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LANGUAGE AND CULTURAL IDEOLOGIES ON THE INTERNET: SOCIAL MEDIA USE OF ADOLESCENTS IN SEMI-RURAL SOUTH AFRICA

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Adelina Mbinjama at Cape Peninsula University of Technology
Adelina Mbinjama
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Abstract

The article focuses on impact of social media, language and cultural ideologies of teenagers in rural South Africa. Topics discussed are unexplored impact of social media, preference of black adolescents to appear use western language and appearance, and Facebook group called Xhonglish, which is a mix language of English and South African language isixhosa.
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LANGUAGE AND CULTURAL IDEOLOGIES ON THE
INTERNET: SOCIAL MEDIA USE OF ADOLESCENTS
IN SEMI-RURAL SOUTH AFRICA
Adelina Mbinjama
1
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University
There is a fallacy that people living in South Africa’s small towns or
rural settlements are conservative and narrow-minded. These people are also
perceived to be technologically behind and are afraid of ground breaking
information. In South Africa, the recent online phenomenon of Facebook
(www.facebook.com) and MXit (www.mxit.co.za) has drawn much media
attention to the role that these social networking sites play in young people’s
lives. According to Stald (2008, p. 143) similar research on adolescent
affiliation with social media has been fairly narrow in the Western world over
the past few years.
Research normally focuses on the use of social media among an adult
population. However, apart from the metropolitan areas usually covered in
literature, the population in small towns has not yet been investigated.
Considering that the new democratic South Africa is a plethora of diverse
cultures and sub-cultures, the lack of such research indicates that the
responses of millions of multi-cultural potential consumers to social media
have not yet been researched. The study identified a gap in literature as no
formal research had ever been conducted in semi-rural areas with regards to
Black adolescents and their experience with social media. This paper reports
on an investigative study conducted in 2009 of Black bilingual,
isiXhosa/English speaking female adolescents living in semi-rural King
William’s Town and their experience with social media. The aim of the study
was to determine how Black female isiXhosa speaking adolescents make use
of social media, and exemplifies how their cultural heritage influences their
online behavior. Furthermore, the paper establishes to what extent social
media differs from socializing agents such as family, school, community and
1
Associate Lecturer at the Department of Public Relations and Communications, at the
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. MA Applied Media
Studies (2009), Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. BA Media, Communication and
Culture (obtained 2007), Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University.
... Fewer research about health information sharing on SNSs has been conducted targeting adolescents than adults (Mbinjama, 2013). In addition, due to the language barrier and cultural differences, in the past, it has been difficult to examine health information-sharing behavior among Chinese adolescents in the United States. ...
... In addition to well-known American SNSs, some Chinese adolescents, especially those who just immigrated to the United States, still use Chinese SNSs like QQ, WeChat, Xin Lang Microblog, and Baidu Post Bars. Similarly, Black female adolescents who speak both isiXhosa/English in semirural South Africa revealed that they would start chatting in isiXhosa, and then switch to English on SNSs like Facebook and MXit (Mbinjama, 2013). This indicates to reach minority groups in health programs, using English in traditional American SNSs might not be sufficient. ...
Sharing for Health: A Study of Chinese Adolescents Experiences and Perspectives on Using Social Network Sites to Share Health Information
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  • Nov 2016
Purpose: This exploratory qualitative study examines Chinese adolescents' health information sharing habits on social network sites. Method: Ten focus group meetings with 76 adolescents, ages 12 to 17 years, were conducted at community-based organizations in Chicago's Chinatown. The research team transcribed the recording and analyzed the transcripts using ATLAS.ti. Results: Chinese adolescents are using different social network sites for various topics of health information including food, physical activity, and so on. Adolescents would share useful and/or interesting health information. Many adolescents raised credibility concerns regarding health information and suggested evaluating the information based on self-experience or intuition, word-of-mouth, or information online. Conclusion: The findings shed lights on future intervention using social network sites to promote health among Chinese adolescents in the United States. Implications for practice: Future interventions should provide adolescents with interesting and culturally sensitive health information and educate them to critically evaluate health information on social network sites.
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... In South Africa, there are few studies on how the youth use social media (see Mbinjama 2009). In the United States, social media have been known to attract young people by allowing them to log in, create elaborate profiles, publicly articulating their relationships with other participants, and writing extensive comments back and forth (Boyd 2008:119). ...
AN INVESTIGATION OF THE QUESTION OF CYBER-ETHICS IN SOCIAL MEDIA-COMMUNICATIONS WITHIN SELECTED SOUTH AFRICAN NGOS
Thesis
Full-text available
  • Mar 2014
The issue of ethics on the internet has become complicated due to a number of people placing material on cyberspace. NGOs are increasingly using social media to promote their products and services. Jürgen Habermas’ theory of communicative action and discourse ethics as a theoretical basis to the study merges together several factors which impact on the use of social media as a communicational tool for social marketing. The study explores how eight “ethical variables” (ethical and moral problems) are impacted by social media. The variables- justice, privacy, access, accuracy, truth, human dignity, regulation and ownership of information are a basis of enquiry by conducting in-depth interviews with employers/managers of 10 selected South African NGOs, as well as distributing survey questionnaires to 150 employees/volunteers of the NGOs to determine their experiences with cyberspace. The research investigates the social contexts of the selected NGOs and the safety measures they implement to protect their reputations and corporate identities. The study analyzes unethical behaviours that exist within the selected virtual organizations of the NGOs and investigates the ethical guidelines they follow in order to deal with the breaches of ethics. The study offers recommendations into amending drafted or existing public procedural policies for the purpose of self-regulating present and future users of social media. The study proposes that the continued misuse of social media may cause social media guidelines to be embedded into existing national legislative frameworks, such as South Africa’s Bill of Rights, as well as media and communications Acts.
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... In this paper, social media is defined as an internet-based service, that can be accessed on either a computer or mobile phone, that allows users to create a public or private profile, and develops a series of connections with others users of that same service (Mbinjama, 2013). Social media can include services like Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, Instagram, or Skype. ...
User Beware: Determining Vulnerability in Social Media Platforms for Users in Ghana
Article
Full-text available
  • May 2018
There is a limited academic scholarship that examines vulnerability in social media use for people who live in Ghana. This study examines 1) user motivation for social media use, 2) user vulnerabilities in the online environment and 3) user preparedness prior to entering the online environment. In Ghana, people rely on social media for communications to circumvent an expensive telecommunications system and interact with family and friends who have had to travel for education or business. This study uses qualitative methods to engage with Ghanaian citizens within social media platforms like WhatsApp, Viber and Imo to learn more about their reasons for using social media, as well as the concerns they have about using it. Findings indicate that participants rely on social media as a way of communicating with family and friends who have left home, as well as using it to create opportunities. However, participants are also concerned about being tricked online, and having their images or texts used inappropriately. They are also concerned about government tracking when using social media and worry about how all of these things could hurt them in the future, including embarrassment, regrets, and financial troubles. Most participants indicated that they have not had any training in using social media, but if they had they could have avoided many problems that they experienced online. Despite this, participants feel social media improves their quality of life and are encouraged to use social media because of the perceived advantages of the platforms. The paper recommends that continuous user training on appropriate use of social media could benefit and protect Ghanaian citizens.
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