Digital inequalities and new media technology usage among graduate students ,a study of four departments in the University of Education, Winneba

Abstract

This study investigated how graduate students in the four Dpartments of Faculty of Foreign Languages Education and Communication (FFLEC) use new media technologies. The students were purposively sampled from the four Departments in FFLEC and interviewed. The study adopted the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) and Technology Appropriation Model to properly contextualize the research. The graduate students were of the view that the social connection provided by an information system is moderated by the relationship between digital usage and access by students. The study also revealed that due to the amount of information provided online, the phenomenon of digital inequality as a result of degree of usage was experienced differently; younger students users of social media share a lot about themselves in their interaction than older graduate students. It was further found that students from the Communication and Media Studies Department appropriate new media technologies for activities such as research, personal communication and commercial transaction while students from the Departments of English Education, French Education and Applied Linguistics mainly use it for personal communication and other social interactions including social media. The study recommends further studies in new media usage in the curricular to help understand the new media culture, and the inequalities that arise through usage.