Context and technology use: Opportunities and challenges of the situated perspective in technology acceptance research

Abstract

AbstractThe purpose of this paper is to explore the implications of the situative perspective in understanding technology acceptance. Briefly, this is the position that holds technology acceptance is influenced by the context of use, which determines the situations and activities in which the technology is employed. Specifically, we review the literature studying the relationship between political engagement and social media use. We examine the link between individuals' political beliefs and political engagement on their acceptance and use of social media extending the core factors of the technology acceptance model. Using a sample drawn from a pre‐university college physics program, we test a structural path model, using WarpPLS, and reproduce the oft‐reported link between social media use and political engagement and showing that social media use for political engagement influences individuals' perceptions of social media technology. These results are interpreted with respect to the situative perspective, specifically, we employ the ecological psychology notion of affordances to understand how social media technology is disrupting traditional political discourse and creating new forum for public discourse and political engagement. Our study demonstrates the value of considering the social dimension in understanding individuals' technology acceptance decisions and behaviors. Understanding the social dimension pf technology acceptance is necessary for modeling user technology acceptance and key to successful implementation initiatives and life cycle management of educational technologies. Practitioner NotesWhat is already known about this topic Using social media varies by individual characteristics and by instrumental use, creating different contexts of use, such as online political engagement. What this paper adds Using social media for political engagement influences perceptions of usefulness and ease of use. A fuller account of technology acceptance must include social and affective determinants in addition to cognitive factors. Implications for practice and/or policy Understanding technology acceptance as a social process requires an account of the purposes and functions of technology within spheres of activity. Thus, understanding the social dimension of technology acceptance appears key area of research for educational technologists working on implementation and life‐cycle management of educational technologies.