The world of communication has become highly dynamic, with a plethora of mobile applications which have highly influenced the way we communicate. There is an ever-increasing dependence on the use of mobile apps for social as well as business communications. This study attempts to understand the behaviour of WhatsApp users and investigate the possibility of the utility of WhatsApp in the field of education, governance and social services. Canonical correlation analysis has been applied to examine the associative relationship between the attitudinal and perceptual variables of social networks. The findings suggest that factors like social bonding, knowledge of smartphones, ease of communication, isolation, utility, enjoyment and cost-effectiveness have a significant impact on the amount of time being spent (by users) on WhatsApp as well as the social relationships of the users. Also, some demographic factors have a marked impact, while others do not.
Communication, Social network, Attitudinal and perceptual variables, Canonical correlations analysis, Social media impact
