IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/teinso/v62y2020ics0160791x20303493.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The geography of the Arab public sphere on Twitter

Author

Listed:
  • Samuel-Azran, Tal
  • Hayat, Tsahi (Zack)

Abstract

To understand the interplay between geography and online social networks, this paper maps the Arab public sphere on online networks. We analyzed publicly available Twitter data of a large sample of Arab Twitter members (N = 1,500,000). We focused on the influence of two geographic factors – distance between individuals and air travel frequency – as well as the influence of the language of the followers of Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya Twitter accounts on the formation of transnational social ties among Arabs. Distance between individuals and language differences significantly predicted Arabs' social ties. Frequency of airline flights between nations and being a regional television follower strongly predicted social ties as well. From the geographical perspective, then, the findings challenge the online Arab public sphere notion as well as wider theories of space-time compression in the global era. Similarly, the analysis highlights the distinct English and Arabic realms. In contrast, the findings illustrate the important role that regional media plays in promoting an Arab public sphere. Combined, the findings elaborately portray the narrow boundaries of the Arab public sphere on Twitter and illustrates that the fragmented Arab world's offline structure is reflected on Twitter.

Suggested Citation

  • Samuel-Azran, Tal & Hayat, Tsahi (Zack), 2020. "The geography of the Arab public sphere on Twitter," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:teinso:v:62:y:2020:i:c:s0160791x20303493
    DOI: 10.1016/j.techsoc.2020.101327
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160791X20303493
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.techsoc.2020.101327?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Marc Lynch, 2003. "Beyond the Arab Street: Iraq and the Arab Public Sphere," Politics & Society, , vol. 31(1), pages 55-91, March.
    2. Andreas Lendle & Marcelo Olarreaga & Simon Schropp & Pierre‐Louis Vézina, 2016. "There Goes Gravity: eBay and the Death of Distance," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 126(591), pages 406-441, March.
    3. Fan, Jingting & Tang, Lixin & Zhu, Weiming & Zou, Ben, 2018. "The Alibaba effect: Spatial consumption inequality and the welfare gains from e-commerce," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 203-220.
    4. Ingrid Volkmer, 2003. "The Global Network Society and the Global Public Sphere," Development, Palgrave Macmillan;Society for International Deveopment, vol. 46(1), pages 9-16, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Shuzhong Ma & Zengxi Hu, 2023. "Internet penetration and multi‐product exporters: Firm‐level evidence from China," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(5), pages 1444-1470, May.
    2. Russell Hillberry & Kornel Mahlstein & Simon Schropp, 2023. "The geography of payment activity on PayPal," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(5), pages 1688-1718, November.
    3. Santitarn Sathirathai & Voraprapa Nakavachara, 2019. "Connecting Locals to Locals: Market Discovery through E-Commerce," PIER Discussion Papers 118, Puey Ungphakorn Institute for Economic Research.
    4. Chen, Qiulin & Xu, Duo & Fu, Hongqiao & Yip, Winnie, 2022. "Distance effects and home bias in patient choice on the Internet: Evidence from an online healthcare platform in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    5. Jie Duan & Zengxi Hu, 2024. "Internet linkage and international trade: From the perspective of risk alleviation," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(8), pages 3551-3577, August.
    6. José Anson & Mauro Boffa, 2018. "Consumer Arbitrage in Cross-Border E-commerce," RSCAS Working Papers 2018/17, European University Institute.
    7. Nam Hoang Vu & Tuan Anh Bui & Tram Bao Hoang & Hanh My Pham, 2022. "Information technology adoption and integration into global value chains: Evidence from small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises in Vietnam," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(2), pages 259-286, March.
    8. Lopez Cordova,Jose Ernesto, 2020. "Digital Platforms and the Demand for International Tourism Services," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9147, The World Bank.
    9. Carballo, Jerónimo & Rodriguez Chatruc, Marisol & Salas Santa, Catalina & Volpe Martincus, Christian, 2022. "Online business platforms and international trade," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    10. Joël Cariolle & Michele Imbruno & Jaime de Melo, 2020. "Bilateral digital connectivity and firm participation in export markets," Working Papers hal-03182438, HAL.
    11. Olarreaga, Marcelo & Cruz, Marcio & Milet, Emmanuel, 2017. "Online Exports and the Wage Gap," CEPR Discussion Papers 12092, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    12. Lilia Patrignani, 2024. "Understanding digital trade," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 841, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    13. Jan Willem Gunning & Pramila Krishnan & Andualem T. Mengistu, 2024. "Fading choice: transport costs and variety in consumer goods," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 91(363), pages 1100-1123, July.
    14. Fontanelli, Luca & Guerini, Mattia & Napoletano, Mauro, 2023. "International trade and technological competition in markets with dynamic increasing returns," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    15. Victor Couture & Benjamin Faber & Yizhen Gu & Lizhi Liu, 2021. "Connecting the Countryside via E-Commerce: Evidence from China," American Economic Review: Insights, American Economic Association, vol. 3(1), pages 35-50, March.
    16. Ziyu Yi & Long Wei & Xuan Huang, 2022. "Does Information-and-Communication-Technology Market Openness Promote Digital Service Exports?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-19, April.
    17. Marinella Boccia & Anna Maria Ferragina & Stefano Iandolo, 2022. "Follow the cloud! The impact of ICT on Italian provinces’ trade," Economia e Politica Industriale: Journal of Industrial and Business Economics, Springer;Associazione Amici di Economia e Politica Industriale, vol. 49(4), pages 667-690, December.
    18. Xiwei,Zhu & Gokan,Toshitaka, 2023. "Competition between heterogenous online and offline firms," IDE Discussion Papers 888, Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization(JETRO).
    19. Michele Imbruno & Joel Cariolle & Jaime de Melo, 2022. "Digital connectivity and firm participation in foreign markets: An exporter-based bilateral analysis," Discussion Papers 2022-02, University of Nottingham, GEP.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:teinso:v:62:y:2020:i:c:s0160791x20303493. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/technology-in-society .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.