Trust, Re-sharing, and Privacy Concerns among Arab University Students on Social Media

Abstract

Social media platforms are deeply embedded in the everyday communicative, academic, and social lives of university students, raising questions about how students manage trust, sharing, and privacy within them. This study examined patterns of social media use, social engagement, platform trust, information re-sharing, and privacy concern among university students in four Arab countries: the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Jordan, and Lebanon. Using a quantitative cross-sectional survey, data were collected from 346 students and analyzed using descriptive statistics, Cronbach’s alpha, Pearson correlations, Welch’s t-tests, and one-way ANOVA. Findings confirm intensive use: 94.8% were active users, 97.1% had used these platforms for more than five years, and 76.0% spent three or more hours online daily. Students reported moderate-to-high social engagement (M = 3.63) and high self-reported verification awareness (M = 4.14). Trust was platform-specific, highest for WhatsApp (M = 2.91) and lowest for Facebook (M = 1.51), and re-sharing concentrated on visually oriented platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat. Privacy was great for political or religious opinions and personal photos. Platform trust was positively associated with re-sharing (r = .49, p < .001) and negatively associated with privacy concern (r = −.21, p < .001), while privacy concern was negatively associated with re-sharing (r = −.18, p < .001), a pattern consistent with a privacy-calculus logic. This trust–re-sharing–privacy structure was consistent across gender, country, and age, indicating a shared regional pattern. Interpreted through Uses and Gratifications Theory and Communication Privacy Management, the findings inform digital-literacy and privacy-awareness initiatives across Arab higher education.