A Data Analysis Investigation of Smart Phone and Social Media Use by Syrian Refugees

A descriptive statistics approach is applied to analyse a newly collected dataset from Young Syrian Refugees in Lebanon. The aim of the paper is to empirically document the uses and gratifications of YSRs smartphone and social media use. Results indicated that the majority of YSRs use Facebook and WhatsApp for communications and entertainment purposes. Frequency analysis was used to determine the rate at which YSRs own and utilise smartphones and Social Networking Sites. Findings indicate that males head of households purchased smartphones for wives, younger sisters and mothers. Cross tabulation analysis of the role of gender on uses and gratifications of smartphones yielded an exclusion effect due to cultural consideration. This paper opens up new horizons in the use of information technology for improving the living conditions of refugee populations.