Agricultural Extension Agents’ Current Usage of Social Media in Extension Work and Challenges They Face

Authors

Howard M. Wallace II, North Carolina State UniversityFollow
K. S. U. Jayaratne, North Carolina State UniversityFollow
Wendy Warner, North Carolina State UniversityFollow
J. Dara Bloom, North Carolina State UniversityFollow
Julia McKeown, North Carolina State UniversityFollow

Volume

63

Issue

4

Abstract

The purpose of this descriptive survey research study was to determine Agricultural Extension Agents’ (AEA) current usage and challenges faced when using social media in their work. AEAs primarily utilized social media to distribute announcements about upcoming events and programs, market extension programs, and share information with clients. They did not use social media to communicate with extension advisory groups, evaluate extension educational program impacts, or conduct needs assessments. This study identifies the major challenges AEAs face such as lack of organizational support when they use social media and makes recommendations to face those challenges proactively.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Wallace II, H. M., Jayaratne, K., Warner, W., Bloom, J., & McKeown, J. (2025). Agricultural Extension Agents’ Current Usage of Social Media in Extension Work and Challenges They Face. The Journal of Extension, 63(4), Article 15. https://open.clemson.edu/joe/vol63/iss4/15