Extent of use of mobile phone applications for rural development in some rural communities of Vhembe District

Abstract

The study was designed to determine the extent of use of mobile phone applications for development in the villages funder the jurisdiction of the Njhakanjhaka Traditional Authority in Limpopo Province of South Africa. Specific objectives that guided the study were to: 1) identify the major mobile applications that youth and adults use; 2) determine what youth and adults use mobile applications for; and 3) assess the extent to which each mobile application is used. The Knowledge Gap and Digital Divide theories guided the study. A convergent parallel mixed methods research design was adopted. Purposive and convenience sampling were used to select respondents. For purposive sampling, respondents were supposed to own at least one mobile phone. Such persons were expected to be members of any community development initiatives implemented in the Njhakanjhaka Traditional Authority area. Convenience sampling was used to select persons who responded to a questionnaire requiring responses on a Likert-type scale of 1 (Strongly disagree) to 5 (Strongly Agree). There were seven (7) respondents per separate focus group, comprising youth and adults. The total number of respondents was 30, composed of 7 youth and 23 adults. Qualitative data was analysed using Atlas.ti ver 8.4 software. The IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26.0 software was used to analyse quantitative data. Statistical significance was determined at the 95 % confidence level. Mann Whitney U and Kruskal Wallis tests were conducted where appropriate to test for statistical significance of difference. WhatsApp was the most reliable application whilst Snapchat was ranked the least. Mobile applications regarded as key to rural development were ranked high. Youth used mobile applications more than adults. Adults used mobile applications to obtain information on weather, meeting invitations and job vacancies. In contrast, youth revealed that they used the mobile applications for community news updates, jobs and socialisation. Respondents complained that poor network service, expensive data and unreliable electricity supply limited use of mobile phone applications. There was no significant association (P > 0.05) between gender and all the perceptions relating to the extent of use of mobile applications. However, statistically significant associations (P < 0.05) were observed between age of respondent and the following perceptions: “I would recommend Instagram to other communities” and “Mobile phones are key to rural development.” The results of this study highlight that mobile phone applications play a pivotal role in community development in the Njhakanjhaka Traditional Authority. This justifies the need for establishing Wi-Fi hot spots to enhance connectivity and access to information.