The impact of social media on youth volunteerism and community engagement in UAE

Abstract EN

This study aimed to determine the impact of social media on youth volunteerism and community engagement in the UAE.

specifically, it aimed to explore the relationship between social media use and community involvement among the youth in UAE whether it has positive or negative linkage, and to identify the types of social media use of the youth in UAE.

the study adopted a random sampling technique under a quantitative research design and conducted a cross-sectional online survey to gather data from the target group of 15 to 30 years old.

data analyses from 101 valid responses showed that the use of social media has a positive significant relationship with the youth community engagement and contributes to facilitating and engaging discussion of social issues, and dissemination of information on volunteering activities in the youth community amidst privacy concerns, doubt on the legitimacy of volunteering information, and uncomfortable with social media environment and regardless of their socio-demographic characteristics.

on this basis, volunteering organizations and youth themselves can efficiently drive community participation through these platforms while considering the method and content of promotion geared towards the youth, and this serves as a basis for digital policy demand to ensure data protection and a favorable environment for the youth users.