Social network user motivation: An analysis of rural women’s profiles

Authors

  • Rocío Jiménez-Cortés University of Seville
  • Mª Ángeles Rebollo-Catalán University of Seville
  • Rafael García-Pérez University of Seville
  • Olga Buzón-García University of Seville

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7203/relieve.21.1.5153

Keywords:

Social networking sites, rural women, digital inclusion, women’s studies, social capital, motives of use, digital literacy, lifelong learning

Abstract

This paper reports some of the findings from a study that aimed to analyse the motives for using social networking sites and to establish profiles from their responses. To do this, we carried out a survey study based on a purposely designed questionnaire answered by 478 women from rural areas of Andalusia aged 18 to 65. From an analysis of the responses, we identified two profiles based on the use motives of social networking sites. The results indicate that women, who use social networks with a higher diversity of uses, also express higher level of intensity, ability and autonomy of use. In contrast, women who use only social networks with a relational purpose, also express lower level of intensity, ability and autonomy in the use of social networks. These findings suggest that use motives is a predictor variable of rural women’s digital inclusion in the social networks. The findings allow us to rethink the educational proposals of digital literacy

Author Biographies

Rocío Jiménez-Cortés, University of Seville

Tenured professor in the Department of Educational Research Methods and Diagnostics in the School of Education at the University of Seville. Her main research area lies in the study of technologies from a gender perspective. She is the corresponding author for this article. Her address is: Dpt.. Métodos de Investigación y Diagnóstico en Educación. Facultad de Ciencias de la Educación Universidad de Sevilla, C/ Pirotecnia, s/n, CP 41013, Sevilla

Mª Ángeles Rebollo-Catalán, University of Seville

Tenured professor in the Department of Educational Research Methods and Diagnostics in the School of Education at the University of Seville (Spain) and chair of the research group “Development and Innovation of Educational Models” (HUM-833) at the University of Seville. Her main research area is focused on Gender, Technology and Education, in which she has participated as a researcher in projects funded by several Spanish entities. Find other articles by this author in Scholar Google. Her address is Dpt. Métodos de Investigación y Diagnóstico en Educación. Facultad de Ciencias de la Educación Universidad de Sevilla, C/ Pirotecnia, s/n, CP 41013, Sevilla

Rafael García-Pérez, University of Seville

Tenured professor in the Department of Educational Research Methods and Diagnostics in the School of Education at the University of Seville (Spain). His main research area is focused on assessment of educational processes in virtual environments. Now he is carrying out a research project about the relationship quality as an explanatory factor of the digital inclusion in social networks. His address is Dpt. Métodos de Investigación y Diagnóstico en Educación. Facultad de Ciencias de la Educación Universidad de Sevilla, C/ Pirotecnia, s/n, CP 41013, Sevilla

Olga Buzón-García, University of Seville

Part-time professor in the Department of Didactics and Educative Organization in the School of Education at the University of Seville. Their teaching and investigation are centered in the field of Educative Technology. Their present lines of research are centered in the didactic integration of the digital technologies and the design and development of didactic materials for e-Learning. Her address is  Dpto. Métodos de Investigación y Diagnóstico en Educación. Facultad de Ciencias de la Educación Universidad de Sevilla, C/ Pirotecnia, s/n, CP 41013, Sevilla

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Published

2015-05-07

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Vol. 21 No. 1 (2015)

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Research Articles

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