Dissertation

Digital media and women's political participation in Kuwait

AlSalem, Fatima

2015

Overview

There is an ongoing debate about the effects of Internet use on women’s political participation. While some have argued that the Internet lowers women’s cost of participation and increases their level of political participation, others maintain that Internet use has minimal effect. This study examines the relationship between Internet use and women’s political participation, using a random sample of 800 Kuwaiti women. The study investigates women’s digital media use behavior and its relation to both their online and offline political participation and to their level of exposure to online political information. The study also introduces a distinction between women who seek specifically political content and various other types of content. The results show that the amount of time spent on the Internet on online news and political information do not have an association with higher levels of online political participation. Although the study finds that the levels of both online and offline participation are very low due to socialization and culture, online participation has a strong and significant association with higher levels of offline participation. This study also finds that online privacy and anonymity are significantly associated with higher levels of online participation. In terms of digital inequality, it finds that digital skills and social institutions are positively related to higher levels of online participation, which suggests that online familiarity and literacy empower women and increase their online inclusion.

• Publisher: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses
• Subject: Journalism / Mass communications / Middle Eastern history / Middle Eastern Studies / Womens studies
• ISBN: 1321815042, 9781321815047