Political uses of social networking sites in Palestinian society (A field study on a sample of university youth)

Abstract

The research aims to identify the issues, forms, and political methods circulating among Palestinian activists and the gratifications achieved, and to identify the most prominent obstacles and shortcomings that may taint this role, and the possibility of overcoming them.

The field study community was represented among university youth in Palestine, and the descriptive analytical approach was used by describing the phenomenon, and analyzing the questionnaire that was adopted as a tool.

The study concluded that young people did not seem to have great confidence in everything that is published in the world of virtual media, and these young people saw that interactive websites were successful in highlighting some political aspects, and that the political movement that came as a response to the calls of interactive media took many forms, foremost of which is participation in protests and demonstrations, followed by Attending conferences and political meetings, and the security conditions came as the most important obstacle that prevents young people from playing their role, followed by an obstacle to their preoccupation with other interests.

The researcher recommended a diversity of methods used in the virtual world of YouTube images, opinion polls, group discussions, and various links, as well as conducting scientific studies of the available political contents, allowing to identify how the Palestinian public uses them.