Youths’ Social Media Adoption: Theoretical Model and Empirical Evidence

Abstract

Social media has become a major source of communication and collaboration between individuals and among groups. The current paper investigates the underlying motives of social media adoption. The research identifies various determinants such as perceived connectedness, perceived enjoyment, perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use as the major influencers of social media adoption intention. Using the sample from Saudi Arabia an online survey is conducted. Structural equation modeling has been used to test the proposed relationships. The results reveal that individuals’ perceived connectedness and perceived enjoyment act as stimuli for their social media adoption intention. Moreover, perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness mediate these stimuli and the individuals’ social media adoption intention. The paper concludes with the recommendations for the academicians and the social media designers/developers.