Abstract:
To study behavior in YouTube use, social factors influencing YouTube use behavior and skills, as well as awareness on information issues affecting YouTube use. Three areas of information issues are studied - freedom of expression, privacy, intellectual property. Questionnaire-based survey is used as data collection. A total of 400 questionnaires were distributed. The research finds that most survey respondents are current users of YouTube. Their most prevalent objective in YouTube use is to entertain. As for non-users and former users of YouTube, the reason most cited was lack of time in YouTube usage. Most frequently visited venue for YouTube use is personal residence. Most respondent are hard level users. As one of the channels for communication in new media culture, YouTube is an interactive and user-generated content website providing users with YouTube account an area for creating or producing, and publish their own content. YouTube users in Thailand were found that they have the same behavior as the behavior in the old media; being an audience or passive user or receiver rather than a producer. For the users in Thailand, Having an account is not necessary for YouTube usage, and the registered users have accounts only for access to limited content; neither for uploading vdo clips or networking. According to research findings, Gender was found to be a variable that statistically influences YouTube use. Female users tend to be higher users of YouTube. For information ethics issues, the surveyed YouTube users have high level of awareness on the right to access information in both of general context and YouTube . The users have medium level of awareness on the freedom of speech in general , but high level in YouTube. For privacy issue, YouTube users aware of privacy on general context in the medium level; but higher in YouTube . On intellectual property issue, it was ranked in the medium level both in general context and on YouTube.