Uses and Gratifications of Arab and Muslim-Oriented Facebook Pages in the U.S.: A Survey of Current users
Several posts were made on the public walls of over 50 Facebook website that are targeted ad Arabs and Muslims in the West. Participants were asked to fill out an online survey questioning the amount of time they spent using Facebook on a daily basis, the gratifications they obtained from Facebook use, and how they feel about themselves and their culture. In this initial survey, a total of 43 usable responses were obtained — predominantly Saudis living in the USA. Results showed that using Facebook in general was typically done for “relaxation.” However, when Facebook is used for culturally or religiously specific purposes, it was found to be associated with the importance of group membership (membership self esteem). Such use was found to be significantly gratifying to participants for a variety of personal and professional reasons. Some gratifications obtained from this type of Facebook use were linked to specific cultural self esteem characteristics. Although results of this study offer insight into utilization of Facebook by people who may want to maintain a “connection with home,” it is important to point out that the sample is relatively small and homogeneous. Further research should expand on this study to see if these results are more wide spread.
