This study investigates the use of social media by university students at the University of Oslo, in Norway, and the University of Malawi. Of particular interest to the study are the following: social media solutions in use, device choices, and market contexts. In relation to social media solutions, we will look into which social media are most commonly used, how much time is spent on it and if these are accessed through a mobile phone. One device choices we classify the varieties of phone represented in the survey, and analyse the type of features they have that would be beneficial or helpful for accessing social media. Finally, with regard to market context, we present findings around payment plans, level of satisfaction with the present phone and the respondents experience with social media through mobile phone vs. desktop/laptop computers. Findings from this study suggest that there are no huge variations in how the
respondents from Malawi and Norway interact with social media. However, notable variations between the two sets of respondents have been noted. For example, Norway is a mature mobile telephony market whilst Malawi is an emerging mobile telephony market. The respondents from Norway are also able to get phones with an initial lower price using contract services, an option that is not available to their Malawian counterparts.