This is my Multimedia Presentation about :
"The benefits of Social Media for Saudi women"
Click on YouTube to see it
If you need more information about this topic you can read this report I wrote it.
Saudi
culture is known to be conservative. The status of women in the society in
under strict laws that forbids them to drive on their own or travel on their
own. The constant need of male protection has limited the opportunities for women.
They need to look up to men for guidance and protection. Also the effect on the
perception and ability to face the world alone amongst Saudi women has been
identified to be weak. Saudi women can
benefit from social media usage given their current condition of practicing
freedom and social life.
Social
media has much benefit when it comes to education and connectivity. Through
social media people are able to connect with each other from around the world. Women
in Saudi are drawing maximum benefits from the use of socialmedia as it is
presenting a strong network of communication for those who cannot travel or
work in the real world due to the limitations imposed by their society (Moghadam, 2003). Saudi women are able to connect with
their loved ones and families and friends from around the world using the
social media channels and can also excel their abilities by educating on the
social media. Female students can get education and support in their learning
from friends in international universities either students or professionals.
Saudi
women are also able to create their own value businesses on social media websites.
Many women are selling handmade products andjewelry online through face book or
instagrams. The women feel freedom using social media websites as they are able
to communicate with both men and women with ease and without any restrictions (Al-Ghaith, Sanzogni&Sandhu, 2010). It is not reasonable to say that the
use of social media is just a luxury to all, to some it is the fulfillment of the
basic necessity of communication with others in the world.
Women all around
the world identify with issues of gender inequality. Some time they are not
able to express their views and opinionsinfront of others either due to fear or
because of the way their opinions will be perceived. These women like Saudi
women are able to communicate with others using social media. They discuss
matters of society and politics and environment freely using the social media
where a larger audience and more diverse groups are able to communicate back
and forth (Al-Jenaibi,
2011). The exposure of
females in Saudi has expanded because of the use of social media. Since they
are able to stay connected with the world, even when they do not leave their
own home towns or countries, they are well equipped with knowledge on other
cultures, how other people and societies are treated around the globe, and how
they are able to find benefit in social media for themselves and for their
fellow females in the Saudi society.
Since
Saudi women are not allow to communicate with their partners before marriage.
Now they are able to communicate through social media. Some of the evidence shows
that Saudi men and women are using the social media to flirt with eachother and
get to know new each other because they are not allowed to do both things in malls or inrestaurants where you generally get
to meet new people out of your usual circle (Al-Salem, 2005).
The
women are also able to use social media to voice their own concerns and their
problems easily. Since these problems are being shaded by the out dated laws and
male dominancy culture, the women in Saudia are able to communicate how they
are being affected by these laws and general cultural rules that have been
cemented into their values. There have been a large number of females
expressing how they are harassed in their society and how domestic violence is breaking their spirit and
emotional health. There are numerous stories that are never voiced either by
news or by the local government because there is nothing that can be done against
the men when they harass or beat females. These females have to comply with
superior men or otherwise deal with the consequences. There are no rules to
intervene in the situation and neutralize it (Cordesman, 2002).
There
is a need of new laws and identification of flaws within the society that are
harming the major part of society, women. Saudi women and women from all around
the middle east are using social media to spread awareness and express their
views on treatment towards women, early marriages, pressure of raising children
being young brides themselves and being suppressed by their partners
constantly. The dependency of the women in the middle east to their men,
husbands, fathers and brothers has been significantly discuses din comparison
to the females in other societies who are given a chance to at least fight for
their rights, voice their concern and use the service of judiciary and laws to
bring justice to the crimes committed by men and society to the females.
The
researches and experts from the technology market in Saudi also identify the
use and importance of social media in the development of young people. More
than 80% of the users are under the age of 30 years and are well aware of the
things going on around the world. These young people are always buried in their
cell phones and that somehow prevents them from other activities and political involvement.
The economic benefits of social media have also been identified since these
media channels are providing income to some considerable part of females in
Saudi who are able to earn money from their homes without breaking any laws of
the society and government. The use of social media is supporting the education
system as well since all young Saudi people are able to travel to universities
in Australia, Canada, and United States to get their education.
Social
media has become a source for Saudi women to express their ideas, views and opinions.
Also the use of social media has developed opportunities in their economic
activity since they are able to create businesses using social media. The use
of social media has overall benefited Saudi women who are not able to go out on
their own and participate in activities as men do.
It
is recommended that government and authorities address the issues presented by
women on social media and help them improve their businesses that they conduct
using social media. This way the economic strength of women in Saudi will
improve as well as their self-actualization.
References
Al-Ghaith, W. A., Sanzogni, L.,
&Sandhu, K. (2010).Factors influencing the adoption and usage of online services in Saudi
Arabia.The Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries, 40.
Al-Jenaibi, B. (2011). The Use of
Social Media in the United Arab Emirates: An Initial Study. European Journal of Social Sciences, 23(1),
84-97.
Al-Salem, S. A. (2005). The
IMPACT OF THE INTERNET ON SAUDI ARABIAN EFL FEMALES’SELF-IMAGE
AND SOCIAL ATTITUDES (Doctoral dissertation, Indiana University of Pennsylvania).
Cordesman, A. H. (2002). Saudi
Arabia enters the 21st Century: Economic, Demographic and Social Challenges. Washington, DC:
Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Moghadam, V. M. (2003). Modernizing women: Gender and social change in the Middle East. Lynne Rienner Publishers.
