicated that the majority of respondents (75.45% and 64.55%) %) fall in the middle category of confidence in both individuals and organizations, respectively. The results of the Chi Square show the significance of the associative relationship between theoretical values ​​and the use of WhatsApp, as well as the relationship between economic values ​​and the use of Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger.

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