Technology readiness Index (TRI) adoption of Khuzestan farmers for using Online Social Networks (OSNs)

online social networks (OSNs) are considered as one of the achievements of the era of rapid advancements in ICT, the most popular social media and have been significantly welcomed. In the meantime, OSNs with wide distribution and high speed are suitable tools for these purposes, especially for farmers to achieve educational-extensional goals. However, not many studies have been conducted on the acceptance of these networks among farmers with educational-extensional goals. So, this research was conducted with the aim of investigating the factors influencing the use OSNs with educational-extensional activities among farmers in Khuzestan province in Iran by using the developed technology readiness index (TRI). Among the farmers of Khuzestan province, the number of usable completed questionnaires, which were collected through simple random sampling from 377 farmers as a research sample, was analyzed. In order to increase the strength of the index, the variable of social influence was added to the index. The collected data were analyzed with Smart PLS and SPSS software. The results of the structural equation model (SEM) showed that the variables of optimism, innovativeness had a positive and significant effect and discomfort and insecurity did not have effect on farmers' technology readiness index adoption regarding the use of OSNs for educational and extensional purposes. Also, the variable of social influence as a variable added to this index and had a significant effect on the farmers' technology readiness index adoption. The results of this research can open the way for the planners and experts of the agricultural sector.