User talk:Diplomatman

Facebook Open Closed Doors in Saudi Arabia
Facebook Open Closed Doors in Saudi Arabia

The rise of social network sites like Facebook has made big changes in and out of every Saudi home. This paper will discuss Facebook’s effect on Saudi’s socialization, freedom of expression and the potential dangers of it.

Facebook has made it easier to meet people in closed societies such as Saudi Arabia where a man cannot easily have a female as friend. The Saudi government forces schools and universities and even the business sector for the separation of men and women, and in such times Facebook helps them get together online. On Facebook, one can express themselves in the way he/she wants and can express his/her personal opinion freely in all areas. Members of Saudi society are expressing their views on government and local situations in considerable freedom that they didn’t have before using Facebook. Facebook poses a potential danger to the Saudi government because of the emergence of absolute freedom. Girls are posting sexy photographs under imaginary names, and they can be viewed by people they don’t know. They can be contacted by these strangers and the strangers can thus chat and get to know each other better through Facebook. Facebook has thus become an important platform for singles to meet, and decide upon a place to meet outside. One of the most popular Facebook groups among Saudi Arabian youth is Single and Looking in Saudi Arabia, which has 1,823 members and hosts many sexually explicit images. This is starting to pose a problem in a country where women are not allowed to be in public with an unknown male. In the case of any unwarranted events, the woman and man will both be subject to harsh punishments. For example, a woman was recently killed by her father for chatting on Facebook. She may have been chatting with a guy friend or a complete stranger, but just the very idea that she was talking to a guy online was too much for her parents to bear. The father beat his daughter up and then shot her, but he did not face any charges. As more and more teenagers are using Facebook to meet people of the opposite sex, more and more parents are expressing their disapproval of Facebook and the negative impact it is having on their children. Incidents such as the father killing his daughter are surely hugely underreported in such a conservative society like Saudi Arabia.

Facebook has not only become a dating tool but it is also being widely used in politics. Members of society can use Facebook to express their public disapproval of the government, all under an imaginary name. Everyone knows that there are lots of Saudis who are discontent with the Saudi royal family for juggling a lot of the oil money. But what Facebook has allowed is for all these critics to gather under one roof, and this may pose a threat to the stability of the country itself. Also, Facebook has made it possible for people to be more aware of the unfair dealings of the government. By posting links and videos, a certain piece of news takes only minutes to spread. Facebook has allowed users to post links on their friend’s walls and send messages to all their friends at the same time. Furthermore, they can create events and set up meeting times and places, and thus Facebook can become an important organizing tool. More and more people are becoming aware of these various uses of a social networking site that was originally meant to be just for college students. Even then, students have been an integral part of every revolutionary movement and sites like Facebook will only make it easier. Although one can argue that sites like these can be monitored and maybe even banned, it is nevertheless true that Facebook has allowed for people to open their mouths in a country where negative opinions on the government are strictly dealt with. While people in various parts of the world take to the streets in protest, Saudis are using Facebook and online blogs to express their resentment against the current regime and its human rights issues. A more discontent younger population will be serious a problem for the Saudi monarchy.

The question therefore is what the Saudi government is going to do about it. Banning is always an option, but it will not be a solution because Saudis will only look to other social networking websites. I think Facebook has been a real gift to the people of Saudi Arabia who feel they have at least some way of expressing their opinion. The Saudi society has to open up to the world and try adopt the western values of free mixing between men and women, and not force people to accept certain values. I feel Facebook will help break this barrier between men and women as consequent generations become more open minded. Freedom of expression should be every man’s right, and Facebook is already playing a leading role in Saudi Arabia.