Saudi Cultural Missions Theses & Dissertations
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Item Restricted Unveiling the Digital Divide: Public and Private Spaces on Social Media in the Saudi Context(La Trobe University, 2024-05) Bahabri, Alaa Sultan; Bahfen, Nasya; McCarthy, BrigidThe emergence of social media has significantly altered the traditional boundaries between public and private, creating blurred spaces. As users around the world navigate these novel spaces, considerable research shows that they utilise various strategies to manage public and private. In the Saudi context, previous studies have shown that Saudis – influenced by Islamic privacy norms– tend to strictly segregate public and private spaces on social media using several strategies. Nonetheless, much of this research has primarily focused on users, with little attention paid to the influence of digital elements. This study investigates a common strategy of navigating public and private in the Saudi context, which is the segregation of public and private spaces across platforms. The study takes into account the influence of the platform’s interface and affordances. The study was conducted through three phases of data collection and analysis. The first phase involved analysing social media platforms using a digital ethnography approach; the walkthrough methodology to demonstrate the platform’s interface and affordances of public and private space. The second phase focused on investigating users’ perspectives and behaviours related to public and private spaces across platforms using a questionnaire and interviews. Lastly, the third phase delved deeper into specific public and private spaces identified during the earlier phases through in-depth interviews and further analysis the online social norms of public and private space. This study argues that, as social media platforms blur the boundaries between public and private, the proliferation of social media has led Saudi users to heavily rely on segregating public and private spaces across these platforms, taking into account each platform's interface and affordances. This segregation reflects the Islamic notion of privacy, and it allowed users to reflect and facilitate their culture and social norms in the online space. The findings revealed that Saudis preferred platforms with default public or default private design, while they negotiate semi-public platforms. Twitter was favoured as a public space due to its default public interface design, while Snapchat’s was favoured as a private space. Conversely, Facebook’s semi-public nature was rejected due to perceived openness, leading to its designation as a niche network among Saudis. Instagram’s semi-public space was also negotiated and was used as a functional platform. Finally, TikTok was rejected due to the perception that it is not culturally appropriate. 5 Further analysis examined the social norms on Twitter and Snapchat, highlighting the differences in public and private interactions. The study found Twitter users exhibited cautious behaviour due to its public interface design, and presented a collective self, with either a serious or professional personas. In contrast, Snapchat provided a unique dynamic, particularly as older users were present on the platform, leading young users to create a more closed private space that differed from offline private circles. Overall, this research underscores the intricate interplay of culture, technology, and user behaviour in shaping Saudi Arabia’s digital landscape, emphasising the importance of considering both the cultural values and digital environments in understanding these dynamics for effective platform design and policymaking.15 0Item Restricted ADVERTISING ON SNAPCHAT: EXPLORING THE INFLUENCE OF CELEBRITIES AMONG YOUNG WOMEN IN SAUDI ARABIA(The University of Southern Mississippi, 2024) Alqahtani, Hessah; Chair, Fei Xue Committee; Campbell, Christopher; Davies, David R.; Maxwell, Lindsey; Shin, Jae-HwaThis study explored the influence of Snapchat celebrities on the purchase decisions of young women in Saudi Arabia. Uses and Gratifications theory and Source Credibility theory were used to investigate motivations for and factors that affect engagement with Snapchat celebrities. An online survey was conducted among 467 social media users. It was found that most Saudi women (62.9%) were motivated to engage with Snapchat celebrities to seek information. They would likely to purchase products endorsed by celebrities who were deemed trustworthy, attractive, and experts in the field. They also responded more favorably to celebrities who they believe are a fit for the sponsored the products and who they have emotional connections with. Gender differences were identified between male and female celebrities. The findings provided valuable insights for digital advertisers and social media scholars. Overall, the findings confirm the theories presented in the literature review. However, the results concerning attractiveness and tie strength offered a contrary perspective to the influence of those factors on the purchase intention of Saudi women. These findings present an opportunity for future investigations focusing on the two factors to determine the cause of difference between the theories explored in literature review and the findings.55 0Item Restricted THE IMPACT OF INFLUENCERS' VISUAL CONTENT IN SOCIAL MEDIA ON CONSUMERS' PURCHASE INTENTIONS. THE CASE OF SMEs RESTAURANTS IN SAUDI ARABIA(2022-05-01) Alomair, Mohammed; Freathy, PaulThe impact of information on consumers' purchase intentions has been known for quite some time. Ever since the idea of consulting family members and friends regarding their purchase, and with the evolution of the Tv and the Internet, consumers have reached a new level of access to products' related content. So they can be informed and evaluate purchases and share their experiences not only with people close to them but also with an endless number of current and potential consumers. Moreover, such a way of content sharing between people had primarily been formed in the verbal and textual form, more precisely verbally in face-to-face interaction and textually through the Internet, all to serve the purpose of informing other consumers about brands. Researchers have long acknowledged and investigated such a way of content exchanging under the well-known topics of word of mouth (WOM) and electronic word of mouth (eWOM) and their influence on consumers' purchase intentions. With the constant evolution of the Internet, a new communication channel has emerged known as social media platforms. A way of connecting with people worldwide so that they can reach each other all the time, regardless of any barriers. An area of interest that academics have found fascinating in investigating eWOM and its impact on consumers' choices. Such an exchange of words over social media applications can reshape consumers' intentions regarding their potential purchases. However, as we live in a world where technology evolution never stops, these social media applications have reached different and more exciting features, as users not only can interact verbally but now have the ability to interact visually via different online platforms. So the entire idea of eWOM has changed to a more advanced level, known as visual eWOM. Moreover, users of such applications can share brand-related content visually in the form of pictures and videos. A feature that makes platforms developers race against time to develop the best way to introduce new applications that make the best use of such a modern technological feature. So nowadays, we can see an endless number of social media applications that enable people to communicate visually. Nevertheless, there are few applications which have been tremendously popular. Instagram and Snapchat are two relatively recent platforms that can be mainly viewed to serve the visual exchange of content. Their popularity has reached almost most social media users worldwide. From such a perspective, the idea of exploring and investigating such visual content and how it influences consumers have become highly crucial. Not only due to how such content impacts consumers but also to how this content on social media applications can be spread among millions of people, as well as how brands can take advantage of such an excellent way of communication with current and potential consumers. An area of interest that this thesis aims to investigate. To do so, this research is built into two main phases; the first phase aims to explore the usage of social media among Saudi consumers and gather as much information as possible on their usage behaviour and the impact of social media influencers on their purchase behaviour. Through a survey of 512 Saudi consumers. The results show that Saudi consumers use social media at a very high rate, more precisely Instagram and Snapchat, and they follow and view social media influencers' content at a tremendously high percentage. However, when it comes to the impact of such content on consumers, the results indicate a low influence on consumers' purchase intentions regarding their restaurants' choices. The second phase of this thesis is to analyse content on social media applications. In detail, it examines the content, the source of the content (social media influencers), and consumers' behaviour toward the content. In order to reach such, a theoretical model was developed based on the integration of the Information Acceptance Model (IACM). The results highlighted that visual content quality, source credibility, source experience, content quantity, adoption of content, attitude toward content and subjective norms are the primary factors for visual eWOM in social media (Instagram and Snapchat) that influence consumers' purchase intentions. This thesis contributes to theoretical implications through its validated model and introduced vital findings. Moreover, the research model highlights a new approach to information adoption by expanding the IACM and introducing new insights to researchers. Future studies can consider the research model to investigate the visual content in social media and its influence on consumers' purchase intentions. Moreover, this study's results can help researchers consider other factors in studying the impact of such technology, such as employing the results to examine other social media applications that serve the visual feature, such as TikTok. Also, since this research was only conducted through a quantitative method, employing qualitative or mixed methods can be beneficial in providing a complete picture of visual eWOM influence. A further benefit of this study is how it considers the cultural character of Saudi consumers. Yet, other studies might find it worth considering other cultural factors or employing such findings in different countries. The same goes with considering different categories besides SMEs restaurants.38 0Item Restricted An Exploration of the Negative Impact of Social Media and Strategies for Intervention(2023-05-11) Kurdi, Maram; Mishra, ShivakantSocial media platforms are vital in connecting individuals globally. However, to thrive, these platforms must prioritize user and content creator satisfaction and engagement, which are key to their success. This highlights the importance of designing social media platforms with a user-centric approach that considers not only the technical aspects of interaction but also the psychological and emotional effects on the user. For instance, the sudden deletion of user-generated content without any explanation or warning can elicit negative emotions and frustration, while exposure to appealing digital food cues can indirectly affect users’ well-being and fuel the obesity epidemic. This thesis explores the impact of social media on individuals’ physical and emotional states and evaluates possible interventions aimed at mitigating its potential risks. It presents a comprehensive, large- scale examination of videos that have been removed by YouTube or deleted by their uploaders. It develops and assesses three prediction models that can predict which videos will be removed at three stages of their lifespan. Additionally, it presents a large-scale, mixed-method approach to quantify the prevalence of food cues on Snapchat in three countries with different cultural backgrounds (Saudi Arabia, the United States, and France). It also measures the impact of exposure to Snapchat food content on appetite and whether it may inadvertently exacerbate cravings. Finally, it sheds light on Snapchat users’ perceptions of a proposed intervention design idea, allowing them to customize their feed and hide food content to reduce exposure to it. The outcomes of this thesis offer valuable insights and recommendations for how social media platforms can be improved to promote a healthier and more positive user experience.28 0