Facebook Usage as a Community Engagement Tool by Residents in the Sauyemwa Location, Kavango East Region, During COVID-19 Lockdown

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate and explore how residents in Kavango east used Facebook as a community engagement tool during the pandemic in Kavango East region, being the region with the lowest percentage of people with access to cellphones and internet. The study also aimed at assisting different communities to create new alternative ways on how to engage with each other using social media platforms like Facebook during the pandemic. The author used a qualitative method to randomly select 10 participants (8 males and 2 females) that were interviewed using a semi-structures interview. The findings reveal that, Sauyemwa residents used Facebook to communicate with others, to share and receive trending information around the world. Moreover, residents used Facebook Messenger for commenting on posts, liking and possibly sharing, to stream and share live videos and events. This study suggests that, Sauyemwa residents should use Facebook as an alternative mode of communication during the pandemic as it allows people to connect remotely.