The health crisis related to covid-19 has led to the suspension of pedagogical activities in higher education institutions. In Burkina Faso, some higher education institutions have used the possibilities offered by ICT to ensure the continuity of pedagogical activities. The study focused on higher education students who have experimented these networking tools as an e-learning device in the context of covid-19. Based on the UTAUT model, it aims to analyze the factors determining the intention to adopt networking tools as an e-learning device. The results indicate that « social influence » and « expectation of use » have a positive and significant influence on the intention to accept and use social networks as a distance learning device. In contrast, the central variables of the UTAUT, « performance expectation », « effort expectation » and « facilitating conditions » have no significant influence on the acceptance intention of social networks.

Keywords: Virtual Social Networks, Intention to Use, Social Influence, E-Learning, Resilience, Covid-19