الشبكات الاجتماعية و حرية التعبير في المجتمع المصري : دراسة ميدانية على عينة من الشباب الجامعي في مدينة الإسكندرية

الملخص EN

Freedomof expression is one of themost important political and civilhuman rights as stated by international conventions and agreements.

For example, Article 19 of the Universal Declaration ofHuman Rights, issued by the United Nations in 1948, states that ‘‘Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.’’ The right to freedom of expression has become an essential part of Sociological Theory, especially the Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School.

This took place through the contributions of Jurgen Habermas, the leader of the second generation of the Critical Theory, especially with regard to his views of the public sphere as a space where individuals can meet to discuss opinions and ideas, criticize social issues and transfer information and data about political, economic and social problems.

The public sphere used to be represented by literary salons, before it moved to public places and media such as press, radio and television.

With the emergence of the computer and the Internet, as two of the most prominent aspects of globalization in modern age, it could be said that freedom of expression has taken new forms.

Cyberspace has emerged, including social networks.

These have given individuals the chance to express the reality and problems of their society freely and without restrictions.

The problem that this research is trying to address can be formulated as follows: to what extent do social networks offer a public sphere that enables the youth, as the sector which uses the computer and the Internet the most, to express their opinions freely and without restrictions?