Hany Abdelghaffar and Lobna Sameer
their communities so they have more input in the governmental decision making . It is important to consider that social networks should be free of government surveillance so the citizens can freely share their opinion even if they are opposing the government . Since not all citizens are using social networks , it is crucial for politicians and governments to keep in mind the opinions of the other groups that might be unrepresented on the social network due to inhibiting factors such as the digital divide .
Research limitation
Although this research surveyed internet users in Egypt , the sample size is considered limited and could be expanded in future research . The study only examined the perspective of citizens on the use of a social network to improve the decision making of their local government . However , there is a greater need to investigate the government ’ s opinion regarding involving citizens in the decision making process .
7 . Conclusion
More and more citizens have been asking to be given the chance to participate in the decision making of their governments . The Arab spring revolutions demonstrated the revolutionary rule of social networks could have . The use of the internet technology and social networks during these revolutions offered an excellent opportunity to enhance the democratic process of how citizens could participate in decisions . This research proposed a model that investigates how social networks could be used to support the local government decision making to enhance e‐democracy . Findings show that awareness building , deliberation and consultation could be used by citizens to affect the decision making for their local governments . Moreover , governments could use social networks to facilitate awareness of information among citizens and support citizens in building their communities . Citizens also believed that the use of a local social network can improve the decision making of local government
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