Social usage of instant messaging by individuals outside the workplace in Kuwait: A structural equation model

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study factors that affect adults' acceptance of instant messaging (IM) for social and entertainment purposes in an Arab countryDesign/methodology/approach – An expanded version of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was used to test the impact of four factors (subjective norms, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and perceived enjoyment) and a new construct, curiosity about other people, on the level of IM usage by 191 adults in Kuwait. Survey questions from prior studies were adopted and customized, and the model analyzing using Structural Equation Model with LISREL.Findings – IM usage is a different type of technology usage than work‐related forms of ICT since it is employed for social and recreational usage. Unlike prior studies that employed TAM in a work‐related setting, perceived usefulness was not a significant antecedent of usage; however, perceived enjoyment, social norms, curiosity about other people, and perceived ease of use were all importa...

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