IM, Therefore I Am

Abstract

The Information Age has created an information-based society which demands of our young people to have the ability to think, problemsolve, and adapt. Instant Messaging (IM) is one of the newest information technology mediums that is being used by college students for communication exchanges. The purpose of the study is to examine the adoption and educational use intentions of IM by college students based on Roger’s (1995) Diffusion of Innovation theory, Davis’ (1989) Technology Acceptance Model, and Moore and Benbasat’s (1991) Perceptions of Adopting an Information Technology Innovation. From the aforementioned theories, four constructs were used. The constructs were perceived: (a) relative advantage (Rogers, 1995); (b) ease of use (Davis, 1989; Rogers, 1995); (c) visibility (Rogers, 1995; Moore & Benbasat, 1991); and (d) result demonstrability (Moore & Benbasat, 1991). Perceived relative advantage (p = .058) and perceived result demonstrability (p = .08) were the only constructs that showed significance (p > .05). The study concluded that gender does not play a significant role in adopting IM in terms of perceived relative advantage and perceived result demonstrability.