Abstract:

Social media and social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube are widely used throughout the world. Most studies in the adoption and use of social networking sites have been in developed nations in North America and Europe. Very few studies have explored the diffusion of social media in countries in the Gulf region of the Middle East. As more and more teenagers and students in their twenties use social media, it is imperative that we study this phenomenon to determine the potential of this technology for education. For the purpose of this abstract we use the terms social media and social networking interchangeably.
This study explores the factors that influence the use of social networking sites among female students in the Gulf region. The Gulf Region consists of the six Arab countries that share a border with the Arabian Gulf, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates. The Gulf Region has an important role in the global economy as it is among the top oil producing and exporting countries in the world. The royal, hereditary monarchies are the political power ruling in all six countries. Generally, the Gulf Region is a conservative society that abides to Islamic tradition and culture.
In this research, we use the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) proposed by Venkatesh et al (2003) to explain the acceptance of social networking. The UTAUT confirms that independent variables such as performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence and facilitating conditions influence behavioral intention to use and use behavior. These relationships between independent variables and use are moderated by gender, age, experience, and voluntariness of use. The UTAUT has been subsequently validated in many countries, and for a number of different technologies. Our study will add to the already rich literature on technology acceptance.
We collected data related to the UTAUT model from 219 female students in educational institutions in Saudi Arabia. We are now analyzing the data, and will have results ready in time for the final paper submission, and presentation at the conference. We believe that our findings will provide us with a better understanding of the factors that influence adoption of social networking among students, and help us identify and design social media technologies that can help us enhance the delivery of our courses. It will also help us examine the needs of female students in the area of technology.

Keywords:

Social Media, Women, Gulf, Technology.