Full tittle: The effectiveness of the Social media “as new means of communications” in formulating youth directions against terrorism: field study, by Dr. Nermeen Singer* and Prof. Dr. Fathy El Sharkawy**.
* Department of Media & Child Culture, Faculty of Post-graduate childhood studies.
**Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts/Ain Shams University, Egypt.
Abstract
Social media plays a significant role in shaping the attitudes of young people and their values, beliefs towards many social issues. Due to the spread of terrorism in both the bloody and intellectual areas in many countries of the world in general and Egypt in particular, the necessity obliges us to study the impact of these methods on the trends of the youth to be able to implement the most appropriate strategies. The study was conducted on a sample of 400 university youth, considering the classification of gender and the scientific categories (theoretical faculties - practical faculties). The study used the method of collective application of a questionnaire prepared and generalized to identify the effect of the modern means of communication in shaping Trends of the study sample of university youth. The most important results of the field study indicated that the average use of social media in the sample (two hours) was 44.5% from the students, Facebook accounted for 28.9% from the sample, followed by Google 21.2%, then WhatsApp 18.9%. As for the ways of using the means of social communication the mobile phones came on the top by 62% then home Internet 26.9%.
Keywords: communications, formulating, Social media, terrorism, youth.
Introduction
Most countries in the Arab world are currently suffering from the dreadful terrorism, Governments, institutions and individuals have to do their best to demolish the terrorism. Security defense is no longer sufficient to carry out this difficult social task, and the current study is in this direction. It is assured that spread of terrorism and its effectiveness is based on the wise planning of how to use modern technological means of communication to disseminate extremist ideas, rumors, aimed at undermining the morale of individuals and affecting them negatively, from this point specifically the researcher is targeting through this field study to identify the nature and quality of those means, and the importance of the spread of this phenomenon, especially among the youth, Which is characterized by the age of vitality and movement of the importance of study. This study focuses on identifying the nature and quality of these means, and the extent of its importance in the spread of this phenomenon, especially among the youth segment, which is characterized by the age of vitality.
The study of the impact of e-media on individuals is no longer a trivial matter, but rather a necessity for all of us for the sake of our country. Mahmoud Taymour and others researchers confirmed that computers are the most challenging problem that this age faces (Mahmud Taymour and others 1997). They are mixed blessing which means that they can cause either evolution or destruction, hence it is very important to study its effects. It is reported in a research published by Ahmad Jalal in 2009 that the percentage of those who use Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp and others reached 47% (Ahmad Jalal 2009).
There is no doubt that unemployment, the fast growing frustration created by low living standards, as well as the destruction caused by terrorism on people and properties, may lead the youth to increase their use of these means, either to watch the news or express their opinions and beliefs through this virtual world, behind the screens, and in all cases, this excessive use of social media may expose him to the negative or positive impact of what is published in the social media from terrorist attacks, objectives... etc.
In this study the researcher focused on the subject of trends, because the trend plays a significant role in determining the behavior of the individual, the negative trends towards a particular issue makes the individual more able to resist it , and affect it more than it could influence him (Sharkawi 2007). In this sense, the researcher seeks to identify the general features for the attitudes of young people towards the news, topics and events related to the terrorism clarifying the factors that lead in turn to the formation of individual trends, given their importance and relevance to the subject of the current study (terrorism).
In this regard, Salah (1968) and Mustafa Suef (1966) confirmed that there are several factors that are required to create the psychosocial trends, including:
a. Criticism acceptance of social norms by inspiration: Inspiration is one of the common factors in the formation of psychological trends, since the individual often accepts a trend without having any direct contact with objects or topics related to that trend. The trend or creation of an opinion is not acquired but is determined by the general social norms that children absorb from their parents without criticism or thinking and become a normal part of their traditions and civilization which is difficult for them to get rid of. Inspiration is one of the means by which the one get the prevailing norms in the society, these norms may be religious, social, moral or aesthetic. If the tendency in a country is democratic, individuals in it adopt this principle.
According to the above, the researcher believes that the use of the youth to these modern means of communication will expose them to many ideas and this may lead to the formulation of a trend towards these ideas, and over time, this trend will begin to appear and stabilize.
b. Generalization of experiences: It is the second factor through which the individual creates his trends and views. A person always learns from his past experiences and connects them to the present life. For example, a child is trained from a young age to be honest, not to lie or not to take something that is not his, or to show respect for the older people,…etc. The child obeys the orders of his parents in those fields without having any idea of the reasons for these orders. He also doesn’t know that if he violates those orders, he will be considered a traitor, but when he reaches maturity he will realize the difference between these acts and the other acts, and then a principle will be created (the norm) and can be generalized in his private and public life.
According to the researcher, and based on the idea of generalization, some young people, based on past experiences and past perceptions, may be influenced by ideas, beliefs and news, which align their previous ideas, making them more focused on those issues, and that kind of news and topics. And this could be noticed from the frequent visitors to certain news websites.
c. Differentiation of the Experience: The difference in the unity of experience and its differentiation from the other, highlights it and confirms it by repetition, to be related to the similar units to be a psychological trend, we mean that the experience faced by the individual must have specific and clear dimensions in the content of its realization to relate them to similar previous experience or to what he will face in the future from his interaction with the elements of Social environment.
d. Intense of the Experience: The experience of intense emotion helps to shape the trend more than the experience that accompanies such emotion. The intense emotion deepens the experience and makes it more profound in the soul of the individual and more related to its bias and behavior in the social situations associated with the content of this experience and by this way the emotion is created and become influential on his provisions and standards
Suggested Citation:
Singer, Nermeen and El Sharkawy, Fathy, The Effectiveness of the Social Media ‘As New Means of Communications’ in Formulating Youth Directions against Terrorism: Field Study (July 21, 2018). International Journal of English Literature and Social Sciences (IJELS) Vol-3, Issue-4, Jul - Aug, 2018. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3425820