Purpose and Pattern of Usage of Social Media by the Scientists of Krishi Vigyan Kendras in South India.

The present research study was conducted in seven states and Union territories in South India viz., Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and Telangana during 2019-2020 with an objective of analysing the purpose of utilization of social media by the scientists of Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVK). A total of 161 scientists from 117 KVKs were interviewed for the purpose. The results revealed that majority (90.68%) of the KVK scientists used WhatsApp for seeking and dissemination of information, followed by Facebook (76.40%). Similar trend was observed with respect to usage of social media for transfer of technology, in the order of WhatsApp (91.93%), followed by Facebook (52.17%) and YouTube (45.34%). Evidently, WhatsApp stood first among the various purposes for which social media was used by KVK scientists. The other two social media platforms used effectively by the majority of the scientists for all the purposes mentioned in the study were Facebook and YouTube. The possible reason for this finding is that the social media like WhatsApp and Facebook are more popular among Scientists and farmers as these platforms are more user-friendly, easy to understand with simple interface and multiple file sharing options. Based on the data collected, the inferences drawn on usage pattern of various social media platforms and the purposes are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]