A new study has shown that the use of social media like Facebook among young Arab women is creative and innovative.
According to the research, conducted by Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q), young Arab ladies have a deep respect for the community and the family and are discerning when it comes to deciding what information should be made available to the public, a fact that leads to a high level of creativity in their use of social media.
The study team interviewed 42 students, aged between 18 and 22, to explore the ways in which social media offer new and unfamiliar avenues to express identity. Titled ‘Degrees of Caution: Arab Girls Unveil on Facebook’, the study has been included as a chapter in the book Girl Wide Web 2.0: Revisiting Girls, the Internet, and the Negotiation of Identity.
The study team interviewed 42 students, aged between 18 and 22, to explore the ways in which social media offer new and unfamiliar avenues to express identity. Titled ‘Degrees of Caution: Arab Girls Unveil on Facebook’, the study has been included as a chapter in the book Girl Wide Web 2.0: Revisiting Girls, the Internet, and the Negotiation of Identity.
Ivana Chalmers, NU-Q’s risk assessment specialist, and former faculty member Rodda Leage teamed up to conduct the research, which focused on social media use amongst women undergraduates at Education City, Doha.
Chalmers said that the fact that girls have a high level of creativity in their use of social media, while at same time respecting cultural norms, reveals a tendency to engage with social media trends like Facebook in socially intelligent ways. “What is really admirable is they did not want to compromise their culture and their background. Instead, they found unique and interesting ways to express themselves,” she said.
Chalmers said that the study was an important topic to consider in Qatar and the region. “We need to look at how we fit in, how we communicate into our lives, priorities and beliefs. We see that technology does not have to compromise culture or belief systems. Instead, young Arab women are proving that social media can be used in a different way from the West,” she said.
I'd be happy to hear views of Omani women and see if they fit in this study.
This is so good, we have a whole potential market here, which is very difficult to reach. Facebook might be the solution.
ReplyDeleteAgree with Domino, more needs to be done on this market.
ReplyDeleteTrue, FB might be a solution but only if used carefully and cleverly and maybe it could also be coupled with Twitter as it is currently growing more than FB. Hopefully we'll get more comments and insights on this...
ReplyDeleteSocial media merged with social intelligence? It's an encouraging finding!
ReplyDelete“What is really admirable is they did not want to compromise their culture and their background. Instead, they found unique and interesting ways to express themselves." - I think they don't have the luxury to just "be" whatever they want to be and thus have to work their way around whatever rules their society/culture has set for them. There's a line that they don't cross because they can't. So they express whatever that sits well with "culture". I don't think that's pure creativity.
ReplyDeleteInteresting!
ReplyDeleteA true case of "emergence"... we each co-create the media to meet our needs. It can be so valuable to have an avenue for unmediated self-expression, even if this does involve a screen identity. Before social media most internet users used screen aliases, after all.
ReplyDeleteGreat that such a study has been ventured!