Predictors of blogging activity in six Arab countries

Justin D. Martin*, Klaus Schoenbach

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

This study examines predictors of blogging in six Arab countries in a secondary analysis of population surveys of, in total, 7,525 respondents in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Lebanon, Bahrain, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates in 2013. The surveys assessed a wide variety of Internet uses, news and information consumption, and also levels of political efficacy, media trust, and attitudes toward free speech, among other cultural and political indicators. Despite the oft-referenced supposition that blogging in the Arab world is associated with political disaffection, results here suggest that in the six countries investigated blogging is mainly connected to online engagement in general—such as sharing photos online, participating in online chats, and reading others’ blogs—rather than to sociopolitical indicators. In none of five of the six countries, for example, does a sense that one’s country was not ‘on the right track’ significantly predict blogging behavior. Also, distrust of mainstream news organizations only played a minimal role.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)733-754
Number of pages22
JournalInternational Communication Gazette
Volume78
Issue number8
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 1 2016

Keywords

  • Arab world
  • Internet use
  • Middle East
  • blog
  • online engagement
  • survey

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Communication
  • Sociology and Political Science

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