THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON AFGHAN YOUTH SELF –ESTEEM AND SOCIAL ACTIVISM
Introduction/Abstract
Most of American scholarly discussions and commentary on Afghanistan have focused on what is going wrong in Afghanistan. This has often been done through highlighting the problems such as government corruption and suggesting the right course of action. While these efforts are significant in suggesting course corrections in the country, little or no work has been done to highlight potential opportunities that could be capitalized for a long-term stability and nation building in this war-torn country. One such opportunity is presented by the growing use of the Internet and social media among Afghan youth. These young people are increasingly embracing social media to express themselves, communicating with each other and engaging in social and civic activism.
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to deconstruct and analyze the contributing factors that drive Afghan youth in using social media platforms for social activism and understands the potential impact of social media on their self-esteem and voluntary behaviors.
Method
The research was conducted in Afghanistan across three state universities. Universities were selected based on the locations of regional representation of the country. A stratified random sample procedure was then adopted to decide sampling elements. A self-administered survey questionnaire was given to 400 college students. Questions covered a range of issues including Internet usability and accessibility, social media engagement, voluntary behaviors and motives behind using social media as well as opportunities, challenges and issues facing social participation in the country. The English questionnaire was translated into two local languages. After translation, the questionnaires were translated back to English to assess the quality of translation. At the same time, the questionnaire was pre-tested in both languages in order to assess translation quality and accuracy. Collected data were entered manually into Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and were used to analyze the data and generate results.
Results
The results found that Afghan youth, who use the Internet and social media for information seeking and entertainment, tend to engage in social activism. The study also found that Afghan youth who use social media for socialization purpose are more likely to have high self-esteem and those who do not. This empirical study suggested that the Afghan youth strive to bring about civic awareness and social change in their country through the Internet and engaging on social media platforms. The study also showed that Afghan youth are having relatively high self-esteem and self-efficacy. It is believed that with a wider Internet accessibility and utilization, Afghan youth can contribute a great deal to building a unified national identity and development of their country.
Significance
This is one of the first attempts to study Afghan youth and their use of social media. The findings of this study show that there is a significant potential in the use of social media to promote altruism and social activism among Afghan youth. It is also hoped that this study will prompt interest in other people to engage in such studies and generate scholarly work about social media in Afghanistan.
Location
DeRosa University Center, Stockton campus, University of the Pacific
Format
Poster Presentation
THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON AFGHAN YOUTH SELF –ESTEEM AND SOCIAL ACTIVISM
DeRosa University Center, Stockton campus, University of the Pacific
Most of American scholarly discussions and commentary on Afghanistan have focused on what is going wrong in Afghanistan. This has often been done through highlighting the problems such as government corruption and suggesting the right course of action. While these efforts are significant in suggesting course corrections in the country, little or no work has been done to highlight potential opportunities that could be capitalized for a long-term stability and nation building in this war-torn country. One such opportunity is presented by the growing use of the Internet and social media among Afghan youth. These young people are increasingly embracing social media to express themselves, communicating with each other and engaging in social and civic activism.
