Free Example of Social Networking Sites Essay

Abstract

The enhanced internet connectivity has instigated a global increase in users of social networking sites. These sites enable individuals from all over the world to increase their presence in the available platforms that social media and networking sites provide. A significant number of users have been satisfied with their resourcefulness in facilitating work and leisure activities. They reduce instances of boredom and redundancy in a working environment. However, the enhanced use of social networking sites has been facing a number of legal challenges with regard to their designs. Most of these challenges are instigated by the users’ concerns relating to security, misuse of data, and privacy protection. According to Acquisti (2008), the number of online customers expressing their privacy concerns has been growing tremendously. This is especially so in the Arab world, and especially Saudi Arabia.

Saudis get anxious about the level of protection that online social networks provide to personal information. In this regard, a couple of site owners have been incorporating privacy policies during their strategic planning so that they can remain in business. The policies are aimed at providing channels for consumer protection as par the regulations set aside by authorities in various jurisdictions around the world. Users’ concerns are incorporated in planning, a scenario that facilitates customer retention. Customers aspire to be in control of what information is shared to the public. With regard to the latest Arab uprising against dictatorial regimes, Saudis have become mindful of the communications they engage in since being a peaceful society, not many of them would wish to invite trouble with the authorities.

Progress towards effective protection of private data on social networking sites has been slow. The sluggish maneuver has prompted users to come up with a variety of industrial groups to facilitate the initiation of proactive protection strategies. The masses have pressured the authorities to enact statutes that aim at consumers’ protection. Indeed, concerns for data privacy influence the willingness to share personal information while establishing online networks, especially with regard to the female Saudi users. People fear that their personal messages, links, photos, and videos may be used to reconstruct information such as purchasing history of an individual. The reconstruction may provide other information such as relations, political and religious affiliations, as well as ideological attachment. This study evaluates the concerns that Saudis have with regard to privacy of their data on social networking sites.

Participants explained how they utilize various social networking sites for communication purposes as well as for fun and sharing interests. The issue facilitated the development of the following hypothesis:

H 1: The Saudis have usability problems and they do not find the current social networking sites as the right platforms for communicating with peers within as well as outside the country.

H 2: The Saudis have doubt the safety and confidentiality of the data which is posted over the social networking sites in the country.

H 3: Variations in tastes is accounted for as per the socioeconomic capital that is associated with each section of the society.

With the growth of Internet technologies, there has been a rapid increase in the number of online networking sites. Among the most famous sites are Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and YouTube. These sites utilize a variety of communication tools and channels which include emailing, blogging, linking, messaging, winking, and wikis. Saudi consumers utilize these methods in their communication with their counterparts from various parts of the world. Such capability is attributable to the phenomenal growth that has been witnessed with these sites. For instance, according to a study by Booth and Paul, although the number of social networking sites in the Middle East and Africa accounted for 28 percent of the world users by 2007, this number is rising rapidly (Booth & Paul, 2010). The rise has transformed the two regions in an unprecedented way, with Saudi Arabia registering a remarkable achievement. In fact, Saudi Arabia has the second highest number of users among the Arab countries, second only to Egypt. This indicates that, unlike the perception of many observers, Saudi Arabia is an open society, at least with regard to the freedom of thought and communication.

As a supplement to the above information, over 50 percent of those Saudis who own accounts with social networking sites log on to the site on a daily basis. The sites have availed over 900 million channels of networking, such as groups, pages, and events to the Saudis, a scenario that has facilitated their linking to the rest of the world. For instance, over 500,000 pictures are uploaded in a day via Facebook. With such statistics, and considering that Facebook is just an example of social networking sites, it is evident that the internet has been a communication channel of choice among the Saudis.

The popularity of social networking sites has been growing as a result of the advantages that they present to individuals as well as businesses around Saudi Arabia. At the individual level, the sites offer opportunities for networking with people from various parts of the world in an organized social setting. According to Driscoll and Catherine, enterprises benefit from social networking sites by facilitating cost effective discussions among stakeholders. A significant number of businesses utilize the sites in facilitating various forms of alternative work programs for their employees. These programs include telecommuting and online selling. Moreover, the sites enable enterprises to improve the involvement of clients during the innovation of products and services. Indeed, social networking sites have facilitated the improvement of customer service while empowering the employees (Driscoll & Catherine, 2008). According to Greenhow & Christine, most social networking sites employ the available data mining proficiencies during the collection of the market related data. The market related data are the information of a business enterprise in exploiting some investment opportunities so as to attain the financial profitability (Greenhow & Christine, 2009).

The most common business practice on the internet is advertising. There are two major types of advertising on the internet. The easiest and the most common type of advertising is where a firm creates articles of promotion with intent to reach the public in general. Such a method avails information about a particular product to the Saudis in general. This strategy is considered to be ethical and non-intrusive. The other form of advertising involves pestering individuals to purchase products and services. In this case, information of interest is channeled to the private channels of communication that the sites provide. For instance, an individual gets a great deal of messages about a product in a manner that is hard to ignore. As such, advertisers begin with a search that is focused on an individual’s likes and preferences. To construct this information, enterprises monitor personal photos, messages, links, and other channels of communication with or without the consent of an online user.

The acquisition of personal information by individuals, enterprises, and site administrators is considered to be unethical in Saudi Arabia. This is because, in addition to the danger that the reconstructed information poses to the concerned party, too much messaging can prove obstructive. As such, the earlier gains in the growth of online networking are beginning to shrink especially among the female users. Discussions regarding privacy and ethics have overtaken those on extolments.

According to Honeycutt & Cunliffe, 40% of consumers avoid buying commodities over the internet due to security and privacy concerns. Nevertheless, there are those that have accepted the situation appreciating the infringement on personal privacy as the price that users pay for the effectiveness provided by social networking sites (Honeycutt & Cunliffe, 2010). Honeycutt argues that even in situations where privacy policies exist, most Saudi users and site administrators do not read them. Mitchell & Ybarra’s (2009) study at 2,500 Saudi users of social networking sites established that less than 45 percent of consumers act within the established privacy policies. The respondents were drawn from various categories of individuals in the Saudi’s society, and this implies that the problem of disregarding the established regulations is common in the country (Mitchell & Ybarra, 2009).

Following the review of literature, it is evident that individual customers have the varying expectations. As such, their attitudes towards the customer service versus privacy are inconsistent. According to Taiwo, while a number of users express their disgust regarding the invasion of individual’s privacy, there are those that welcome enterprises’ activities of sharing information. They contend that information sharing facilitates the meeting of customers’ needs and expectations. Although most customers accept a certain degree of risk while engaging in an online activity, Saudi businesses are behooved to establish a criterion of reducing the perceived risks. The reduction of risks facilitates an improvement in the degree of trust that the consumers have on online activities (Taiwo, 2010). Trust can only be increased by ensuring that firms in Saudi Arabia implement the strong policies for guiding activities on the sites they host.

A study by Rodrigues et al. indicates that there exist some privacy functions that individuals can utilize during their activities at social networking sites. However, Rodrigues argues that these functions are not suited to network effects that are necessary in data sharing. For instance, whenever a user discloses the personal information such as his/her activities with friends, the networking tools in these sites can facilitate the revelation of the personal information on friends (Rodrigues et al., 2002). This could amount to the invasion of privacy, especially if the friends were not intended to disclose the information. Such a leak could result into disastrous consequences for individual users, and these consequences may ruin an individual as Saudi Arabia is a deeply conservative society.

As with some consumers’ privacy concerns, Saudi businesses find it challenging to balance trust and privacy. A number of business executives have been reviewing the firms’ concerns regarding the employees’ utilization of social media and networking sites, Web 2.0 technologies, and blogs. The executives review these issues out of any concern that  ifthe employees should post some negative items on these sites, the result would be a disastrous loss of business. Moreover, the sites may encourage the employees into disclosing sensitive information such as trade secrets. Such disclosure would damage the reputation of the firm and, in effect, cause a great financial damage to the Saudi Arabia as a society.

This study sought to, among other things, establish the perceptions of the clients of social networking sites with regard to security and ethical standards. The study will also evaluate how Saudi consumers trust with a site influence the pattern of sharing information as well as establishing new relationships. Approaching this issue requires the determination of the type of privacy issues that Saudi users encounter while conducting their activities at social networking sites. It has been established that firms utilize a variety of tools and techniques while collecting the consumers’ personal information. Each of these techniques poses concerns to the consumers. Although social networking sites do not prevent every aspect of the data collection, administrations of social networking sites have the capacity to mitigate the users’ concern to a certain level.

In most social networking sites, the information concerning the privacy enhancement is contained in a page which is then linked to a convenient location at the home page. This information is important, and according to Goggin & McLelland, the publication of the privacy statement of policy reassures consumers. Such an assurance facilitates the building of brand and company image (Goggin & McLelland, 2005). Hodkinson argues that the development of cookies was aimed at facilitating the identification of visitors to the site. Cookies were also meant to help tracking the number of times that an individual visited a site. Hodkinson elaborates that controversy may arise if cookies are used as the pointers to databases that hold some sensitive information (Hodkinson, 2007). The sensitive information may include a number of visits to a web page, past browsing tendencies, and the personal data provided voluntarily while registering at the site. According to Cain & Jeff, cookies can aid a third party site into gaining some private information regarding the visitor. However, only 60 percent of the Saudi internet users indicate the awareness of cookies. Many users do not know that cookies are important data sourcing components, and that they can be used in tracking online actions (Cain & Jeff, 2008).

Available literatures on Saudi Arabia have indicated that secure sites are those that contain some links to privacy preferences. Secure sites follow standardized sets of practices that illustrate some privacy practices. The links to privacy preferences facilitate the review of security by customers. Many sites make the use of electronic files. The electronic files are referred to as Web beacons. The files allow the site administrators to keep track of users as well as to access the information being held within the cookies. Sites, such as Facebook, have been condemned by the members over their use of beacons in their advertising systems. This is because beacons facilitate the sending of users’ information such as shopping habits to other sites. Other users argue that beacons facilitate the targeted advertisement to users.

In 2009, a study comprising of 29 social networking sites was conducted. The study included MySpace and Facebook. The finding of that study indicated that most of these sites did have some privacy policies. However, the study showed that the policies were only applicable during sign ups, and this is especially so in Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries. According to the study, most sites feared that promoting the policy would scare off the potential membership. This fear results into sharing of personal information with impunity, a scenario that places users of social networking sites at great risks in such conservative countries as Saudi Arabia.

Studies on privacy policies have established that problems with the personal information are prevalent among the proficient users of social networking sites. According to Fogg, even in situations where sites incorporate some adequate security measures, the site users can exploit various provisions to create subsidiary applications that are not as secure as the original site. The perceptions of trust and privacy are common among users of various sites. This is because users express the similar concerns regarding privacy (Fogg, 2008). Nevertheless, it has been established that the youth open accounts with an intention of building online relationships, irrespective of the perceived privacy, and trust weaknesses. Fink & Joseph undertook a research on 2,500 Saudi young people regarding their expectations with the issues to do with online privacy. The study established that the members of the online community expect to have their private data protected whenever they log on a site. Such expectations have prompted site administrators to collaborate with various authorities in an endeavor to enhance security (Fink & Joseph, 2010).

The research paper has been accomplished through the analysis of security issues on Facebook and other sites such as MySpace, YouTube, and Twitter. The goal was to examine some privacy protections and their impacts on consumers’ choices of establishing relationships. The study comprised of the selection of testing equipments, the selection of sites to be evaluated, and testing and analysis of results.

A diverse criterion was utilized in the selection of testing equipments. The cost of conducting the study was inhibitive due to inadequacy of resources. As such, free or cheap testing tools were preferred. Moreover, there was a need to choose products that run on the Windows XP operating system after an online examination tool has been installed. The functionality of the product under test had to be robust enough so as to check multiple factors relating to privacy. These factors included the inquiry into whether the site has some web beacons, privacy policies, third-party links, and cookies. The selection settled on a P3P validation tool from W3C. The tool was chosen because no cost had to be incurred while purchasing it. However, this tool had limited its functionality since it could not provide the data regarding cookies, links, or web beacons. To supplement the findings of the P3P validation tool, the study incorporated the use of Truwex Online Tool. The tool is free and its result delivery had been ascertained. In fact, a number of web developers have been using the tool in their review of privacy standards among other regulations. The tool’s reporting format necessitates the collection of data such as:

1. Compliance with regulations such as the COPPA laws
2. Provision of guidelines to privacy hyperlinks
3. The usage of P3P policy
4. Presence of contents such as Web beacons and cookies.

Additionally, Truwex provided such features as testing of site quality and accessibility. However, these functionalities are beyond the scope of this study, and as such, they have not been considered. Due to its robustness and availability, the product was selected for testing purposes.

The phase two of the methodology involved the selection of one of the main sites for the purpose of evaluation. Facebook was chosen for an evaluation that was completed in three cities in Saudi Arabia: Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dammam. The purpose for the evaluation was to check on the diversity of online relationships and how the diversity is influenced by concerns for privacy and ethical issues.

Two sources of data were involved in collecting data; these are primary and secondary data.

Primary data was obtained from the field by gathering information from the Facebook users. The data collection strategies will include interview schedules, questionnaires, as well as discussions with the focus group.

The secondary sources were obtained from published works that have well documented sources. These sources included books, reports, journal articles, and periodicals that are relevant to the research subject. Others included documents from websites as well as proceedings from conferences.

Data collection was done by the principal researcher. The study utilized both quantitative and qualitative data collection techniques. The instruments administered for collecting data from the field included;

• Questionnaire survey
• Focus group discussions
• Interviews 
• Observation.

These were administered by the principal researcher to the participants. The items in these questionnaires were attained following an exercise, which facilitates the identification of the items that the community considers vital for evaluation. These respondents acted, of course, as the representatives of the entire Saudi Arabian society. The questionnaires were administered in conformity with the sample size.

This was conducted by the principal researcher together with the research assistants. The research assistants were required to follow strict guidelines, and in case a deviation will be necessary, they were required to consult the principle researcher first. This facilitated sticking to the requirements. This method of data collection was very appropriate as it combined both the elements of participant observation and interviewing, and it was possible to clarify some of the issues that could appear challenging when tackled by the use of questionnaires.

The interviews were carried out by the principal researcher in the company of the research assistants. As with the focus group discussions, research assistants were required to abide by strict guidelines.

The researcher gathered firsthand information by interacting with the participants on the ground. Through interaction with the respondents, the researcher was able to observe the activities and operations directly and thus openly explored the research topic. This enabled the researcher to develop a holistic perspective of the project as well as learn more information in which the participants could have been unaware of or unwilling to discuss during an interview. The information gathered was then recorded in a notebook.

Systematic random sampling of various categories of users was employed. The goal of using this technique was to select a reasonable subject that represented the target population. Probability sampling of the participants was utilized in order to give each one of them a chance of being selected in the sample.

The research team undertook data analysis so as to arrive at the conclusions. Tabulation was used to determine the distribution number and percentages of the variables being analyzed. Regression data analysis was also used and data has been presented in figures. In order to determine the validity and reliability of the data collection tools test validity and reliability were used.

The monitoring of diversity of online relationships and the concern for privacy and ethical issues facilitate the improvement of social media and business marketing in Saudi Arabia. There is a remarkable use of social media in Saudi Arabia as the country is ranked number 31 in the world. Upon the effective utilization of social networking sites’ monitoring tool, the study has managed to uncover the real market situation. It has also been possible to track and analyze the Saudi’s engagement in these sites where the main influencers and response rates have been identified. The following statistics were identified.

Table 1. General Information on Saudi Arabia (Adopted from the GSS Tables, 2009)

The statistics on the social networking activities in Saudi Arabia indicates that sites such as Facebook are yet to attract an optimum number of users. For instance, as compared to the countries internet penetration of about 53%, the figure of 20% that represents the Facebook users is remarkably low. 

Figure 1. Distribution in terms of Age (Adopted from the GSS Tables, 2009)

The demographics relating to Facebook use in Saudi Arabia indicates that the highest number of users is aged between 25 and 34 years, and these users are about 2,007,814. The figure is followed closely by that of the users who are aged between 18 and 24 years. 

Figure 2: The Ratio of Male to Female Users (Adopted from the GSS Tables, 2009)

Among the Facebook users in Saudi Arabia, 69 percent of them are of male gender while 31 percent are of the female gender. This figure differs significantly with those of the countries with similar levels of penetration like South Africa and Portugal. In South Africa, for instance, the figures for male and female users are represented by 49 and 51 percent respectively while those of Portugal are 51 and 49 percent respectively.

Sixty three percent of the participants indicated that apart from Facebook, they utilize sites that facilitate favorable alternative work arrangements such as telecommuting and part-time programs. These users are mostly the ones who are engaged in marketing and promotional activities. Over 90% of them indicated that they worry a lot about working online because their evaluation is complex, and they feel overworked which reduces the time available to attend their private and family matters. Their view is that they need more time for leisure to ensure refreshment of their mind. This drives them into utilizing other sites which, apart from their utility in employment activities, facilitate relaxing.

Among the 40 respondents who participated in this study, 20 of them were of male gender, and 20 of the female one. The information provided in the background section of the questionnaire indicated that the participants were of, on average, 27.1 years old (Standard Deviation = 11.5). The study was aimed at evaluating the usability of Social Networking Sites, especially those that ranked among the top ten in 2009, 2010, and 2011 among the Saudi users.

The table below indicates the participation of the respondents in several tasks in three of the most utilized sites. In these activities, the rates of success did not vary. The figures for the three sites were (F (2, 18) = 1.360, p> 0.05). Although the respondents reported to consider most of the tasks as being easy to accomplish, some of them did pose some difficulty.

Table 2: Percentages of those who consider various operations being easy to accomplish

The above figures were very important as they serves to explain the reason why the Saudi users find some of the sites more usable than others. They also facilitated the explanation why enhancement of such issues as privacy is important so as to keep the three as well as other sites in operation. The following table indicates the difficulty that the participants encounter for every task. With regard to these sites, uploading profile photos and altering the options relating to messaging were reported to be some of the most difficult tasks to accomplish. The easiest were making photo albums and updating profiles.

Table 3: The Average rating for the difficulty while performing various tasks

The figure in the parenthesis represents the standard deviation. With regard to the figures before the parenthesized figures, 1 represents very easy; 5 represents very difficult.

Efficiency of Navigation and the Effectiveness of Communication

Most participants took a reduced amount of time to communicate via Facebook (M=14.80 minutes, Standard Deviation = 1.91). This is the best time when compared to Twitter’s (M= 14.99 minutes, Standard Deviation = 4.41) and MySpace’s (M=18.92 minutes, Standard Deviation = 3.94). Nevertheless, in terms of statistics, no significant difference existed amongst the sites as F (2, 12) = 1.05, p> 0.05.

It is interesting to note that significant variations existed with regard to the count of pages that are visited for an effective interaction. The figures are F (2, 12) = 12.24, p<0.01. Pairing the comparisons indicates that there are significantly few visits while on Facebook (M =18.920 minutes, Standard deviation=4.88) as figures while on Twitter are (M=47.86, Standard deviation = 11.87) and while on MySpace are (M = 60.43, Standard Deviation = 25.17). Additionally, the participants visited an average of 2.86 pages above optimum while on Facebook, 17.86 while on Twitter, and 27.43 while on MySpace.

Preference and Satisfaction

With regard to user satisfaction, Facebook emerged to be the best account with (Mean = 61.70 and Standard Deviation = 15.30). MySpace came second with (Mean=54.70, Standard Deviation = 18.00) while Twitter was the last with (Mean = 50.60, Standard Deviation = 29.00). Nevertheless, basing the scores on a 100 point scale, it was evident that the difference across sites was minimal. In fact, most respondents did not have a favorite site. For instance, while 40 percent of the respondents reported to prefer Facebook, Twitter and MySpace were each preferred by about 30 percent of the respondents.

The study adopted the grounded theory, and employed the ideas of Strauss and Glaser as rules of thumb. Combining the two views was necessary as it helped double the checking results, a technique commonly referred to as cross examination or triangulation. The goal was to enable framing of the querying process, and enhance confidence with the results. This is because triangulation is a good technique which eases data validation by cross verifying two or more sources. It involves the combination and application of various methodological analyses while studying a certain phenomenon. Through the combination of multiple observations, empirical materials, and methods; the study overcame the problems and intrinsic biases that results whenever a single observation, theory, and method is used in the study. Broadly speaking, triangulation may be employed with both qualitative and quantitative (validation) studies. But the term is commonly used in reference qualitative studies. During research, triangulation emerged as a suitable alternative to the traditional criteria of checking for validity and reliability.

To test for privacy, each site’s URL was inserted into a selection box of a Truwex product before choosing the option labeled ‘privacy’. The testing resulted into a detailed report on the site’s compliance with privacy and security regulations. The report partitioned the test into two: some severe privacy issues and warnings. The severe issues are those that need prompt fixing while warnings are those in need of review. Among the major concerns is when a site is discovered not to have a policy on privacy link. Another concern is when it is established that two pages with Web beacons do not have cookies. A warning appeared when a third party link to the reference file was missing.

The results were compared with the statistics regarding the usage of social networking sites. The statistics were attained in a form of secondary sources, and the aim of the comparison was to establish the connection between privacy and the usage of social media and networking sites.

The focus of this paper was on security and ethical issues that are associated with online activities, especially with regard to social networking sites like Facebook. The study indicated that trust in the social networking sites influences the willingness to share the personal information and develop new relationships. Moreover, there exists a connection between concerns on internet privacy and willingness to share personal information and develop new relationships. The data suggest that there exists a substantial change in the types and the amount of privacy problems on various social networking sites. The majority of social networking sites do not follow security and privacy policies in various jurisdictions. This derails the growth of consumers who utilize various social networking sites. Additionally, there is a significant impact on instances where web pharoses and cookies are utilized during the designing of sites.

Individuals are discouraged against typing contents that would reveal their identity on instant messaging, bulletin boards, and profile pages. This helps with keeping unwanted visitors at bay. Moreover, it is an effective measure of avoiding identity theft and malicious threats. Personal information includes individuals’ and enterprises’ names, job titles, contact addresses, dates of birth, dairy routines, and family information (Driscoll & Catherine, 2008).

The administrators of social networking sites also advise users to be skeptical. They point out that as much as useful business information is availed, the sites do also present a substantial amount of disinformation. Individuals are advised to treat issues like stock tips, personal gossip, and advance news with a lot of skepticism. This is because people lie in an endeavor to advance their agenda, while others expose unsubstantiated information as a result of their ignorance (Hodkinson, 2007). Therefore, users ought to be thoughtful and professional in their online dealings. People are advised to wary of their relationships until they have independently verified each other’s identities. Social networking cites possess specific guidelines with regard to privacy, and users are advised to comprehend these guidelines before revealing their identities to third parties.

Conclusion

The study has indicated that the present legal mandates and the industry standards do not enhance the security in social media and networking sites. It was established that such insecurity affects the willingness of consumers to share the personal information on the social networking sites. Therefore, consumers are opting for some alternative networking methods as they shun the online sites. Consumers have indicated their concern regarding the security of data on online social media and networking sites. To tackle these issues, the industry has formulated some technical guidelines and standards for the purpose of managing the online actions (Hodkinson, 2007). Moreover, a number of Saudi organizations have begun enacting privacy regulations that focus on assuring security of personal data. This study has shown that such actions help to tackle critical privacy issues, a situation which enhances consumers’ confidence in sites. The confidence enables them to build relationships with individuals from all over the country and the world. With the enhancement of a multi-dimensional approach on technical, training, and managerial issues, the higher levels of security and privacy will be attained (Driscoll & Catherine, 2008). This will draw more clients into online activities and relationships.