Investigating arab dhh usage of youtube videos using latent variables in an acceptance technology model

Abstract

YouTube is one of the more powerful tools for self-learning and entertaining globally. Uploading and sharing on YouTube have increased recently as these are possible via a simple click. Moreover, some countries, including Saudi Arabia, use this technology more than others. While there are many Saudi channels and videos for all age groups, there are limited channels for people with disabilities such as Deaf and Hard of Hearing people (DHH). The utilization of YouTube among DHH people has not reached its full potential. To investigate this phenomenon, we conducted an empirical research study to uncover factors influencing DHH people’s motivations, perceptions and adoption of YouTube, based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). The results showed that DHH people pinpoint some useful functions in YouTube, such as the captions in English and the translation in Arabic. However, Arab DHH people are not sufficiently motivated to watch YouTube due to the fact that the YouTube time-span is fast and DHH personnel prefer greater time to allow them to read and understand the contents. Hence, DHH people tend to avoid sharing YouTube videos among their contacts.