Paper Short Abstract:

This study explores how Facebook reshapes travel planning, shifting from text-dominance to oral-visual cultures. Gender differences show women prioritize trust and media richness, while men value enjoyment and utility. This reflects digital platforms’ impact on knowledge creation and communication paradigms.

Paper Abstract:

This study examines how digital platforms like Facebook are transforming the way people plan and experience travel, emphasizing the shifting dynamics between writing, oral, and visual cultures. Using the framework of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Media Richness Theory, the research highlights gender-specific factors shaping the use of Facebook for travel-related activities, such as asking questions, sharing experiences, and responding to others’ posts.

Drawing on data from 347 valid respondents in Israeli Facebook travel groups, the study reveals significant differences in how men and women engage with the platform. Women are influenced by trust, media richness, and personal experience, while men are driven by perceived usefulness and enjoyment. This gendered use of Facebook underscores a broader cultural shift from text-dominant interactions to oral-visual communication that aligns with the “Unwriting Cultures” theme.

By exploring how these platforms reshape knowledge production and decision-making in the context of travel, the research highlights the diminishing centrality of written communication. Instead, rich, user-generated content—photos, videos, and interactive discussions—takes precedence, reconfiguring epistemic frameworks and power relations.

This study invites further inquiry into the role of social media in creating new "epistemic cultures" and challenges traditional text-based paradigms. It contributes to the broader discussion on how audiovisual platforms like Facebook disrupt, reshape, and reinvent the ways we consume, validate, and share knowledge in the digital age.