Effects of Facebook Usage on the Egyptian Revolution - Research Paper Example

?Effects of Facebook Usage on the Egyptian Revolution A. Introduction Technology has been a very powerful tool in the lives of people living today. It has permeated practically all levels of a society’s culture. Indeed, technology has even played a pivotal role in shaping the political nature of society. Among the technological advancements currently existing, the internet has proved to be a great tool in making communication among people very fast and efficient. In fact, social networking sites have been the most visited websites in the internet and a lot of news from current events have traversed the connections in these social networking sites. Among the currently existing social networking sites, perhaps the most popular is Facebook. Because of the great advantages and convenience that it offers, Facebook has been part of the ways for people to communicate with each other, from simple personal messages to updates about what is going on with both the local and international communities. As such, this research paper will look into exactly how instrumental Facebook has been in affecting one of the most controversial events of recent times, and that is the Egyptian revolution. Specifically, this research paper aims to answer the following research questions: What are the demographics of those who use Facebook? Did announcements from Facebook play a significant role in spreading information about the Egyptian revolution? Is Facebook viewed as a significant contributor to spreading the information about the Egyptian revolution? Has respondents’ usage of Facebook changed since the Egyptian revolution? B. Review of Related Literature B.1 Conceptual Framework (Adapted from http://www.people.umass.edu/aizen/index.html) B.2 Related Literature and Studies This research study and the applied hypotheses are rooted on the Theory of Planned Behavior by Icek Ajzen (1987). The goal of the Theory of Planned Behavior is to provide an explanation as to why people do what they do (Ajzen, 1987). Theorists explain that people do so because they form an INTENTION to carry out the action. Intentions are influenced by the person’s beliefs, the social pressure to conform to the wishes of others, and their perceived ability to carry out the action. These are known as ATTITUDE, SUBJECTIVE NORM and PERCEIVED BEHAVIORAL CONTROL. Thus, the Theory of Planned Behavior is a theory which predicts deliberate behavior, because behavior can be deliberative and planned. According to the theory, the best predictor of behavior is intention. Intention is the cognitive representation of a person's readiness to perform a given behavior, and it is considered to be the immediate antecedent of behavior (Ajzen, 2005). This intention is determined by three things: their attitude toward the specific behavior, their subjective norms and their perceived behavioral control. The theory of planned behavior holds that only specific attitudes toward the behavior in question can be expected to predict that behavior (Manstead & Parker 1995; Terry, Hogg and White 1999; Parker, et al 1992). In addition to measuring attitudes toward the behavior, it is necessary to measure people’s subjective norms – their beliefs about how people they care about will view the behavior in question. To predict someone’s intentions, knowing these beliefs can be as important as knowing the person’s attitudes. Finally, perceived behavioral control influences intentions. Perceived behavioral control refers to people's perceptions of their ability to perform a given behavior. These predictors lead to intention. A general rule, the more favorable the attitude and the subjective norm, and the greater the perceived control the stronger should the person’s intention to perform the behavior in question (Aronson, Wilson and Akert 2003). This study is interested in knowing how the actions of people pertaining to using Facebook affected the revolution and partly, the study is also interested in knowing why people reacted as they did and what were the effects after such actions. C. Methodology C.1 Research Design In order to answer the research questions posed by this investigation, survey methods will be used by employing the use of a questionnaire. The questionnaire is a structured technique for collecting primary data in a sociology-related survey (Black, 2010). It is a series of written or verbal questions for which the respondent provides answers. As such, this study uses primary data because the actual responses to the questionnaire will serve as basis in supporting the research hypotheses. The independent variables in this study will be represented by those responses pertaining to the usage of Facebook. On the other hand, the dependent variables in this study will be those responses pertaining to the behavior before, during and after the revolution. C.2 The sample In order to collect the appropriate information for this investigation, the questionnaire was sent to a convenience sample of 50 people. Out of these, 41 responded and the 30 questionnaires in which the respondents were Egyptians who use Facebook were utilized for this study. C.3 Analytical Methods Used The responses to the questionnaire were gathered, collated and coded for entry to the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). With the use of SPSS, the frequency counts, means, and standard deviations of the data were taken. In addition, the data were also cross-tabulated accordingly in order to identify existing similarities and trends in the data. D. Results Among the respondents, 23 (76.7%) were male and the other 7 (23.3%) were female. In terms of age, 9 (30.0%) were between 15 to 25 years old, 11 (36.7%) were between 26 to 35 years old, 8 (26.7%) were between 36 to 45 years old, and 2 (6.7%) were between 46 to 55 years old. Findings reveal that the respondents use Facebook quite extensively, as 10 (33.3%) use it for 1 to 3 hours a day, 12 (40.0%) use it for 4 to 6 hours a day, and 8 (26.7%) use it for more than 6 hours a day. Moreover, a great majority received invitation to the revolution through Facebook at 60.0% while the rest received invitation through Twitter (20.0%), email (13.3%), and Blackberry Messaging (6.7%). This is quite reflective also of the results which indicate that 73.3% used Facebook to broadcast their experience in the revolution while only 26.7% used other social messaging network. The respondents likewise spent a considerable amount of time in participating in the revolution. Thirty-three percent of them spent 1 to 3 hours in the revolution, 50.05 spent between 4 to 6 hours in participation, while 16.7% spent more than 6 hours in the revolution. Interestingly enough, while the respondents used Facebook quite extensively, only 23.3% of them believe that Facebook was the source of the revolution’s success. Majority attributed the revolution’s success to the Television coverage (56.7%) while the rest (20.0%) attributed the success to the Newspaper coverage of the revolution. This investigation is likewise interested in how the respondents’ use of Facebook changed since the revolution. The data reveals that a total of 20% decreased their frequency of usage of Facebook, while 26.7% used Facebook at a similar frequency. It is interesting to note that majority (53.3%) increased their frequency of usage of Facebook since the revolution. Table 1 shows a cross-tabulation of the effect of social media on the different aspects of the revolution. Figures in Table 1 reveal that there is no significant difference in participation in the revolution among those who used different social media. It should likewise be noted that all of those who received their invitation to the revolution through Facebook used it to broadcast their experience in the revolution. The figures in the table likewise reveal that even those who use Facebook do not actually attribute the source of the revolution’s success on the usage of Facebook. Rather, most of them attribute the success of the revolution to the information spread by the Television. Table 1. Effect of Social Media on Different Aspects of the Revolution     Participation in the Revolution   Way to Broadcast Experience   Source of Revolution’s Success   1-3 4-6 >6 Total   Facebook other Total   facebook TV Newspaper Total Facebook 7 9 2 18 18 0 18 4 9 5 18 twitter 2 3 1 6 0 6 6 1 4 1 6 blackberry 1 0 1 2 0 2 2 1 1 0 2 email 0 3 1 4 4 0 4 1 3 0 4 Total   10 15 5 30   22 8 30   7 17 6 30 E. Discussion, Conclusion, Limitations and Recommendations E.1 Discussion of Results According to the Theory of Planned Behavior, the society may dictate the extent of an individual’s actions (Mahon, Cowan, & McCarthy, 2006). This may be supported by the research findings which reveal that the respondents use Facebook quite extensively. The use of technology has become the social norm and thus, more members of the population find themselves conforming to this trend. Moreover, a great majority received invitation to the revolution through Facebook and at the same time, majority of the respondents used Facebook to broadcast their experience in the revolution. Airing out one’s opinions over the internet is something that is practiced quite freely in most parts of the world and as such, Egyptians have come to embrace this practice. According to Manstead and Parker (1995), attitude towards the behavior is determined by the person’s evaluation of the outcomes associated with the behavior. The more positively the person evaluates the outcomes and believes that the behavior will achieve these outcomes then the more likely it is that the person will perform the behavior (Manstead and Parker, 1995). Thus, Egyptians’ view of the benefits of expressing their opinion allowed them to broadcast their opinions over the internet through social media. It can also be noted that respondents likewise spent a considerable amount of time in participating in the revolution. Parker (1992) believes that this is because of the perceived social norm that came along as a result of a large majority of people being involved in the revolution as well. E.2 Conclusion In conclusion, using the findings and results generated by this investigation, it would be wise to go back to the research questions initially posed in this paper and answer each accordingly. What are the demographics of those who use Facebook? This investigation has not really provided a clear distinction in terms of the demographics of the users of Facebook. However, it would seem that males and females use Facebook equally. In addition, in terms of age group, it is the younger generation who use Facebook more frequently. This is quite understandable because the younger generations are the ones who are more comfortable in using technology. However, results also show that those belonging to the older generations have also learned to rely on technology as well. Did announcements from Facebook play a significant role in spreading information about the Egyptian revolution? There is sufficient reason to believe that announcements from Facebook played a significant role in spreading information about the Egyptian revolution. This can be attributed to the fact that a large number of the population currently use Facebook and so they have most likely utilized Facebook in spreading information about the Egyptian revolution. Is Facebook viewed as a significant contributor to spreading the information about the Egyptian revolution? Facebook is seen as a contributor to spreading the information about the Egyptian. However, respondents do not see Facebook usage as the primary contributor to spreading the information about the Egyptian revolution. This can be attributed to the fact that while the younger generation are quite reliant on the internet, more members of the population still rely on traditional media such as the television and newspaper. Has respondents’ usage of Facebook changed since the Egyptian revolution? Findings reveal that since the Egyptian revolution, the respondents’ usage of Facebook has changed significantly. Specifically, more respondents have come to use Facebook more often, most likely as a result of their experience in the revolution which allowed them to be constantly informed of the current events through this social networking site. E.3 Limitations and Recommendations Although it may seem that people have relied quite significantly on the use of technology in spreading information, this investigation does not provide sufficient evidence to conclude that the use of Facebook contributed significantly to the revolution because of the methodological limitations employed by the study. First, convenience sampling was used and as such, the sample acquired may not be representative of the entire population. Moreover, all the respondents are Facebook users. Thus, there was no comparison made with those who are not Facebook users. Third, the questionnaire used was not initially tested for reliability and validity. Thus, its credibility as a measurement tool leaves to be questioned. With these research limitations, it is therefore recommended that another research be conducted so that these issues will be attended to. It is hoped that with a more sound methodological research, the findings put forward by the current investigation will be more grounded on scientific evidence. F. References Aronson, E., Wilson, T.D. & Akert, R.M. (2003). Social Psychology. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Ajzen, I. (2005). Attitudes, personality and behaviors. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill International. Armitage, C., & Christian, J. (2004). 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Social Psychol. 38, 3, pp. 225–244. Parker, D., Manstead, A.S.R., Strading, S.G., Reason, J.T. and Baxter, J.S., 1992. Intentions to commit driving violations: an application of the theory of planned behaviour. J. Appl. Psychol. 77, pp. 94–101. Read More