Jamal Almenayes - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Jamal Almenayes

This study attempts to examine the relationship between religiosity and social media addiction. I... more This study attempts to examine the relationship between religiosity and social media addiction. In the past religiosity has been found to offer protection from some forms of addiction such as smoking and alcohol consumption. However, no such thing has been done to examine the effect of religiosity on social media addiction. To investigate the matter, the present resear ch utilized a well-known Internet addiction scale and modified it to fit social media ( Young, 1996). Factor analysis of the addiction scale yielded three addiction factors: "Social Consequences", "Time Displacement" and "Compulsive Feelings". The religiosity scale produced a single factor. Linear regression analysis was then used to examine the relationship between religiosity and social media addiction. Results indicate that religiosity was a significant predictor of two addiction factors: "Social Consequences" (negative) and "Time Displacement " (positive), but not ...

Journal of Arts and Humanities, 2014

This study sought to examine the relationship between religiosity and psychological consequences ... more This study sought to examine the relationship between religiosity and psychological consequences of social media usage in a Muslim country based on secularization theory. Using a sample of college undergraduates a survey was conducted which included measures of religiosity and a host of psychological outcomes, both positive and negative. Results showed that religiosity is negatively related to viewing social media as an alternative to face-to-face interaction, feelings of self-confidence, panic. There were significant gender differences in four of the five dependent variables. The results are largely consistent with secularization theory in that religiosity shielded individuals from negative consequences of social media usage while providing an alternative for positive ones.

Journal of Arts and Humanities, 2015

This study sought to examine the dimensions of social media addiction and its relationship to rel... more This study sought to examine the dimensions of social media addiction and its relationship to religiosity. To investigate the matter, the present research utilized a well-known Internet addiction scale and modified it to fit social media (Young, 1996). Factor analysis of items generated by a sample of 1326 participants, three addiction factors were apparent. These factors were later regressed on a scale of religiosity. This scale contained a single factor based on factor analysis. Results indicated that social media addiction had three factors; "Social Consequences", "Time Displacement" and "Compulsive feelings. Religiosity, on the other hand, contained a single factor. Both of these results were arrived at using factor analysis of their respective scales. The relationship between religiosity and social media addiction was then examined using linear regression. The results indicated that only two of the addiction factors were significantly related to...

International Journal of Psychological Studies, 2015

This study investigated the effect of social media usage, engagement, and addiction on academic p... more This study investigated the effect of social media usage, engagement, and addiction on academic performance. First, the results show that the amount of time one spends using social media affects academic performance in a negative way. The amount of time one spends using social media is negatively correlated with their academic performance. Second, the study examined the effect of social media engagement on academic performance. Results show the SMEQ had no significant impact on academic performance. This outcome indicates that, unlike social media usage, being engaged alone does not affect academic performance. Finally, the study looked at social media addiction and its effect on academic performance. Social Media Addiction Scale (SMAS) was used for this purpose. Factor analysis was again used to determine the dimensions of SMAS. The analysis yielded three factors. Two of these factors were negative predictors of academic performance. This is not surprising since addiction implies h...

Asian Social Science, 2016

This study examines the dimensions of religiosity based on a sample of undergraduate students in ... more This study examines the dimensions of religiosity based on a sample of undergraduate students in a large state university in Kuwait. It aims to develop and test a multi-dimensional scale to measure religiosity in a Muslim sample. More specifically, the current research tests the properties of a newly developed religiosity scale designed for a Muslim sample consisting of two sub-scales, a spiritual and a behavioral one. The self-report data support the two dimensions of religiosity but, while the two dimensions are related, their statistical distributions were different indicating a possible “desirability bias” effect. Future studies should guard against this possibility by using complex survey techniques such as randomized responses and unmatched count.

Journal of addiction, 2015

This study investigated the psychometric properties of the Arabic version of the SMAS. SMAS is a ... more This study investigated the psychometric properties of the Arabic version of the SMAS. SMAS is a variant of IAT customized to measure addiction to social media instead of the Internet as a whole. Using a self-report instrument on a cross-sectional sample of undergraduate students, the results revealed the following. First, the exploratory factor analysis showed that a three-factor model fits the data well. Second, concurrent validity analysis showed the SMAS to be a valid measure of social media addiction. However, further studies and data should verify the hypothesized model. Finally, this study showed that the Arabic version of the SMAS is a valid and reliable instrument for use in measuring social media addiction in the Arab world.

Research on Humanities and Social Sciences, 2014

Online and offline discussion groups can be quite different with regard to the composition and pe... more Online and offline discussion groups can be quite different with regard to the composition and personality characteristics of their members, the goals of the group and the context in which they exist. Multiple dynamics likely affect and influence the structure and performance of any given group. Most of these dynamics can potentially affect the group, regardless of the domain, virtual or face-to-face, and generate similar result. There are qualities of online communication settings and qualities of face-to-face settings that can uniquely influence the dynamics of a group in those respective settings. This study explores the functioning of virtual online groups and examines potentially influential factors for the workings of groups of various types.

New media and mass communication, 2014

This study examined the relationship between social media use and academic performance. Self-admi... more This study examined the relationship between social media use and academic performance. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to a sample of university students in Kuwait. Results show that heavy mobile social media usage is positively related to lower GPA. The strong linear relationship suggests the more students use social media the lower their grades will be. Results also show participants were aware social media usage is lowering their grades, yet they continue to use them heavily regardless. Future research should consider the context in which social media are used. It should also explore other ways in which to measure social media use in addition to self-reports.

Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, 2015

This study aimed to examine social media addiction in a sample of university students. Based on t... more This study aimed to examine social media addiction in a sample of university students. Based on the Internet addiction scale developed by Young (1996) the researcher used cross-sectional survey methodology in which a questionnaire was distributed to 1327 undergraduate students with their consent. Factor analysis of the self-report data showed that social media addiction has three independent dimensions. These dimensions were positively related to the users experience with social media; time spent using social media and satisfaction with them. In addition, social media addiction was a negative predictor of academic performance as measured by a student's GPA. Future studies should consider the cultural values of users and examine the context of social media usage.

IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 2014

This study examined the differences between social media user types on a host of independent vari... more This study examined the differences between social media user types on a host of independent variables. User types were based on the Media-User Typology which explicates user types into five categories based on their media usage patterns. Several predictors of user type were included in logistic regression analysis to see the differences between each of the five categories of user type. Results indicate that significant differences in the "sporadic" and "advanced" user groups, but very little differences exist among the "lurker", "socializer", and "debater" groups. Members of the "advanced" group spend more time using social media, have a large number of followers. They are also more likely to meet someone they came across online in a face-to-face situation and drive while using social media. Limitations in this study include the cross-sectional data employed in the study do not warrant a claim of any causal relationships between the independent and dependent variables. Moreover, the sample which had female to male ratio of 2:1 which could skew the results by showing more variance in the former compared to the latter. Finally, all variables were based on self-reports. For example, the independent variable "time spent using social media" was measured by asking participants how much time they spend using social media on a typical day. Even though this question measures usage time accurately, uncertainty remains as to whether users are active all the time they are logged on to a specific application.

Gazette (Leiden, Netherlands), 1993

This study deals with the general question of how people process information about public affairs... more This study deals with the general question of how people process information about public affairs as they encounter it through the mass media. More specifically, the authors sought to examine the nature of the relationship between cognitive variables that play a major role in processing complex information. cognitive complexity, frame repertoires and factual information. It is hypothesized that these "knowledge structures" determine in part what people "get" out of news about public affairs. To test these relationships, the authors used survey research along with open-ended questions. The combination of these two methods was deemed appropriate because it addressed the active nature of information processing while maintaining the advantage of sample representativeness.

Gazette (Leiden, Netherlands), 1996

This research first traces the development of television in the State of Kuwait and the transform... more This research first traces the development of television in the State of Kuwait and the transformation it went through during and after the Gulf War. Then the author discusses the results of a survey done among a sample of Kuwaiti adults in late 1994. Data are pre sented showing television viewing amounts, program preferences, as well as the credibility of television compared to other mass media.

Gazette (Leiden, Netherlands), 1997

This study examines the effects of religious practice and media exposure on attitudes towards nor... more This study examines the effects of religious practice and media exposure on attitudes towards normalizing relations with Israel in Kuwait. Results show that frequency of prayer was a strong predictor of holding negative attitudes towards normalizing relations with Israel. Exposure to religious media programming was also a significant predictor of negative attitudes towards Israel. However, ownership of a satellite receiver and exposure to art and culture programming were significant predictors of holding positive attitudes towards this issue. The findings raise questions about the role of mass media in shaping attitudes about international relations.