Date of Award
3-17-2020
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Communication Studies, MA
First Advisor
Dr. Mary Jackson Pitts
Committee Members
Dr. Dinah Tetteh; Dr. Lillie Fears
Call Number
LD 251 .A566t 2019 B84
Abstract
Notwithstanding the decades-long focus afforded by the Saudi government on people with special needs, the sector remains to receive minimal research-based interventions (Alharbi & Madhesh, 2017), making social awareness more challenging. However, social media has become a means for information diffusion and raising awareness about different social issues. Furthermore, it has been employed as a powerful medium in influencing the perceptions of its users in Saudi Arabia (de Alencar, 2016). Given the utility of social media and the expected positive outcomes of public health advocacies, this paper seeks to examine the role of social media in raising awareness of the needs and issues confronted by people with special needs in the Saudi society. The researcher utilized an online survey which involved 402 Saudi respondents. This study revealed that social media played a salient role in building Saudis' awareness regarding people with special needs and positively changing their perceptions toward them.
Rights Management
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Bugshan, Lujain, "The Role of Social Media in Raising Special Needs Awareness Among Saudi People" (2020). Student Theses and Dissertations. 423.
https://arch.astate.edu/all-etd/423
