TITLE: How students use WhatsApp to access news.
Case Study: University of Rwanda – School of Law, Huye Campus.
By: Emmanuel Habiyakare:
Huye, on 5/December/2020
DEDICATION
This research project is dedicated to the almighty God for his protection and guidance, parents and friends who have been helping, encouraging and advising me through the academic journey.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
First, I heartily and humbly thank the almighty God, who has been by my side since day one up to now as he paved all my ways with blessings and successes, and I would like to express my gratitude to my academic supervisor, Emmanuel Munyarukumbuzi who has been guiding me towards the well accomplishment of research project.
I would also like to extend my gratitude to the University of Rwanda, College of Arts And Social Sciences, especially, all staff of the School of Journalism and Communication for giving me the skills and guidance throughout my academic journey. Obviously, I thank my parents who supported me in everything especially, in hardship as they were on my side, encouraging and advising me. Additionally, they have been praying for me and helping me financially.
Last but not least, I thank all friends and classmates who encouraged me during our studies. Finally, but sincerely, I thank the government of Rwanda, which invested in my studies by giving me a scholarship and living allowance.
Be blessed!
Table of Contents
DECLARATION…………………………………………………………………………………………………..2
CERTIFICATION………………………………………………………………………………………………..2
DEDICATION…………………………………………………………………………………………………….2
ACKNOWLEDGMENT……………………………………………………………………………………….3
LIST OF ACRONONYMS………………………………………………………………..4
INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY……………………………………………………………………..4
PROBLEM STATEMENT……………………………………………………………….5
RESEARCH QUESTION………………………………………………………………………5
HYPOTHESIS………………………………………………………………………….5
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY…………………………………………….………….5
SCOPE OF THE STUDY……………………………………………………………….5
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY……………………………………………….……6
LITERATURE REVIEW…………………………………………………………………………………..14
METHODOLOGY……………………………………………………………………………………………16
INTERPRETATION AND RESULTS ………………………………………………………………..19
DISCUSSION………………………………………………………………………………………………….20
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION………………………………………..21
REFERENCES……………………………………………………………………………………………….27
LIST OF ACRONYMS
UR: University of Rwanda
SJC: School of Journalism and Communication
CASS: College of Arts and Social Sciences
Chapter 1. Introduction
Social Media are very important to society and play a big role in increasing the transformation of news and the economies of the world, many people’s lives have changed because of social media, (Yu, Ellison, and Lampe, 2018). People are using social media as the primary source of news. Social media have become the main source of news online with more than 2.4 billion internet users, nearly 64.5 percent receive breaking news from Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, YouTube, Snapchat and Instagram instead of traditional media, (Martin, 2018).
People mostly spend time on social media and the internet for convenient and speedy access to news and entertainment (McIntyre and Sobel, 2019). Others use social media to relax and communicate with their relatives and colleagues, (Nicole, 2018).WhatsApp also enables easier access and retrieval of information from anywhere and at any time (Kehinde, 2016).
Through these apps, information is becoming intertwined with our daily lives and could either enhance productivity, efficiency and intelligence or make users vulnerable to its side effects. Supporting this claim, (Boyd and Ellison, 2007) noted that social media sites have gained popularity over the last decade. The sites have attracted millions of users worldwide. Due to this fact, Pempek, Yermolayeva, and amp; Calvert (2009) asserted that many people are changing the outlets where they search for news, information, business and entertainment.
This study, the researcher will focus on how students use WhatsApp to access news since this demographic is known to have higher rates of social media usage (Srivastav and amp; Kiran, 2018). WhatsApp is increasingly popular for accessing news. The public is increasingly foregoing Facebook as a news source and using WhatsApp to share and discuss stories with friends and family, (Jim, 2018).
- Problem statement
Young people using social media to get news and publishing news the most, (Srivastav and Kiran, 2018). There is limited research on how new technologies have impacted African journalism (Mabweazara 2014; Paterson and Domingo, 2008); (Paterson, 2013). This study posits that the same trend of lack of ample research is true when it comes to how young people access news using WhatsApp. This study will therefore focus on trends of news seeking by students using whatsApp.
3.1. Research question
How do students of the School of Law-University of Rwanda use WhatsApp to access news?
3.2. Hypothesis
Students get news from relatives and friends who send them inbox messages. In addition, they may get news from their groups, and the status of their relatives and friends. People get news by joining some groups where news is shared, they ask friends and relatives what is happening, a link can be shared in some groups.
- Objectives
This study seeks to identify how students of the school of Law, -University of Rwanda use WhatsApp to access news.
6.3. Scope of the Study
This study will take place in Huye district, among the university of Rwanda students- School of Law, Huye campus, the researcher used only 3 weeks to cover data from on 30th, November,2020 to 21, December, 2020. This study used 100 students as my sample size because it chose according to their ages; it focused on the generation between 18 and 25 year olds.
6.4. Significance of the study
This study is the one of the few studies which is talking about how young people, particularly educated youth access news using WhatsApp. Given the scarcity of research on how young people use WhatsApp to access news, this study will help to know how students use WhatsApp to access news and what news media can do to reach them better via WhatsApp.
Chapter2. Literature review
Background of WhatsApp
WhatsApp is a text and voice messaging app that launched in 2009. It’s become incredibly popular since then, thanks to its features and flexibility. As a free service, WhatsApp allows for messages and calls on both desktop and mobile devices, (Dove, 2020). (Valenzuela, Bachmann, and Bargsted, 2019), described WhatsApp as a more conversational and multimodal medium compared to other texting mobile apps.
WhatsApp was created May 3rd, 2009by Jan Koum and Brian Acton who had previously spent 20 years at Yahoo. WhatsApp later joined Facebook in 2014, but continues to operate as a separate app with a focus on building a messaging and voice recorded services that works fast and reliably anywhere in the world, and also this app has ability to combine many people in one group, where one person can join more than 300 groups in WhatsApp, and also, one group can be having more than 250 members, (Vansh, 2018).
Mercedes, (2009) said that the youth use social media at a very high level in the U.S the focus of the study. Some social media like Facebook are used by youth generations between the ages of 20 years and 25 years, (Clement, 2020).
Irfan, and Dhimmar, (2019) said that daily active users of WhatsApp are one billion in all over the globe. Fifty-five billion messages transfer over on WhatsApp per day. Every day over one billion videos and 4.5 billion Photos are shared on WhatsApp. WhatsApp uses 60 languages globally. The introduction of new features of WhatsApp which are video call, two-step verification security, Status (Posts that automatically disappear after 24 hours), and a revamp in design has helped WhatsApp to attract more users since 2017 when it had just one billion monthly active users (Clement, 2017). WhatsApp is very popular in markets outside the US whereas facing robust competition from Asia-based social messenger apps like LINE, Kaka talk, and WeChat. WhatsApp quality in rising mobile markets is not only based on their low-cost business model but on several of its new amazing features, (Salman, Ibrahim, and Mohd, 2011).
McIntyre and Sobel, (2019), WhatsApp has many users more than one billion worldwide, where people join WhatsApp groups and get news from status and inbox. This App is also used in posting things on the status, and calling each other by both video call and audio call.
Use of WhatsApp in Africa
In some countries around the world, when Smartphones started to explode all over the world, many people started to use these to share and access news, as some people started to act as journalists by recording audio, video and share them on their online based platforms, (Mercedes, 2013).
Kumar and Sharma, (2107), said that news has naturally come a long way since methods such as screaming, listening out and smoke signals. Despite this though, it has also somehow managed to maintain a close relationship to these tried and tested tactics, and this is basically due to the fact that we are sensory creatures according to Empirical philosophy, forming ideas through the processing of information through experiences obtained through our sensory organs. We learn about our world through our senses of sight, hearing, feeling, tasting, and smelling, and concurrently, these are also the senses we appeal to when trying to pass on information. Researchers have come to describe it as “alternative platforms of public communication” (Poell and Borra 2011).
WhatsApp was the most popular messaging app available (McIntyre and Sobel, 2019). Some still assert it remained a popular tool in some countries in Africa, with an example of South Africa, where it is the most used social media platform,(McMillan, 2014). In Africa, specifically, people use WhatsApp for political, economic, educational and cultural purposes, (McIntyre and Sobel, 2019). Researchers in Nigeria say their main reason for using social media is to “establish connection with their professional colleagues” (Popoola, 2014: 24). They said that “the main benefit derived from using social media is exposure to the latest skills and knowledge in their profession.” In India, WhatsApp helped students more effectively read and write in a second language and do so with less anxiety, (Justina, 2016). Specifically, WhatsApp helped stimulate the learners’ writing fluency, strengthened their reading skills, and improved their vocabulary, grammar and confidence. WhatsApp use can increase media literacy, (Pindayi, 2016: 34–51). An impact relevant to another group that uses WhatsApp in a professional context for journalists. Journalists at Independent Online in South Africa use WhatsApp to disseminate news, (Pindayi, 2016) and journalists in Tanzania use WhatsApp to source and send news, (Mohammed, 2016).
South Africa’s 30 million internet users are also mobile-focused, with mobile phones making up 71% of web traffic. More and more people are gaining access to smartphones: the number of unique mobile users grew 7% from January 2017 to January 2018! 48% of South Africans use mobile messengers – and only 45% use their phones to take photos and videos. Messaging has clearly embedded itself into daily life in South Africa, and WhatsApp is far above all other social media platforms, (Madeleine, 2019).
Furthermore, WhatsApp was the third most popular social media platform among journalism and mass communication students in Nigeria after Facebook and Instagram, (Popoola, 2014). The app can be an especially useful tool for journalists in situations where news coverage is difficult, (El-Degheidy, 2017; (Reid, 2016). For example, WhatsApp proved to be a useful tool in 2015 during election coverage in Nigeria, Ebola coverage in West Africa, and earthquake coverage in Nepal, (El-Degheidy, 2017). In these situations, it was logistically difficult, dangerous, or sometimes impossible for reporters to conduct in-person interviews. Therefore, they interviewed sources and delivered information via WhatsApp, (El-Degheidy, 2017). Besides, WhatsApp can further be useful in developing countries; for example, Rwanda, where social media platforms are new or unfamiliar or communication is generally poor, (El-Degheidy, 2017).
WhatsApp in Rwanda
There is little research on how WhatsApp is used by Rwandans in-part because more than 90 percent of the population lives in rural areas, (McIntyre and Sobel, 2019). Before WhatsApp reached Rwanda digital technologies were adopted at a low pace to increase inclusive access to finance, (Nyesiga, 2016). Rwanda has undergone substantial economic and social progress since the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi that left up to one million Rwandans dead and more than two million refugees. The country’s literacy rate has increased more than 20% since then up to 70%, (McIntyre and Sobel, 2019). In recent years Rwanda has also seen substantial technological growth (Nkosi, 2016). A half of people in Rwanda’s cities had internet access in 2017 where that number had grown to 30%, (Internet World Stats, 2017). Of course, the increase in internet penetration, as well as the rise of social media platforms, including chat apps, is tied to mobile phone use, which has also skyrocketed mobile phone penetration has reached 80%
nationwide, (Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority, (2018). With this rise in mobile phone ownership also came significantly increased use of SMS, or text messages (Gasore, 2015), which could be thought of as a precursor to messaging apps such as WhatsApp. Today, many Rwandans can access the internet through their mobile phones, which was not possible just more than 10 years ago. The majority of people with internet access live in Kigali, the capital city, (McIntyre and Sobel, (2019).
What is news and its Values?
News is what is “new”; it is what is happening. In the oxford dictionary, news described as “a report of recent events or previously unknown information, (Galtung 2013, p3-4).” But most of the things that happen in the world every day don’t find their way into the newspaper or onto the air in a newscast. So what makes a story newsworthy enough to be published or broadcast? The real answer is; it depends on a variety of factors. Generally speaking, news is information that is of broad interest to the intended audience, (Shoemaker and Cohen, 2006). Journalists decide what news to cover based on many of the following “news values”: (Donsbach, 2004).
News values are “criteria that influence the selection and presentation of events as published news”. These values help explain what makes something “newsworthy”. Initially labeled “news factors” (Fuller, 2018: p15); (Brighton and Foy, 2007:, p194) draw attention to the difficulties faced by journalists when asked to explain news: “Reiterating what has been said to both authors on countless occasions during the research process of this book, the response to the question ‘why is this news?’ may well remain: ‘It just is!’” However, this does not mean that journalists are completely unable to articulate why they selected one story over another. In fact, the new values pepper the daily exchanges between journalists in collaborative production procedures to shared understandings about the nature and purpose of news, which can be used to ease the rapid and difficult manufacture of bulletins and news programs, (Golding and Elliot, 2019; p2).
For their part, scholars have taken different approaches to the theorization and study of news values, sometimes focusing on the apparent newsworthiness of an event or news actors to uncover why a story has been selected, but also considering the organizational, cultural and economic factors that may also influence news selection, (Galtung and Ruge’s, 1965). work was based on hypothesising selection criteria and formed part of a wider study on how foreign events were reported in the Norwegian press. Some scholars use their own experience and/or analysis of news outputs to conceptualize news values, (Golding and Elliott, 1979), (Harcup and O’Neill, 2001). Others take an overview of previous scholarship to produce a summary of key news values, (Harrison, 2006; O’Neill and Harcup, 2009; Caple and Bednarek 2013; and Harcup, 2015), while others use ethnographic observations and interviews, (Schultz, 2007; Dick,2014). Such studies are aimed at helping us understand the judgements that are made when journalists select news, described as “cognitive” news values by (Caple and Bednarek, 2015; p3).
Approaching the issue of news values from observations of Danish TV journalists, (Schultz, 2007) argues that six news values dominate: timeliness, relevance, identification, conflict, sensation and exclusivity. Being first with a story exclusivity adds value for producers who must attract audiences, and can override other news values, such as timeliness. For (Schultz 2007;195–196), a distinction can be drawn between three types of news value: undisputed, taken-for-granted and rarely articulated news values, which she calls toxic news values; and explicit news values: either dominant, undisputed orthodox values, or debatable, dominated heterodox news values. O’Neill, (2012) suggests a hierarchy of news values may exist, with celebrity dominating, not just in the popular press but also in “quality” UK newspapers.
No theory of news values can explain everything, not least because arbitrary factors including luck, convenience and serendipity can come into play; as when a planned story falls through at the last minute, for example, and a previously discarded one is selected to take its place. News selection is also subject to the influence of journalistic routines, such as issues of access and meeting deadlines, (Schultz, 2007); and Phillips 2015); competition for exclusives, (Allern, 2002; Schultz, 2007; Phillips 2015); the influence of proprietors and advertisers, (Caple and Bednarek, 2015); external influences including the role of public relations professionals and “spin doctors” (Brighton and Foy, 2007). The belief systems of journalists as a result of their social environment, (Donsbach, 2004; Shoemaker and Cohen 2006) found that the same newsworthiness model can be applied to news from many countries, while (Lavie and Lehman-Wilzig, 2003), found little difference between genders in the factors determining journalists ‘selection of news.
The use of WhatsApp in news dissemination and news consumption
Media like to use WhatsApp to share their content, with their audiences, (Boczek and Koppers, 2019). Batra, (2016), found that 72% of American news consumers follow the news because they enjoy talking about what is happening in the world. The audiences may have migrated from Facebook or Twitter and use WhatsApp to discuss and share news with friends. Another reason to set up a WhatsApp channel may be that media outlets want to reach younger audiences, (Jenkins and Nielsen, 2018). The proportion of users using smartphones for news is increasing 62% of the Reuters Digital News Report sample across all 36 countries, their smartphones for news, (Newman et al. 2018).
Social media has changed how we consume news, because many people use social media to access news more than they use mainstream media. social media are seen not only as a way to communicate and keep connections with stakeholders and peers from the media industry, but also as a developed system of sharing knowledge and building communities by disseminating information, (Lee and VanDyke, 2015). According to Waterson, (2018), the public is increasingly forgoing Facebook as a news source and using WhatsApp to share and discuss stories with friends and family, according to a news report on the state of the media, (Castells, 2009), . News consumers are discussing debates and news that they are having among them, also finding that alternative networks offer more convenience, greater privacy and less opportunity to be misunderstood. As a result they are moving discussion to messaging apps where they can be sure they are talking to real friends of them, “says the report from the University of Oxford’s Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism”(Lee and VanDyke, 2015; 17).
Social media can be instrumental in spreading fake news because, sometimes those who are sharing news on WhatsApp have no experience, to know which news to publish and which news not to. Lack of experience in news publication has led to very big problems. According to Rwanda media commission, (2015), Rwandan had bad history on media where some journalists contributed to outbreak of Genocide against Tutsi in 1994, (Munyarugendo and Isingizwe, 2019).
Castells, (2009), explains what he calls the rise of ‘mass self-communication’, this being a process of users building their own mass communication systems, via SMS, blogs, vlogs, podcasts and wikis, (2009; 12). Also journalists sometimes use social media as a source or an outlet for the news they publish (Cheney, 2013)
Social media and journalism
Social media has brought many impacts both negative and positive, many of those effects are about to decrease the numbers of mainstream media’s consumers, (Alisalman, and Faridah, 2011). Mendoza, (2018), how the new media recycles the mainstream media, where the numbers of mainstream media’s consumers decreased because people are busy with social media. Munyarugendo and Isingizwe, (2019; 24) citizen journalists are providing competition through their often eye-witness reports”. Modern technology, combined with recent disasters, has allowed citizens to become a preferred source for information. Lewis, Lasorsa, and Kaufhold, (2010), described the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake that resulted in the deadly tsunami as “a turning point for user generated content. While it is not the first event to use user generated content, it was perhaps the first disaster where the dominant images we remember come not from journalists, but from ordinary people’. As well as they explained that, the worth of citizen journalists is particularly highlighted during disaster.
Ramus, (2013; 12-13), said that the public still tended to blame news publishers rather than social networks for the “long-standing crisis of confidence” in the media industry. Much of the public does not feel it can trust the news, especially in countries with highly polarised politics and where many media are vulnerable to undue economic or political influence. There was less positive news for news outlets attempting to make money from internet content. Just 7% of Britons said they had paid for online news in 2012, one of the lowest rankings in the world, compared to 20% of Australians and almost a third of people in Norway, (Cheney, 2013) .
Social media changed people’s minds and made them blind, where social media made the world as the village or circle that made people decrease visiting each other. Social media increased the possibility of citizen journalism, the normal everyday person being a source of news and information for the masses, (Perlmutter, 2008). Traditional journalists, considered to be those who are educated, trained professionals and affiliated with credible news organizations, have new competition: citizen journalists, means where everyone has the right to publish news on his/her social media platforms it genuine or fake news. Some social media were created to make money: content is created with the intention of attracting views which translated into money these include YouTube and other vlogs. Some of People who publish on these platforms are not professional journalists educated, (Isingizwe and Munyarugendo, 2019).
Nowadays YouTube, WhatsApp and Facebook have become citizen journalism channels, which at times violates media ethics established by professionals, (Saqib, 2018).
The use of WhatsApp by students
Statistics have shown that there were 1.2 billion active monthly users of WhatsApp in 2017, (Saqib,2018). It is easy to form groups with WhatsApp or to use it for private communication, (Tang and Hew, 2017). It can be used to communicate anywhere and at any time, and it is commonly used by university students worldwide, (Bere, 2012; Yeboah and Ewur, 2014). WhatsApp is used in different fields, such as health services, (Wani, Rabah, AlFadil, Dewanjee, and Najmi, 2013; Tevera, 2014), they also found that WhatsApp was one of the most popular apps among university students. Ahad and Lim, (2014) found that WhatsApp is popular among undergraduate students, and that they use it on a daily basis. Ahad and Lim, (2014) said that students attributed their heavy use of WhatsApp to its ease of use, speed, real-time messaging, and low cost.
WhatsApp can be used in higher education in a number of ways to achieve different educational goals. Gachago, Strydom, Hanekom, Simons, and Walters, (2015) argued that WhatsApp can be used in higher education to create immediate connections, encourage reflection, and facilitate coordination in informal and formal learning. Chipunza (2013) found that WhatsApp was a useful electronic tool to facilitate information sharing among university students on a range of subjects related to the courses that they were studying.
WhatsApp can be useful in language assessment, Students can use WhatsApp to record their speech and share their recordings with their teachers and other students with the aims of sharing news. Tarighat and Khodabakhsh , (2016) and Alsaleem, (2013) examined the effect of the use of WhatsApp on English as Foreign Language (EFL), students in written vocabulary tasks in Saudi Arabia. The author found that WhatsApp had a positive effect on students’ performances. The students enjoyed using WhatsApp as a learning tool. They perceived the use of WhatsApp as a game rather than a formal class requirement. According to Ngaleka and Uys, (2013), WhatsApp can be used to facilitate students to study through to mobile. Students used WhatsApp as a communication tool outside the classroom to exchange information about meetings and projects. Barhoumi, (2015) found that the use of WhatsApp to facilitate blended learning had a positive and significant impact on students’ learning performance and their attitudes toward blended learning. Bansal and Joshi, (2014) examined college of education students’ experiences of WhatsApp mobile learning and found that the use of WhatsApp increased students’ social interactivity with each other and with the instructor, and this facilitated collaborative learning. Bere, (2013) said that WhatsApp could be useful to “create alternative dialogic spaces for student collaborative engagements in informal contexts, which can gainfully transform teaching and learning” (p. 544). Tang and Hew, (2017) reported that WhatsApp had been used in different academic disciplines to support students’ learning.
Chapter 3. Methodology
This chapter elaborates on methods selection of respondents data collection techniques and study area. The study population and its characteristics are also discussed in this chapter.
Qualitative method is the one which uses non numerical data, survey methods and questionnaires were used as tools while gathering information on how students use WhatsApp to access news. The researcher tried to review the content of WhatsApp. The researcher took two weeks to analyse what respondents answered on this platform. Qualitative research involves collecting and analysing non-numerical data to understand concepts, opinions, or experiences. In addition, the researcher needed to collect primary data, (Zubin, 2015).
3.1. Study site
This study took place in Huye district, among the university of Rwanda students- School of Law, Huye campus.
3.2. Target population/ population of the study
This study targeted the students from the University of Rwanda, Huye campus in the School of Law aged between 19 and 30 years. Research has revealed that people in that age group are interested in the use of social media, (Mercedes, 2009).
3.3. Sample size,
3.3.1. University of Rwanda (UR)
The University of Rwanda was established in 1963, and was then known, as National University of Rwanda (NUR) it was located in the city of Butare, when it was established in 1963 NUR was composed of three academic units: The Faculty of Medicine, the Faculty of Social Sciences and the Teacher Training College. At that time, it had 51 students and 16 lecturers. By 2005, the university had 8221 students and 425 lecturers. Important dates and facts are: in November 3, 1963: Official opening of NUR, May 12, in 1964: Law establishing the NUR, (MacGregor, 2014).
The National University of Rwanda became the University of Rwanda in 2013, where it established in September 2013 by a law that repealed the laws establishing the National University of Rwanda and the country’s other public higher education institutes, creating the UR in their place Law number 71/2013. Now it has six colleges: College of Arts and Social Sciences (CASS), College of Agriculture, Animal Sciences and Veterinary Medicine (CAVM), College of Business and Economics (CBE), College of Education (CE), College of Medicine and Health Sciences (CMHS), College of Science and Technology (CST). In addition, it has more than nine campuses including: Huye, Nyagatare, Nyarugenge, Rukara, Busogo, Remera, Rusizi, Gikondo, and Rwamagana campus, (UR, 2013).
3.3.2. School of Law in UR.
The School of Law was established in 1973 in the University of Rwanda, this school now has 619 students from both Huye and Musanze campuses. The School counts 424 male and 195 female, (UR, 2020). The researcher focused on Huye campus which has 472 students (305 males, and 167 females. This study used only 100 students in the University of Rwanda students from Huye campus, sample was only students from school of Law. In addition, this study used a Quota sample, where the researcher used students placed in Huye campus and, gender, was 50 Male and 50 Female.
3.4. Research methods and techniques.
This study employed questionnaires. A questionnaire is a research instrument consisting of a series of questions printed or typed in a sequence on a form and other prompts for the purpose of gathering information from respondents, (McLeod, 2018).
. Questions were open-ended questions and close-ended questions.
. Quota sample, where the researcher will use students’ gender of 50 Males and 50 Females.
. The study conducted a survey online via Email and WhatsApp, where the researcher contacted the leaders of every class from year one to year four. Then those who agreed to be interviewed for this research were added to a WhatsApp group. Only students who use whatsApp were retained for the study and could send answers using their phones or email.
In addition, questionnaires were also administered face to face to those who were on campus. After data collection, came data processing to cross-examine the relationship between the responses given by different respondents to different questions.
Chapter 4: Interpretation and Results
This study presents the key findings from 93 students from the School of law in the University of Rwanda, with a majority of them being females (50% ) and males (43%). They were aged between 18 and 29 years, the biggest age groups being one of 21 to 23 year olds (40.76%) followed by 18 to 20 year olds (23.57%).
As evidenced in this study, 93 student’s undergraduates said that they own mobile phones; with a majority of them 93% own an android smartphone. The most popular instant to access news used was WhatsApp at 86%, followed by twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Interestingly, this study also said that undergraduates said that they still use websites to access news on their mobile phones several times per week at the most.
This study showed that a majority of the students of law at the University of Rwanda use WhatsApp for more than 4 hours per day, which attributed to its ease-of-use, ease of communication, and quick drive, where they use to ask their colleagues what is happening, and they read all message shared in WhatsApp groups and links. Particularly in sharing information with friends related to study-matters such as work discussions and assignments, those who look for news shared by education are 54(93). As the findings of the study said that WhatsApp was very useful for their group discussions on what is happening or what is trending, some lists of those topics are Politics, education, social life, entertainment, health, and sports.
4.1 Table below shows news categories that students get interested in.
| News Categories | Politics | education | Social life | entertainment | health | sports |
| Averages | 23(93) | 54(93) | 9(93) | 11(93) | 8(93) | 3(93) |
Most participants used WhatsApp groups and chatted inbox to exchange information. Using WhatsApp to share music files and personal information with others was less common. The findings in relation to how students use WhatsApp to access news among university students, says that a University students use their smartphones to access news through WhatsApp by checking what their colleagues have written and a link shared.
4.2 Frequency Distributions of Participants’ Responses to WhatsApp Use for accessing news
| Once | Twice | Three hours | Four hours | Any others | |
| How often do you check your WhatsApp to access news?
|
7(93) | 8(93) | 11(93) | 15(93) | 52(93) |
| Once | Twice | Three times | Four times | Any other | ||||||
| Do you use WhatsApp to seek/access news? How many times a day? | 1(93) | 9(93) | 11(93)
|
22(93) | 50(93) | |||||
| Once | Twice | Three days | Four days | All week | ||||||
| How often per week, do you get news through WhatsApp? | 2(93) | 2(93) | 11(93) | 12(93) | 66(93) | |||||
Those tables 4.2 shows that on average, respondents perform all above 52 of the (93 students interviewed) use WhatsApp more than four hours a day, while 7 of the (93) reported that they use WhatsApp for one hour per day. 0.25of the (93) responded that they never perform news related communications on WhatsApp. The results also show that the respondents used to access news from WhatsApp where: 50 of the (93) use WhatsApp more than four times, 22 of the(93) only four times, 11of the (93) three times, 9 of the (93) for two times and 1of the (93) one time.
4.3 Table 3: Frequency Distributions of Participants’ Responses to WhatsApp Use for accessing news.
| Chatting | Status view | Joining Groups | |
| What are the methods you use to access news using WhatsApp?
|
28(93) | 36(93) | 29(93) |
4.4. Table shows what news categories students like to access
| News favorite | Social | politics | education | entertainment | sports | Any other |
| What news related topics do consume news on WhatsApp? | 4(93) | 24(93) | 28(93) | 11(93) | 9(93) | 17(93) |
These two tables 4.3 and 4.4 show methods students use to access news, where the results show that 290f the (93) access news through chatting with their friends and colleagues, 28 access news through to viewing other’s status, 36 access news by WhatsApp groups. The method they use to access those is to join some groups and ask friends and colleagues, where: 28 use to read all things shared on status, 29 accessing news by asking their friends and colleagues, 36(93) read and open some links shared on WhatsApp groups.
4.5. Table shows the main source of news.
| Source | websites | Radio and Tv | ||||
| What is your main source of news? | 32(93) | 22(93) | 17(93) | 9(93) | 7(93) | 6(93) |
This table 4.5; As per the above table the majority of students interviewed use WhatsApp to access news (32 out of 93) followed by twitter, Instagram, Facebook, websites and radio. Television.
Discussion
WhatsApp is used by students to access news more than any other social media website. This finding is not surprising given by (Mabweazara 2014; Paterson and Domingo, 2008). This findings is important because it targets the young people on how they are interested for using WhatsApp, (Lasorsa, Lewis, and Holton 2012; Bruns 2012; Hermida 2013).
Results on how the students use WhatsApp to access news,it is very important to know how students use WhatsApp to access news because it helps to know WhatsApp platform is very important. These findings are similar to the findings by(Ahad and Lim, 2014). Also the methods used to access news are similar to the findings by (Velenzuela, Bachmann and Bargsted, 2019).
In addition, most of the participants access news by chatting, this finding explores how students send a message, voice, and call for his/her colleagues with the aim of informing them. It is similar to studies with (Yeboah and Ewur, 2014; Ahad and Lim 2014; Devi and Tevera, 2014).
Furthermore, the participants access news from WhatsApp status; this method is done when someone has put any news or anything on his/her WhatsApp status, it is very important because be informed very quickly by WhatsApp status. This findings is similar to the study by, (Church and de Oliveira, 2013)
The following; students access news from WhatsApp groups; this is very important because WhatsApp groups can join more than 300 people, where they are informed at the same time in groups. This findings is similar to the study by (Davis, Bagozzi, and Warshaw, 1992).
Besides, students use WhatsApp more than how they use other social media and other news sources, hence, WhatsApp is the first social media used by many young people, followed by twitter and Instagram. This finding is important because many young people access news by WhatsApp as a tool which transfers news very quickly than others social media. This findings is relevant to the study by (Ekström and Westlund, 2019; Wani, Rabah, AlFadil, Dewanjee, and Najmi, 2013; Tevera, 2014).
Conclusion and recommendations
This study concluded that WhatsApp is a popular tool among university students and that students use it for accessing news. The following; this study found that students access news by WhatsApp where they access news by chatting; in this method the researcher found that students can text, record, and each other.
Besides, students access news by using another method of viewing WhatsApp status; in this method the research found that, someone can post a status and becomes easy for another one to view it when the number of each other is saved. Furthermore, the participants access news from WhatsApp groups; this method is how students can join many groups on WhatsApp.
In addition, this research was limited, the research is recommending other researchers for the studies that examine the effect of the use of WhatsApp or social media on students’ learning performance, besides there is a need for empirical studies to explore how WhatsApp can help students in secondary school in Rwanda.
Reference
Ahad, A. D., & Lim, S. M. A. (2014). Convenience or nuisance? The ‘WhatsApp ’dilemma. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, 155, 189-196
Allern, S. (2002). Journalistic and Commercial News Values’.” Nordcom Review 23 (1–2): 137–152
Alsaleem, B. I. A. (2013). The effect of “WhatsApp” electronic dialogue journaling on improving writing Vocabulary Word Choice and Voice of EFL Undergraduate Saudi Students. Arab World English Journal, 4(3), 213-225
Atton, Chris, and Hayes Mabweazara. 2011. “New Media and Journalism Practice in Africa:An Agenda for Research.” Journalism, 12 (6): 667–673.
Batra, B. (2016). News communication through WhatsApp. International Journal of Informative & Futuristic Research, 3(10), 3725-3733.
Barhoumi, C. (2015). The Effectiveness of WhatsApp Mobile Learning Activities Guided by Activity Theory on Students’ Knowledge Management. Contemporary Educational Technology, 6(3), 221-238.
Bere, A. (2012, September). A comparative study of student experiences of ubiquitous learning via mobile devices and learner management systems at a South African university. In 2012 Conference
Boczek and Koppers, (2019) What’s New about Whatsapp for News? A Mixed-Method Study on News Outlets’ Strategies for Using WhatsApp, Digital journalism. Published on 22/Nov, 2019
Boyd D, M. &Ellison N, B. (2007). Social Network Sites: Definition, History, and Scholarship. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, Volume 13, Issue 1, 1 October 2007, Pages 210–230, Published on 01 October 2007
Brighton, P, and Foy, D. (2007). News Values. London: Sage. [Crossruff], [Google Scholar]
Cheney, T. (2013) the development of journalism in face of social medias, University of Gothenburg Sweden, P (33-34),
Chipunza, P. R. C. (2013). Using mobile devices to leverage student access to collaboratively generated resources: A case of WhatsApp instant messaging at a South African University. In International Conference on Advanced Information and Communication Technology for Education ICAICTE
Church, K., and de Oliveira, R. (2013, August). What’s up with WhatsApp? comparing mobile instant messaging behaviors with traditional SMS. In Proceedings of the 15th international conference on Human-computer interaction with mobile devices and services (pp. 352-361). ACM.
Dove, J. (2020). What is WhatsApp? Published on 3, sept ,2020. P 2
El-Degheidy, N. (2017). Social media references in Egyptian news others: The use of Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and WhatsApp in El-Ahram, El-Masry El-Youm and El-Wafd news others.
Gachago, D., Strydom, S., Hanekom, P., Simons, S., & Walters, S. (2015). Crossing boundaries: lectures’ perspectives on the use of WhatsApp to support teaching and learning in higher education. Progression, 37(1), 172-187.
Gasore, B. 2015. “Rwandans turn to SMS as mobile phone ownership grows to 70 per cent.” The New Times. https://www.newtimes.co.rw/section/read/187887.
Golding, Peter, and Philip Elliott. 1979. Making the News. London: Longman. [Google Scholar]
Irfan M. & Dhimmar, S. (2019). Impact of WhatsApp Messenger on the University Level Students: A Psychological Study. A Study of Islamic Stock Indices and Macroeconomic Variables. Published on March 2019
Isingizwe, M.C and Munyarugendo, A. (2019) Ethical violations in the local YouTube channels. University of Rwanda, school of journalism and communication, p, 12
Jim, W. (2018). WhatsApp increasingly popular for sharing news, Published on Thu 14 Jun 2018 00.01 BST
Karen McIntyre & Meghan Sobel (2019) How Rwandan Journalists Use WhatsApp to Advance Their Profession and Collaborate for the Good of Their Country, Digital Journalism, 7:6, 705-724, DOI: 10.1080/21670811.2019.1612261. Published on 06 Sep 2019.
Kehinde. F, M. (2016). WhatsApp and Information Sharing: Prospect and Challenges. International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research. Published on 2016, Vol. 4, Issue 1, pp: (615-625), Month: January – March 2016.
Kenechukwu, S. (2015). Understanding media effects: a study of how studies in perception nailed the coffin on magic bullet theory. International Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Reviews Vol.5 No.2, June, 2015; p.115 – 122, (ISSN: 2276-8645)
Kumar, N and Sharma, S. (2107). Survey Analysis on the usage and Impact of WhatsApp Messenger. Global Journal of Enterprise Information System. Published in April, 2017.
Lee, M.N and VanDyke M.C (2015) The One-Way Use of Social Media by Government Agencies Communicating Science, Texas Tech University, First Published May 27, 2015 Research Article.
Lewis, J, & Andy W, and Bob F. (2008). A Compromised Fourth Estate? UK News Journalism, Public Relations and News Sources.” Journalism Studies 9 (1): 1–20.
Martin, N. (2018). How Social Media Has Changed How We Consume News. digital marketing, data and privacy concerns. Published on Nov 30, 2018,04:26pm EST
MacGregor, Karen (21 June 2014). A new university, new international leader, new future. University World News (325). Retrieved 7 April 2015
McLeod, S. (2018). Questionnaire: Definition, Examples, Design and Types. Published in 2018
McMillan, R. 2014. You may not use WhatsApp, but the rest of the world sure does. Wired. February 20. https://www.wired.com/2014/02/whatsapp-rules-rest-world/.
Mercedes, B. (2009); how social networking is changing journalism. A conference in Oxford explores the interaction between the internet and the news industry published on Fri 18 Sep 2009 14.55 BST
Mohammed, O. 2016. “How Tanzanian Journalists use WhatsApp to Report the News. International Journalists’ Network”. International Center for Journalists. May 27. https://ijnet.org/en/blog/how-tanzanian-journalists-use-whatsapp-report-news.
Newman, N. (2018). Journalism, Media, and Technology Trends and Predictions 2018. Digital new project. Published in 2018.
Neagle, F. (2016). How People Use WhatsApp to Share Breaking News with the World. BBC. February 2. http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-35471694.
Ngaleka, A., & Uys, W. (2013). M-learning with WhatsApp: A conversation analysis. In International Conference on e-Learning (p. 282). Academic Conferences International Limited
Nkosi, M. 2016. Rwanda’s Technology Revolution Helps Country Forge New Path After Genocide. BBC. May 13. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-36285889.
Nyesiga, D. (2016). Rwanda Needs WhatsApp, Facebook Banking – Say Financial Experts,https://www.ktpress.rw/2016/10/rwanda-needs-whatsapp-facebook-banking-financial-experts/ published on 27, Oct, 2016
Paterson, C, and Domingo, D. (2008). Making Online News: An Ethnography of NewMedia Production, 1–11. New York, NY: Peter Lang.
Pindayi, B. (2016). Social Media Uses and Effects: The Case of WhatsApp in Africa. In Impacts of the Media on African Socio-Economic Development, Okorie Nelson, Ojebuyi Babatunde. Raphael, and Salawu Abiodun. 34–51. IGI Global.
Popoola, M. (2014). New Media Usage for Communication and Self-Concept AmongJournalism and Mass Communication Students in Oyo State, Nigeria. New Media and Mass Communication, 26, 22–34.
Potter, D. (2013). What is news? Handbook of Independent Journalism. Published in 2013.
Phillips, Angela. (2012). Sociability, Speed and Quality in the Changing News Environment. Journalism Practice 6 (5–6): 669–679.
Sahu, S. (2014). An Analysis of WhatsApp Forensics in Android Smartphones. International Journal of Engineering Research, 3(5), 349-350.
Salman. A, Ibrahim, F, and Mohd, Y, A, A. (2011). The impact of new media on traditional mainstream mass media. Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia| ukm · Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities. Published in January 2011.
Saqib .R, (2018 ); Malaysia’s R.AGE builds a business from advocacy journalism, Allama Iqbal Open University in Islamabad, Pakistan, published in December 2018.
Sunday, C, E. (2015). Qualitative data analysis QDA. University of the Western Cape. Published in 2015.
Srivastav A and Kiran, P (2018). WhatsApp and its Impact on Social Life of Youngsters: A Perspective. Management Insight – The Journal of Incisive Analysers 14(1). Published 2018
Schultz, I. (2007). The Journalistic Gut Feeling. Journalism Practice 1 (2): 190–207.
Tang, Y., and Hew, K. F. (2017). Is mobile instant messaging (MIM) useful in education? Examining its technological, pedagogical, and social affordances. Educational Research Review. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
Tarighat, S., and Khodabakhsh, S. (2016). Mobile Assisted Language Assessment: Assessing speaking. Computers in Human Behavior, 64, 409- 413.
Vansh, K. (2018). Who is the owner of WhatsApp? Published on 23, April, 2018
Valenzuela, S., Bachmann, I., & Bargsted, M. (2019). The personal is the political? What do Whatsapp users share and how it matters for news knowledge, polarization and participation in Chile. Digital journalism, 1-21.
Wani, S. A., Rabah, S. M., AlFadil, S., Dewanjee, N., & Najmi, Y. (2013). Efficacy of communication amongst staff members at plastic and reconstructive surgery section using smartphone and mobile WhatsApp. Indian Journal of Plastic Surgery, 46(3), 502
Yeboah, J., & Ewur, G. D. (2014). The impact of WhatsApp messenger usage on students’ performance in Tertiary Institutions in Ghana. Journal of Education and practice, 5(6), 157-164.
Tiffany_Pempek, T. and Calvert, S,L. (2009). College students’ social networking experiences on Facebook. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology 30(3):227-. Published in May, 2009.
Yu, R. P., Ellison, N. B. & Lampe, C. (2018). Facebook use and its role in shaping access to social benefits among older adults. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 62 (1), 71-90.
