Motives for the Use of Twitter by Arab Youth

Authors

  • Rahima Aissani Al Ain University of Science and Technology Author
  • Abdulrahman Dheyab Abdullah Al Ain University of Science and Technology Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.0000/x75az573

Keywords:

Arab youth, the Internet, media preferences and usage motives, online social media, Twitter

Abstract

The study aims to identify the reasons why the Arab youth prefer to use Twitter and whether their age, gender, educational level and country of origin play a crucial role in their use of Twitter. In order to answer the aforementioned questions, a descriptive survey method was conducted using a digital survey, which was distributed via Twitter, Google+, Facebook and LinkedIn. The study presents a number of outcomes regarding the preferences of Twitter usage by Arab youth; the analysis and discussion related to the first research question shows that Arab youth prefer Twitter because it is easy to use and gives them more room to explain their opinions and thoughts freely. Regarding the variety of Twitter usage among the research sample, the analysis and discussion associated with the second research question claims that there are statistically significant differences in the usage of Twitter amongst the Arab youth that can be attributed to age, gender, educational level and their home country.

Author Biographies

  • Rahima Aissani, Al Ain University of Science and Technology

    Rahima Aissani is the Head of the Department of Communication and Media at Al Ain University of Science and Technology. Her research interests lie in the areas of mass communication theories, new media, journalism and Public Relations. She has published research papers in several scientific journals, including Arab Journal of Information and Communication Sciences, Journal of Communication and Development, Media Researcher Journal (published by the University of Baghdad), Algerian Journal of Communication or Journal of Arts and Humanities (also published in Algeria)

  • Abdulrahman Dheyab Abdullah, Al Ain University of Science and Technology

    Abdulrahman Dheyab Abdullah is the Dean of College of Communication and Media at Al Ain University of Science and Technology. He has a long working experience in the media industry. He is skilled in photography, broadcasting, video, film and international Public Relations. He is a long-time education professional with a Master’s degree and PhD. in journalism from the City University London. His research interests lie in the areas of journalism, media, social media and Public Relations.

Downloads

Published

2018-04-18

Issue

Vol. 9 No. 1 (2018): Communication Today 1/2018

Section

Research studies

License

Copyright (c) 2018 Communication Today

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

Aissani, R., & Dheyab Abdullah, A. (2018). Motives for the Use of Twitter by Arab Youth. Communication Today, 9(1), 114-139. https://doi.org/10.0000/x75az573