THE INFLUENCE OF FACEBOOK AND TWITTER ON FOOTBALL FANATICISM: A STUDY OF ARAB MALE STUDENTS IN INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA BY ABDELRAHMAN T A ASHOUR A dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Human Sciences (Communication) Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences International Islamic University Malaysia OCTOBER 2020
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THE INFLUENCE OF FACEBOOK AND TWITTER ON
FOOTBALL FANATICISM: A STUDY OF ARAB MALE
STUDENTS IN INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC
UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA
BY
ABDELRAHMAN T A ASHOUR
A dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirement for
the degree of Master of Human Sciences (Communication)
This study explores the influence of Facebook and Twitter on football fanaticism
among Arab male students of International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). This
study is based on Media Dependency Theory (MDT), which assumes that individuals
depend on the media for the information they need. In this study, Arab male students
of IIUM who are interested in watching football offer their views on the effects of
dependence on Facebook and Twitter as a source of information on the phenomenon
of football fanaticism, based on the fact that they are football fans who use these sites
to obtain information and watch football matches. This study adopted a qualitative
research methodology. In-depth interviews were conducted with nine Arab male
students of IIUM. The study sample was chosen based on specific criteria: (1) they
must be Arab students at IIUM, (2) they must be football fans, and (3) they must be
active users of Facebook and Twitter and comment, post, follow, and disseminate
football news. The study attempted to answer three research questions: (1) Why do
football fans among IIUM Arab students use Facebook and Twitter to watch football
matches? (2) How does the use of Facebook and Twitter lead to football fanaticism?
(3) What individual factors lead to football fanaticism? The results of this study show
that the football fans among Arab male students of IIUM use Facebook and Twitter
because these sites are considered as sources of football news and as platforms for
watching football matches. Further, these sites allow football fans to connect with
others and provide their users with multiple features. The results also indicate that the
use of Facebook and Twitter leads to football fanaticism due to negative
communication, abuse of freedom, and lack of control. Furthermore, the respondents
of this study pointed out two individual factors influencing football fanaticism through
Facebook and Twitter, namely the absence of sportsmanship and over-reliance on
Facebook and Twitter as sources of information.
iii
خلاصة البحث Arabic Abstract
معرفة تأثير استخدام فيسبوك وتويتر على ظاهرة التعصب الكروي بين لىإ ا البحثى هذيسعلى نظرية إستند يو ، سلامية العالمية ماليزياالعرب في الجامعة الإ ب من الطلاالقدم جماهير كرة
على وسائل الاعلام للحصول على ونفراد يعتمدن الأأتفترض علام التيالاعتماد على الإ ن بمتابعة كرة القدم مو المهت - العرب الطلاب يقُدم ا البحثهذ فيو ، تاجونهايح المعلومات التي
ظاهرة في للمعلومات اتأثير الاعتماد على فيسبوك وتويتر مصدر نظرهم في ات وجه -ل على المعلومات نهم مشجعون يستخدمون هذه المواقع للحصو أبناء على ؛التعصب الكروي
جريت مقابلات متعمقة أ ، فقدنهج النوعيالبحث العتمد وي ،ومشاهدة مباريات كرة القدم ؛ هي: سئلة بحثيةأثلاثة البحث وقد اقترح المعنية، امعة الجعرب في الطلاب تسعة من المع
ية الإسلامامعة الجكرة القدم من الطلاب العرب في جمهورُ يستخدم فيسبوك وتويتر لماذا ما العوامل و كروي؟ التعصب اللى إاستخدام فيسبوك وتويتر يؤدي كيف و ؟ العالمية ماليزيا
؟ ويكر التعصب ال مناقشة وتويتر في التي تؤثر على استخدام المستجيبين لفيسبوكالفردية الطلاب العرب من ن جمهور كرة القدم أنتائج ال تبينقد و البحث، عينة ت اختير وهكذا
انسمحولأنهما ي، امبارياته ةخبار كرة القدم ومشاهدلأ افيسبوك وتويتر مصدر يستخدم ن استخدام أكما أُخرى،مزايا علاوة على باريات الملجماهير كرة القدم بالتواصل ومناقشة
، حرية التعبير وانتهاك ، السلبي بسبب التواصل ويكر التعصب اللى إفيسبوك وتويتر يؤدي أشار المشاركون إلى عاملين فرديين يشجعان المستجيبين على التعبير وقد ،الى الرقابة ارفتقالاو
فيسبوك وتويتر، تعصب القدم من خلال العن آرائهم ووجهات نظرهم التي تؤثر على عند استخدامها فيسبوك وتويتروالاعتماد المفرط على ،غياب الروح الرياضيةوالعاملان هما:
.للمعلومات امصدر
iv
APPROVAL PAGE
I certify that I have supervised and read this study and that in my opinion; it conforms
to acceptable standards of scholarly presentation and is fully adequate, in scope and
quality, as a dissertation for the degree of Master of Human Sciences
(Communication).
……………………………………
Wan Norshira Wan Mohd Ghazali
Supervisor
……………………………………
Harmi Taazim Bin Mohamad
Co-Supervisor
I certify that I have read this study and that in my opinion it conforms to acceptable
standards of scholarly presentation and is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a
dissertation for the degree of Master of Human Sciences (Communication).
……………………………………
Nerawi Sedu
Examiner
……………………………………
Che Mahzan Ahmad
Examiner
This dissertation was submitted to the Department of Communication and is accepted
as a fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Human Sciences
(Communication).
……………………………………
Zeti Azreen Ahmad
Head, Department of
Communication
This dissertation was submitted to the Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and
Human Sciences and is accepted as a fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of
Master of Human Sciences (Communication).
……………………………………
Shukran Abd. Rahman
Dean, Kulliyyah of Islamic
Revealed Knowledge and Human
Sciences
v
DECLARATION
I hereby declare that this dissertation is the result of my own investigations, except
where otherwise stated. I also declare that it has not been previously or concurrently
submitted as a whole for any other degrees at IIUM or other institutions.
Abdelrahman T A Ashour
Signature ........................................................... Date .........................................
vi
Copyright Page
INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA
DECLARATION OF COPYRIGHT AND AFFIRMATION OF
FAIR USE OF UNPUBLISHED RESEARCH
THE INFLUENCE OF FACEBOOK AND TWITTER ON
FOOTBALL FANATICISM: A STUDY OF ARAB MALE
STUDENTS IN INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY
MALAYSIA
I declare that the copyright holders of this dissertation are jointly owned by the
No part of this unpublished research may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior written permission of the
copyright holder except as provided below
1. Any material contained in or derived from this unpublished research
may only be used by others in their writing with due
acknowledgement.
2. IIUM or its library will have the right to make and transmit copies
(print or electronic) for institutional and academic purposes.
3. The IIUM library will have the right to make, store in a retrieved
system and supply copies of this unpublished research if requested by
other universities and research libraries.
By signing this form, I acknowledged that I have read and understand the IIUM
Intellectual Property Right and Commercialization policy.
Affirmed by Abdelrahman T A Ashour
……..…………………….. ………………………..
Signature Date
vii
Dedication
This dissertation is dedicated to
my beloved parents, my elder brother and my three sisters.
To the martyrs in my home country; Palestine.
To teachers and friends who have supported me during my study trip in Malaysia.
viii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Alhamdulillah, praise to Allah S.W.T. for giving me the courage to complete this
work, for taking me from where I was to where I am, for guiding me with mercy and
generosity throughout the challenges of life. Alhamdulillah for the countless blessings
and support. Blessing upon Prophet Muhammad S.A.W., who delivered to us the
noblest message in the world; Islam that motivates us as human beings to understand
each other hence we can collaborate to establish a better life for humanity.
I would like to express my sincere appreciation to my Main Supervisor, Dr.
Wan Norshira Wan Mohd Ghazali and Co-supervisor, Dr. Harmi Taazim Bin
Mohamad for their guidance and encouragement; for that, I will forever be grateful to
them. I must also offer my profound gratitude to all the lecturers who have taught,
helped and motivated me throughout this journey, particularly, Prof. Dr. Syed Arabi,
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Norbaiduri Bt Ruslan, Dr. Mazni Binti Buyong, Dr. Mohammed
Farid Ali, and Dr. Noor Harun Bin Abdul Karim.
Most importantly, none of this could have happened without my family. There
are no suitable words to express the most profound appreciation to my beloved parents
Tayseer and Kamilia who have been supportive to me and never waver in their belief
that I can finish my dissertation even when I felt I could not.
Millions of thanks to my lovely colleagues who were always there to support
and help me emotionally and practically. Also, to my beloved brother Mahmoud and
my sisters Alyaa, Shymaa and Alaa, my brother-in-law Mohammed and my beautiful
sister’s baby girl Leen who gave me the hope and motivation to do my best. Finally, to
my friends who granted me a place in their pure hearts.
Thank you and may Allah S.W.T bless all of you.
ix
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Abstract .................................................................................................................... ii Arabic Abstract ........................................................................................................ iii Approval page .......................................................................................................... iv Declaration ............................................................................................................... v
Copyright Page ......................................................................................................... vi Dedication ................................................................................................................ vii
Acknowledgements .................................................................................................. viii Table of Contents ..................................................................................................... ix List of Tables ........................................................................................................... xi List of abbreviations ................................................................................................ xii
CHAPTER ONE:INTRODUCTION ................................................................... 1 1.1 Introduction ............................................................................................. 1 1.2 Background of the Study ......................................................................... 1 1.3 Problem Statement ................................................................................... 3
1.4 Significance Of The Study...................................................................... 5 1.5 Research Objectives................................................................................ 6 1.6 Research Questions ................................................................................. 6
1.7 Overview Of The Chapters ..................................................................... 7
2.1 Introduction............................................................................................. 9 2.2 Social Media ........................................................................................... 9
CHAPTER FOUR:DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS .................................. 32 4.1 Introduction............................................................................................. 32
4.2 Respondents’ Demographic Information ................................................ 33
4.3 The Use of Facebook and Twitter by Fans o Watch Football ................ 34 4.3.1 A source of football news and to watch football matches ........... 35
x
4.3.2 Connecting ................................................................................... 37 4.3.3 Multiple features that support usage ............................................ 39
4.4 Facebook and Twitter Lead to Football Fanaticism ............................... 41 4.4.1 Negative communication ............................................................. 41 4.4.2 Abuse of freedom ......................................................................... 43 4.4.3 Lack of control ............................................................................. 44
4.5 Individual Factors that Influence Football Fanaticism Among Fans...... 46
4.5.1 Absence of sportsmanship............................................................ 47 4.5.2 Over-reliance on Facebook and Twitter ....................................... 50
5.3 Limitations of the Study ......................................................................... 60 5.4 Suggestions for Future Research ............................................................ 60