Social Media Landscape of Saudi Arabia: Trends, Usage, Impact

This report examines the prevalence and impact of social media in Saudi Arabia, where smartphone and internet usage are exceptionally high. With a significant portion of the population actively using platforms like Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, and Instagram, Saudi Arabia stands out as one of the most engaged countries in the Middle East regarding social networking. The study highlights how social media serves not only as a tool for entertainment, communication, and business but also as a catalyst for social change, with government entities leveraging these platforms to connect with citizens and promote reforms. Furthermore, the research acknowledges both the positive aspects, such as increased freedom of speech and access to information, and the negative consequences, including potential over-dependence on social networks and reduced face-to-face interactions, as identified by King Abdul Aziz University. This analysis underscores the complex relationship between social media and Saudi society, reflecting both opportunities and challenges in the digital age. Desklib provides access to this and other student-contributed assignments.

Media of Saudi Arabia
Social Media
According to the estimation of the Word Bank in 2017, near about 50 per cent of the
population of the world uses the mobile phone. Out of 4.77 billion people that have been
taken into consideration, 2.32 billion users use the smartphone. The people are getting
connected with the society and for the business user. With the increase in usage of the
smartphone, the usage of the internet also gets increased. According to the recent survey,
almost 95% population of Saudi Arabia uses the smartphone, and 85% of the population are
subscribed to the mobile broadband people. Saudi Arabia is one of the most active countries
that use the social network. The 12 million people of Saudi Arabia have their own Facebook
account. 53% of the total population uses Twitter. Along with Facebook and Twitter, Path,
Keek and Instagram are the popular social media sites available in Saudi Arabia.
Social media has morphed from a networking platform to a potent force for social change in
Saudi Arabia. The government uses the social media platform to connect with the citizens all
over the state. The social media applications help them to gauge public consciousness. The
important government members of Saudi Arabia are taken to their respective Facebook
account as well as Twitter accounts to drive for reforms across the Kingdom. Members of the
Saudi Arabia ruling government such as Tawfiq al-Rabiah, Minister of Commerce and
Industry and Abdlaziz Khoja, Minister of Culture and Information utilise their own social
media websites or platform to spread information related to government initiatives and
policies.
The younger generation of Saudi Arabia uses the Internet more in comparison to the older
people. They use the Internet mainly for the entertainment purposes and chatting purposes.
Another survey has been conducted, and it verifies that the most of the Internet users are men.
However, the women of Saudi Arabia desire to have rights like the modern women
everywhere. The women want to use the internet and the social media. Hala Al-Dosari, an
activist utilises the power of social media to work to induce King Salman to stop the male
guardianship practice. Near about 15000 signatures have been accumulated after a Twitter
campaign with hashtag #IAmMyOwnGuardian.
The numbers of social media users have risen significantly in recent years. Saudi Arabia is
considered as the largest markets for the social network located in the Middle East. Facebook
and WhatsApp are the popular social network sites used in Saudi Arabia. 97% of the users
live in Saudi Arabia use Facebook while the 81% of the users live in Saudi Arabia live in
Saudi Arabia use WhatsApp. The Facebook and the WhatsApp provide the platform through
which the users can express their ideas and thoughts, and people of Saudi Arabia use these
platforms to communicate and stay interlinked with each other. The Saudi Arabia people with
the help of these platforms get more freedom of speech. Facebook has about 12 million users
all over the world, and 2 million out of those 12 million users are from Saudi Arabia. They
use the In KSA there are about 70% YouTube users, and they watch 90 million videos on a
daily basis. In Saudi Arabia, twitter is the most visited website, that means Saudi users tweet
5 times per day in an average.

There is another point that must be taken into consideration. In 2016, Saudi Arabia was one
of the fastest-growing Twitter markets in the world. Studies from Omnicom Media Group
(OMG) confirm that the Saudi Arabia currently has the highest Twitter penetration in the
entire world. OMG also states that every three out of seven people search for the social
network before anything else. Saudi Arabia uses the social media for several means;
individuals use the social media as a platform for job search. They also use the platform as a
source for products and brands. King Abdul Aziz University conducts research and explains
all the adverse effects of using social media1. The users are becoming overly dependent on
social network. The users are getting isolated from the normal social communication. Only
29% of the users prefer to visit to their relatives because of the social network. The people of
Saudi Arabia tend to share knowledge, videos, pictures and news over the social media
channels. The users of Saudi Arabia spend most of their time over the social media platform
and share relative information and personal information with the relatives, family and the
closed ones.
1 International Journal of Advanced Research in Computer Science and Software Engineering
https://ijarcsse.com/docs/papers/Volume_7/5_May2017/SV7I5-0177.pdf

References
International Journal of Advanced Research in Computer Science and Software Engineering
https://ijarcsse.com/docs/papers/Volume_7/5_May2017/SV7I5-0177.pdf