Social media, youth and everyday life in Kenya

Abstract

With an increasing accessibility of smartphones and mobile Internet, social media are becoming an integral part of everyday life for young people in Kenya. The use of new social media tools like Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp is quickly changing in the country. Previous research on new media, however, indicates socio-demographic differences in the access, appropriation and use of new technologies. This article aims at advancing our understanding of how young people in developing countries are appropriating and using new social media platforms. It examines the multiple ways in which young people in Kenya use social media platforms and how they use these new spaces to connect, interact, communicate and engage on different issues. The article argues that the new social media configurations are invariably making possible access to alternative spaces, relatively ‘free’ from mainstream communication platforms. These changes have implications on different aspects of social change processes such as sociocultural and socio-economic changes in the Kenya.

Using WhatsApp for focus group discussions: ecological validity, inclusion and deliberation

“…In the WhatsApp focus group discussion, women’s participation accounted for 53% of the entries whereas men accounted for 47%. In their study on social media and youth in Kenya, Ndlela and Mulwo found similar evidence on the safety and freedom associated with online communication even when participants knew each other: ‘It is evident from such experiences that the physical distance created by social media interactions offers a comfortable environment in which participants find it easier to discuss topics that they may feel uncomfortable discussing in face-to-face interactions’ (Ndlela and Mulwo, 2017: 287).…”

Socially Networked Heterogeneity: The Influence of WhatsApp as a Social Networking Site on Polarisation in Kenya

“…Further onlinebased polarisation presents a potent danger for Kenyans. Due to the legal implications of propagating hate and polarisation in offline contexts, studies reveal that it is increasingly moving online (Freedom House 2012;Ndlela and Mulwo 2017;Snow and Taylor 2015). This is likely to aggravate tensions in countries like Kenya where the social fabric is already fragile.…”

Influence of Communication Process Strategy on County Government Service Delivery to Citizens of Turbo Sub County

“…Multiple studies have documented links between persistent poverty/inequality and governance weaknesses that reduce the efficiency and equity of public investments and services, impede the investment climate, and undermine job creation (Womack, 2020). The space for citizenstate interaction continues to expand, the government and civil society have gained significant experience deploying participatory tools and approaches, the media is relatively free and outspoken and Kenya's role as a regional ICT innovator, and one of the first major open government data portals in sub-Saharan Africa, is widely recognized (Ndlela & Mulwo, 2017). The Department of strategic Administration and Coordination of County Affairs was formed to implement specific county government functions.…”