The role of social networking sites (SNSs) in shaping the Egyptian youth knowledge and attitudes towards the local crises / Sara Mahmoud Ali ; Supervised Shaimaa Zo-Alfakkar

Thesis (M.Sc.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Mass Communication - Department of Radio and Television

Problem of the study: The research seeks to examine the role that can be played by SNSs at times of local crises as an information/news source for youth, and how it can affect their knowledge and attitudes on these crises.Objectives of the study: To identify the role of SNSs to add knowledge to the Egyptian youth about local crises, To explore the role of SNSs in shaping the Egyptian youth's attitudes towards the local crises, To examine the motives that enhances Egyptian youth usage for SNSs at times of crises and to explore the Egyptian youth's consideration for SNSs as an immediate source for the gaining information at times of crises.Population and Study Sample: The population consists of the Egyptian youth both male and female who are using SNSs ranging in age from 18 to 35 years old. The sample type and size: a purposive sample of 420 Egyptian youth SNSs users included males and females aged from 18 to 35 years old. Findings: There is a weak positive correlation the youth's usage of SNSs at times of crises and their knowledge about the crises Majority of participants mentioned SNSs as the first source to hear from the presence/ occurrence of crisis, more than one third of participants reported SNSs as the most used source for seeking more crisis information. Over (42 %) of respondents said they gain information of crises by chance through browsing SNSs. Results showed that shaping attitudes towards Tiran and Sanafir crisis is significantly and positively correlated with youth usage of SNSs for crisis information

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