WhatsApp Web for academic purposes in times of covid-19

Abstract

One of the most used communication tools is WhatsApp, which increased its use due to covid-19, along with other social networks. In the educational field, students are also increasingly adopting this application for academic purposes from their computers called WhatsApp Web. However, more knowledge is needed about the factors that influence the acceptance and use of this social network. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to understand from the perspective of students the factors of acceptance and use of WhatsApp Web for academic purposes during the covid-19 pandemic. A qualitative methodology was used to achieve this objective, through fourteen semistructural interviews with students from various disciplines and universities. The findings of this study were analyzed with the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT). Where a fifth factor teamworkwas incorporated, being additional to the factors already existing in this theory (the expectation of performance, the expectation of effort, the social influence and the facilitating conditions). This study provides new insights as it is a pioneering research that UTAUT uses to interpret the acceptance and use of WhatsApp Web for academic purposes.