Issues and Motivations Surrounding Internet Use in Kuwait

Abstract

Advances in the Internet world wide have brought about an information revolution which has influenced various aspects of our daily life. Although the internet has the advantage of modernizing societies, it raises at the same time a number of problems and issues-technical, political, ethical, and social. The purpose of this study is to investigate the prevailing Internet problematic issues and challenges resulting from the use of the internet in Kuwait. The results indicate that a sizable majority of Kuwaiti Internet users are new to the Internet world, their level of Internet use proficiency is low, and, more significantly, they do not use the Internet as an important source of information. Pornographic materials on the Internet, viruses, and Internet crimes are the most perceived problematic issues facing the Internet users in Kuwait. To exploit the potentials of the Internet more fully, it is important that leading forces in the Arab society be aware of and effectively address problems and issues pertaining to its use.