Conectados por Prazer: Redes Sociais Virtuais Móveis Versus Valores de Uso Convergentes

Abstract

Social networks have become a phenomenon of integrating people due to the convergence technologies. These technologies increasingly present in the lives of many users, regardless of the values and social conditions involved, reinforce the social expansion and interaction of these groups involved. In this scenario, the growth of applications that provide access to mobile social networks or social applications, is an example of this phenomenon and is proportional to the advancement of technological convergence, given the multifunctionality of mobile technology devices. Based on this scenario of hyperconnectivity and technology, a netnographic study on mobile social networks was developed, in which the WhatsApp Messenger messaging application is the main object of analysis, given the years of stability and notoriety for the preference of use by Brazilians customers. Thus, some comparisons promoted by users through online discussions were made regarding the diversification of use of the application over the years, to understand which factors influence this influential positioning of the application. Therefore, the objective of this article is to identify, through the categorization of users, the preferences of these groups according to the desired mobile technology and new products inserted in the market, analyzing the ways of using mobile networks and their preferences, whether social, hedonic , utilitarian or technological, describing the national influence using the WhatsApp application.