Saudi Children's use of YouTube and the Role of Family

Although technology and its applications have become part of the daily lives of most children in Saudi Arabia (CITC, 2019), there is still a shortage in the Saudi literature of studies of Saudi children’s use of these applications. This thesis focuses on Saudi children’s use of YouTube from 3-6 years of age in terms of the experiences which children get from YouTube, in addition to the types of parental mediation which families use with their children. Even though the results of the study on the U&G approach (Katz, 1959) show that the approach has flaws, this thesis also looks at how the social and cultural context affects these practices. Bronfenbrenner's (1979) ecological systems theory was important for understanding the roles which families and communities play in influencing children's YouTube use.
This thesis makes numerous original contributions to empirical, theoretical and methodological knowledge. First, the Saudi families involved in the study pointed out the many benefits that they believe their children get from YouTube, such as helping their movement, learning self-care and polite behaviour. Second, with regard to family mediation, it was found that the families sometimes stated types of mediation which they used with their children while using YouTube which differed from those which they actually used. Third, the cultural and social context impacts children’s use of YouTube, in addition to the mediation methods that families use with their children. Saudi families living in the UK considered that applying the same types of mediation with their children upon returning to SA was a challenge because of the influence of the extended family. Fourth, the methodology of the current study offers solutions to overcome the difficulties of studying Saudi children in a private environment, such as a home, due to cultural considerations of the nature of the society, which means a greater enrichment of the Saudi literature to study children's behaviour inside the home. Finally, families' recognition of the benefits of children's use of YouTube is considered a new direction for the Saudi literature to think about technology positively, rather than benefiting children through family support for them to get the maximum benefit from technology and its applications.