WHY I HIDE MYSELF ONLINE: WHAT DO PEOPLE SHARE PUBLICLY VS. PRIVATELY ONLINE IN QATAR?

Abstract

This thesis focuses on public online self-disclosure via social media platforms within the context of Qatar considering both expats and Qatari nationals. We analyze factors important to Qatar such as: laws pertaining to privacy, Islam and its influence in citizens orientation towards privacy. A questionnaire containing 17 questions was used to collect data. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and some of the findings are that people who engage in social media online in Qatar mostly use: Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube. The two topics which are least shared publicly are political opinions and family photos. While the two most common topics shared include full name and age. Within the Qatari community, the orientation towards public self-disclosure online is mostly neutral, followed by uncomfortable and very uncomfortable whereas for both demographics, the majority orientation to public self-disclosure online is the majority uncomfortable followed by a neutral orientation.

Date of Award	2022
Original language	American English
Awarding Institution	HBKU College of Humanities and Social Science