A Study on WeSupport , a WeChat-based Learning Platform
1 ) WeSupport users have significantly higher education levels compared to other migrant / factory workers . Also , female users and those with higher education levels tend to subscribe to more WeChat public accounts , while rural migrants subscribe to fewer accounts . These differences highlight the varying habits of people ' s WeChat usage . For example , 45 % of the users found “ obtaining knowledge and information ” to be the most useful function of WeChat . It is interesting to note that female users regard this function of online learning significantly more useful than their male counterparts .
2 ) Only 26 % of the users subscribed to CCR CSR ' s WeSupport platform through infactory promotion , while 43 % joined through recommendation by a friend . While this points to the potential of WeChat-based eLearning to reach a large number of users beyond the scope of project factories , we also found that the workers who were introduced to WeSupport through in-factory promotion utilize the platform more frequently and find it more effective .
3 ) Higher than average education levels of WeSupport platform users points to a challenge : that it may be more difficult for workers with lower education levels to access and utilize eLearning platforms . However , it can also be a potential opportunity for such users as they are significantly more active on the WeSupport platform than their better-educated peers . This result indicates that the content of the WeSupport platform is appealing to workers with lower education once they are introduced to the platform , even though they are not used to accessing knowledge and information through such channels . If we link this to the fact that peers are the key channel to introducing the WeSupport platform and that peers often share content with people similar to their own background , we can conclude that new innovative ways are needed to lower the hurdles for workers with lower education to access WeChat-based learning .
In general , we can conclude that WeChat played an important role in helping migrant workers better integrate into society , both from a social aspect and from a personal development point of view . In terms of social networks , we learned from both the survey and interviews that WeChat made it easier for users to make new friends and enrich their social life . It is not surprising that male users are more likely to use it for expanding their social network than females . As for personal development , CCR CSR ’ s WeSupport eLearning platform on WeChat had a significant impact on workers ’ integration into society .
We found that in just over a year since its launch in June 2015 , the WeSupport platform has had a positive impact on factory workers . While such surveys often trigger positive bias from respondents , the feedback of users clearly indicates positive changes in their awareness and perception , which is the necessary first step towards achieving behavior change . For example , the majority of parent users reported that parenting lessons very much helped them improve communication with their children , and helped foster closer bonds between them . In conclusion , the survey highlights the fact that when eLearning content and style speaks to and attracts workers , WeChat possesses the potential to become an indispensable tool for migrant workers with low-education levels in terms of social integration , increasing awareness , gaining knowledge and support .
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