Imagined Facebook: An exploratory study of non-users’ perceptions of social media in Rural Zambia

Abstract

This article describes an exploratory study of Facebook non-users living in rural Zambia. Drawing on evidence from 37 group interviews with mobile phone owners, we discovered that the majority of our participants were aware of, or ‘imagined’ Facebook, despite never having seen or used the site. Our analysis of how participants perceive Facebook suggests that they are interested in the communication and income-generating possibilities access to the site may provide, but that barriers prevent them from acting on these interests. This study contributes to social media research by making visible the experiences of a population whose non-use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) results from economic, infrastructural, and linguistic sources, as well as from other, hitherto less-explored areas. We discuss the practical significance of these findings, offer future research suggestions, and comment on what our respondents have not yet imagined about Facebook.

Locating the Internet in the Parks of Havana

“…Studies in Kenya and India (among others) have examined the perceived affordances and subsequent benefits of Facebook while also examining constraints [56,31]. Our research contributes to the growing body of work on new internet access and social media use in 'developing' countries [56,31,55].…”

A resistance to change perspective on nonusers of telecenters

“…If a person does not believe that they can successfully perform an activity, such as using a new technology, they are unlikely to be motivated to use that technology. The impact of a lack of self‐efficacy has been found to be especially significant in the use of technology by economically disadvantaged people (Hsieh et al, ; Wyche & Baumer, ). Thus, there is a likelihood that a marginal farmer with little prior experience with technology will have a low self‐efficacy regarding their ability to use ICTs at a telecenter and are likely to resist using it.…”

Post-userism

“…As a designer, one might want to account for the ways that a system may impact people who do not directly interact with it. For example, media discourse around sites such as Facebook can readily influence those who do not have an account [2,29,73,93]. Williamson and Williamson [89] document how the presence of a pervasive display may impact those who do not interact with it, e.g., by altering flows of foot traffic for those who wish to avoid the display.…”

“…One strategy for dealing with such situations involves accounting for these alternative subject positions. For instance, one might represent those who are excluded or disenfranchised from technology access [76,83,92], those who are impacted without direct interaction with a technology [93], or other subject positions in the design process. Strategies from speculative and critical design [33] may prove particularly useful in exploring such alternatives.…”