Mass communication in the middle east and saudi arabia | The ...

This chapter provides background information to the study in terms of a general overview of mass media in the Arab world and an introduction to mass communication in Saudi Arabia. The chapter begins with an introduction to the mass media in the Middle East and a review of the studies of mass media in this region, followed by a brief description of mass media in Saudi Arabia. It then focuses on the literature dealing with the internet in both the Arab world and Saudi Arabian context.

?Mass Media in the Middle East

In many societies mass media are considered as a reflection of their social, cultural, and political environment (Rugh, 2004). This can be seen in the case of the Arab mass media, which have changed considerably over the past decade. While the period before the advent of satellite broadcasting and the internet was characterised by state control and censorship, new technologies have opened a more liberal sphere for a new Arab debate on public affairs (Rugh, 2004).

As described by Al-Rumaihi (2002), both print and electronic media were first introduced in those Arab countries with the greatest exposure to the West; more specifically Arab countries with a colonial history. The introduction, for example, of Arab print media and, later, radio, was very different in the Levant (Syria, the Lebanon, Palestine and Jordan), North Africa and Iraq, from that in the Arabian Peninsula. The French in Syria, Lebanon, and North Africa, and the British in Palestine, Egypt and Iraq fostered an interest in printing because they needed to establish technology to facilitate communication among themselves as well as with those they either governed or otherwise tried to influence (Boyd, 1988).

Newspapers and magazines are published in every one of the 18 Arab countries, some of which have press traditions going back more than a century. The first Arab newspaper, that is, the first periodical carrying news written by and for Arabs, seems to have been Journal al-Iraq, which began appearing in Arabic and Turkish in Baghdad in 1816. Two Arab newspapers were then published in Cairo in the 1820s; Algeria followed in 1847, Beirut in 1858, Tunis 1861, Damascus 1865, Libya in 1866, Casablanca 1889, Khartoum 1899, and Mecca 1908 (Rugh, 2004).

In 1920s the Arab radio broadcasting aired while before World War II a few Arab countries had their own stations. However, when Oman was the first country inaugurated its radio transmissions in 1970 most Arab states had its own radio broadcasting systems. Al-Qarni (2004) states that radio established itself early on as a powerful medium and it remains a popular and primary source of information, with the public tuning in throughout almost all Arab countries. There are many reasons for this: the high rate of illiteracy in many Arab countries; the relatively low cost; and the ability to overcome infrastructural obstacles, such as lack of electrical power sources or poor distribution networks.

In the late of 1950s the television broadcasting in the Arab world began but on a limited scale, in Iraq and Lebanon, when those countries established TV transmitters in their capital cities. In 1960 thirteen other Arab states started their television broadcasting. However, not all Arab countries have its own television station until 1950 when the North Yemen inaugurated its television station. (http://www.answers.com/topic/radio-and-television-arab-countries)

Before that, Arab audiences had begun to watch foreign television stations. Audiences in the North African countries of Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria were able to watch France television station since the French language is common there. Arab countries such as Libya which living near the U.S. military base at Wheelus were allow to exposed to U.S television broadcast by the U.S. armed forces. As well as some Arab peoplw in the eastern province in Saudi Arabia were able to watch U.S. TV programmes transmitted by the U.S.-run Arabian American Oil Company (ARAMCO) located there

By the mid-1980s, after launch of three generations of the Arab Satellite communication Organisation (ARABSAT) system ?almost all Arab government television broadcasters had gone international. The Arab broadcasting scene has also seen the proliferation of commercial television services transmitting their satellite TV programmes from inside the Arab world as well as from outside.? (Ayish, 1998, p: 15). By the end of 1997, around 60 satellite television Arabic channels were be able to watch by Arab audiences (Ayish, 1998).

While the previous discussion demonstrates many developments and changes on the Arab mass media, little research has been carried out into the effects of electronic media in the Arab world. Boyd (1982) comments on this point as follows:

?Arab television broadcasters get little or no formal scientific feedback from the audience. It is not the practice of these broadcasters to undertake either studies providing information about programme preferences or research exploring the uses of television among viewers. Most reliable data came from surveys commissioned by manufacturers wanting information about consumers? brand preferences? (Boyd, 1982: 47).

Helpful sources of information about audiences for the electronic media in the Arab region are studies done by those who have written media-related M.A. theses and Ph.D. dissertations at Western universities. The first study was completed by Fatah (1989), who argued that Arab satellite broadcasting as a new means of technology played an important role in the exchange of TV productions in the Arab region, since TV exchange is one of the main purposes of using the Arab satellite for both news and programmes, because it encourages Arab stations to self-produce. However, there were several political problems, such as conflicts, different political views, systems, and so on, standing as obstacles to Arab satellite television, preventing it from fulfilling its role properly (Fatah, 1989).

The proliferation of satellite television into the Arab region has added further intensity to debates on broadcasting and culture. For example, Boyd (1999) explores the function of electronic media in the Arab world in reinforcing social norms and cultural awareness through the broadcast of information about the national culture and the Arab society. Several studies have confirmed this observation (Bataineh, 2001; Ayish, 2002; Al-Qarni, 2004).

Al-Qarni (2004) discussed the introduction of new media into the Arab world by focusing on satellite television as a tool for a potential cultural and political transformation in the Arab world. He argues that satellite television has affected the Arab people and culture in many ways. Politically, satellite television has raised the political consciousness and awareness of Arabs. Culturally, satellite broadcasting has enabled Arabs to become more familiar with each other, and satellite television has also raised their social awareness of the world around them.

There is a significant field of research that has contributed considerably to our understanding of television consumption habits in the Arab world. A series of empirical studies (Abdel Rahman, 1998; Karam, 2007; Harmon, 2008; Al-Hasan, 2008; Al-Dabubi & Aamar, 2010) in that area have found that the majority of Arab people watch television for up to three hours a day on a typical school or work day, and people mainly watch television for entertainment and as a pastime. How and why people use television are questions that have been investigated by Al-Hasan, 2008; Al-Dabubi & Aamar, 2010. These studies demonstrated that most Arab people watch TV at home with their family, and they prefer to watch television in the evening because this is the time when the family gather to watch their favourite programmes.

Another related direction in the literature has explored the gratifications that viewers obtain from satellite TV (Shaheen, 1996, Abdel Rahmn, 1998; Mohammed, 2002). Abdel Rahmn (1998) analysed in detail the relationship between satellite TV viewing motivations and media consumption. The author suggested that people watch satellite TV because of the wide variety of channels and to understand what is going on in the world. Similarly, Mohammed (2002) argues that adolescents? motivations for watching satellite television are to understand what is happening in the world around them, for entertainment, and to get rid of boredom.

The majority of previous areas of literature rely on the uses and gratification approach to measure audiences? motivations for viewing satellite TV and to identify what applications television offers for audiences to gratify their needs. Moreover, most of that research consisted of quantitative studies which have used the survey method.

To sum up, among the many overwhelming changes throughout the Middle East during the last several decades, the development of mass media has been one of the most fundamental and pervasive of all in its effects on Arab audiences. Although there has been a significant growth in the studies of mass media in the Middle East during this period, scholars and writers focus on why people watch satellite television and what gratifications they gain from it.

The research in this thesis will be situated within Saudi Arabia. Hence it is relevant and useful to examine more closely the history and nature of media in this country. The next section turns our attention to this subject.

?Mass Media in Saudi Arabia

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has sought to achieve comprehensive social, cultural, and economic development. Since the unification of the Kingdom in 1932 by its founder, King Abdulaziz, the country has been doing its best to develop the media sector with all of its material and human potential.

The mass media system of Saudi Arabia, like that of every country, is rooted in its particular history. The next sections will examine both the broadcasting industry and television as a major part of Saudi Arabia?s development, and also the internet.

Print Media

The history of the Saudi press started with the first Hejazi newspapers in 1908 (Shobaili, 1971). The first print medium, the Al-Hejaz newspaper, was established during the reign of the Turks (Ottomans). By World War II, a few other newspapers had appeared, including Umm al Qura, the official government journal, Sawt al Hejaz, and Madinah al Manawarah. These were shut down, except for Umm al Qura, during WWII, due to a lack of funding. Publication of these papers was resumed in the late 1940s from Jeddah; Madinah was published under the same title and Sawt al Hejaz under the title of Bilad al Sa?udiyah.

The great upsurge in Saudi press activity has led to an increased awareness in the industry of the appeal to the public of economic, social, and sports issues; specialized supplements have increasingly become a prominent feature of Saudi newspapers. Technical and design innovations have also been taken into consideration. The effect of these developments on the industry has been an enormous increase in newspaper circulation.

Under the law of press establishments, the Saudi press industry has experienced a notable improvement in the administrative, editing and production sectors. A number of press establishments were created after the issuance of the law of press establishments.

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?Radio

Before King Abdulaziz, the King of Saudi Arabia, ordered the establishment of Saudi radio in 1948, there were reports of radio receiver sets in some of the elite houses in the Kingdom that were used to listen to stations from neighbouring Arab countries and to international radio stations (Bait-Almal, 2000). After the Second World War, the stage was set in Saudi Arabia for the acceptance of radio broadcast technology; therefore, the Saudis established the first local broadcasting station in 1949, thereby entering a new era of dealing with mass communication media. Currently, there are three major programs: the first is from Riyadh station, the second from Jeddah station, and the third is devoted mainly to religious programs (Kareem, 1982).

Nowadays, there are 43 AM, 31 FM, and two short-wave broadcast stations in the country broadcasting to 6.25 million radios in approximately 43 languages. For all of the stations available, there is one state-owned service ? Saudi Arabian Broadcasting Service ? and one privately owned radio service ? Saudi ARAMCO FM Radio ? with a private service available to employees of the Saudi Arabian American Oil Company (ARAMCO) (Ministry of Information, 1999).

?Television

Saudi Television is one of the media systems of Saudi Information. It is under the control of an Assistant Ministerial Deputy within the overall structure of the Ministry of Information, directly responsible to the Ministry of Information. Its activities are presided over by a Ministerial Deputy for Television Affairs.

By the early 1960s, the country had already passed the era of political instability; therefore, Gazzaz (2006) noted that Saudi society was psychologically prepared to accept the medium of television when it was introduced in 1965. Television was launched in an era of political, social and economic change, both developmental and transformational, and historians of television services in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have located the principal reasons behind the government?s initiative.

First, politically, one may point to the government?s recognition of the power and influence of television as a central medium of communication capable of fostering national unity, orienting public opinion, and providing a powerful alternative to the biased propaganda frequently broadcast by hostile Arab powers during times of political tension (Ministry of Information, 2003).

Second, although fundamentally conservative, certain classes in Saudi society, especially the educated classes, had long been looking forward to the introduction of a television service so that the Saudi population would be able to keep abreast of advances made by the country?s government in the fields of technology and economics. The government was aware that Saudi society in general would benefit from these advances and that television, especially, would provide a source of ?innocent entertainment? that would help to compensate for the prohibition on cinemas in the country (Ministry of Information, 2003).

The earliest research into the evolution and growth of the Saudi Arabian television system was conducted by Shobaili (1971). That study was developed to include radio and television, the press and Aramco television, the first company to broadcast in Saudi Arabia. While Shobaili concentrated mainly on the infrastructure of the media?s organisation, administration, programming and technology, he related these to contemporaneous issues, such as the cultural and societal factors that influenced programming features and the role of the government in the development of the media.

Limited elite and wealthy Saudis introduced satellite channels in Saudi Arabia in the 1980s. The new communication technologies during the 1990s made it possible for a large number of Saudis to switch to different kinds of direct broadcasting satellite channels, using low cost equipment to receive hundreds of uncensored television programmes. There has been a body of literature that addresses some of the issues concerning satellite audiences in Saudi Arabia (Bait Al-Mal, 1993; Al-Makty, 1995: Al- Gahtani, 2004; Marghalani, 2011). However, there is still a dearth of qualitative and quantitative studies about the satellite TV channel viewing habits of the Saudi community, in spite of the existence of strong concerns about the influence of such habits on Saudi culture (Marghalani, 2011).

It has been noticed that much of the research that investigated mass media in Saudi Arabia, particularly television (Abuzinada, 1988; Al-Amoudi, 1990; Al-Attibi, 1986; Al-Heezan, 1993; Al-Oofy, 1990; Merdad, 1993; Najai, 1982), has utilised the uses and gratification approach to gain a better understanding of Saudi media users? motives for viewing satellite channels. Marghalani (2011) argued that ?the uses and gratifications model depicts the audience as the primary element in understanding the mass communication process. He added that the uses and gratification approach presents a coherent explanation of how audiences actively use the media to gratify their own needs and motives? (Marghalani (2011, p:3). These studies which applied uses and gratification have indicated that Saudis use traditional television for the same kinds of gratifications identified in studies in other countries (for example, Abdel Rahman,1998): surveillance, diversion, relaxation, companionship, to pass the time, social utility, etc. Two studies of VCR usage (Abuzinada, 1988; Al-Oofy, 1990) identified motives very similar to those studies for traditional television.

These studies of television usage mention two particular uses made by young people of terrestrial and satellite television. One group of studies (Najai, 1982; Al-Attibi, 1986; Bait Al-Mal, 1992; Al-Gahtani, 2004) indicates that media usage in general and TV in particular by young people in Saudi Arabia was stimulated by the desire to gain information about the society and culture, to gain relaxation, to learn about religion, and to feel more integrated into society. The same range of factors was also found in a second group of studies (Abuzinada, 1988; Al-Heezan, 1993; Al-Oofy, 1990; and Marghalani, 1997) that investigated the use of TV and satellite by Saudi audiences in general. The latter authors found that there were six gratifications factors that characterised the satellite television watching of Saudi audiences. The surveillance factor came out on top, followed by the availability/variety quality factor. The intercultural factor came third, while censorship and religious factors came in fourth and fifth place, respectively.

Most of these studies were limited by the fact that they used samples of high school students, college students or university professors. See (Naji,1989). Furthermore, most of these Saudi uses and gratifications media studies obtained data via self-report questionnaires which did not yield in-depth answers that gave respondents the opportunity to explain in depth the reasons for their viewing habits. Moreover, where in-depth questions as to how and why Saudi people used the media were used, they were not answered completely or in a systematic way. See (Al-Oofy, 1990 and Al-Makty, 1995).

An account of the development of mass media in Saudi Arabia since its establishment has been given. This section has also reviewed studies that have been carried out into mass media in Saudi Arabia. The Internet is a new medium that has emerged in the Arab world and specifically in the Middle East in the last decade and attracted the attention of many scholars. The next section will turn our attention to research from the Middle East that has examined the uptake and use of this new medium.

The Internet in the Middle East

The Middle East with its developing countries with their economies in transition has been investing in building its communications infrastructure and adopting the use of the Internet since 1995 as an essential tool for development (Al-Rawabdeh, 2009). This section is concerned with prior research into the development of the internet, its application and impact in the Middle East. While much research has documented Internet usage in the Western world and its impacts on individuals, there is a dearth of evidence regarding how the internet has been used in the Arab world (Shen and Shakir, 2009).

The diverse expectations about the impact of the Internet on traditional Arab society have been raised due to the rapid spread of the Internet in the Middle East. ?Several authors have argued that the Internet can possibly contribute to the empowerment of traditionally marginalised actors, especially in the social, political and religious domains? (Sokol and Sisler, 2010, p:3). Al-Qarni (2004) noted that the internet has become a public sphere for its Arab users. Because the public sphere depends on free communication and the discussion of ideas, the Internet has enabled its Arab users to express their views in regard to the social, economic, and political issues that affect the region. Thus, the majority of the young people in the Gulf region of the Middle East are often the first generation to have access to the Internet (Shen and Shakir, 2009; Sokol and Sisler, 2010). Researchers have explored the way that young people in the Arab world use the Internet for several reasons, such as access to news and gaining information. Furthermore, they are interested in social interaction through e-mail, blogs, and Facebook, along with entertainment and sports, and search for religious advice through religious websites (Bunt, 2009; Hofheinz, 2005; Abdulla, 2007).

Ayed (2005) stated that the Internet has a significant effect on political attitudes and culture among young people. Both Islamic and modern cultures are not stay on harmony which have influenced on Arab youth. The conflict produced by adopting alien values infiltrating from the West as a replacement for their own, ?fundamentally shapes the self-perception of the younger generation?(Shen and Shakir, 2009, P: 2)

Shen and Shakir (2009) examined Internet usage patterns among young Arabic adolescents and explored the role of the Internet in identity exploration among adolescents in the UAE in order to understand Internet usage and its potential impact on the self-perceptions of UAE adolescents. The authors suggested that the patterns of Internet use among UAE students are various, these patterns often include five main activities: searching, emailing, chatting, entertainment, and online discussions. The authors found that there is a significant positive impact on the self-perception of Arab students in the Middle East.

The study applied online surveys and focus group interviews with 74 students from two universities in the UAE, one public and the other private. Using this mixed method Shen and Shakir attempted to prevent any potential bias in their findings caused by methodological artifacts. However, this study has some limitations. The sample size that they tried to study was small compared to the population of young Arabic people. There were also limitations in the composition of the institutions examined and in the organization of the study: female-only institutions attract many students who are relatively more conservative and more subject to traditional social norms than do mixed-gender institutions, so using these, or deploying gender segregation in the case of the two universities, will have significantly influenced the results.? So the findings may reflect more about Internet usage and its impact among conservative adolescents.

Changing New Media Consumption in the Middle East

When we observe the changing surface of the global media consumption, the Middle East appears as one highlighted spot. In the light of that this region covers a cluster of some of the world?s fastest developing nations makes it important to give the reader a mental image of its transforming media consumption landscape.

Some researchers have looked at how the advancement of communication technology is giving a new dimension to the production and consumption of communications media in the Middle East and how users are changing from consumer to producer. Much of the early research has again focused on the motivation for using new media, which Amin (2009) tried to identify as a new form of media web templates, based on the production of film and video and attached to the internet to be exchanged by millions across the world. This study focused on the use made by young people of the most famous web sites on the internet that provide this type of media, such as YouTube. The researcher combined a number of models for the study of university students using YouTube, incorporating an interactive model that attempted to explain user behaviour in relation to new web-based media. Further, the study adopted the uses and gratifications model to assess the motives of consumers underpinning their media usage and access behaviours, as well as looking at how young people view and share content on the YouTube website.

In looking at a triangulation between the uses and gratification and the interactive model Amin succeeded in investigating the relationship between users? motivations and their use of the different types of interactive features on YouTube: his results showed that students? motivations for using YouTube included a desire to provide themselves with important news videos, rare news footage, leisure and entertainment, a desire to see parts of certain television programmes that could not otherwise be seen, and curiosity at exposure to new media technologies and their applications. Also, these ?new media? enabled users to become media message producers. Thus, users play an active role in the production, distribution, and receipt of YouTube?s media content (e.g., creating, sharing, and viewing). On the other hand, how uses and gratification is applied in combination with the other theories will be discussed in more detail in the theoretical framework in Chapter 4.

Another investigation into the motivation for production and consumption of new forms of media was conducted by Gulvady (2009). In this instance, the focus was placed on the use of blogs. Gulvady argued that there are many reasons for blogging: self-documentation, improving writing, medium appeal, information, passing time and socialisation. In addition, bloggers can consciously satisfy their individual motivations through the advantages of blogs as an open, free and social venue for intrapersonal, interpersonal and mass communication (P: 215). Similar to Amin?s study (2009) Gulvady again applied the uses and gratifications approach and reasoned that this approach is applicable when exploring the reasons why people are motivated to author personal blogs, and how demographics are related with blogging motivations, since bloggers play roles as active medium users. It is worthwhile to mention that the study had to exclude inactive bloggers and the samples of the study were small. Hence it decreases the ability to generalize the research findings.

?Online Social Networking

The growth of online social networking is soaring in the Middle East. In particular, the use of online sites like Facebook has grown rapidly across the region, particularly but not exclusively by young people. In fact, social networking platforms such as Facebook and Twitter will continue to play a critical role in organizing social and civil movements in the Arab world, especially among the youth. According to Arab Social Media Reports (2011), the penetration of social networking is highest among youth between the ages of 15 and 29, who make up around one-third of the total Arab population. The report states, for example, that the total number of Facebook users in the Arab world has increased by 78%, from 11.9 million in January 2010 to 21.3 million by December 2010, with 75% of the Facebook community in the Arab region belonging to this demographic and driving its growth (Dubai School of Government, 2011).

Arab users mainly use Facebook to create personal profiles, which can be used to identify connections to those who share similar characteristics and to communicate with others, and they use it for social aims or to fulfil psychological needs, i.e. for entertainment and fun (Shen and Khalifa, 2009; Fauad, 2009). However, due to gender segregation issues in most Arab countries the majority of the research literature has so far focused on examining the gender difference in the use of social networks (Shen and Khalifa, 2009; Albert, 2009; Fauad, 2009; Mohamed, 2010).? Shen and Khalifa (2009) argue that, despite equal access to Facebook, different users might have their own online goals. Hence, there are significant gender differences in many social networking activities. Shen and Khalifa?s study was qualitative and quantitative. They employed questionnaire and focus group methods to investigate users? experiences of online social networking. In the focus group interviews one female stated that ?since I am a woman, I found that going to Facebook is the only way I could express our opinions and ideas freely. Hence, Shen and Khalifa suggested that the Facebook plays a more crucial role in the lives of female users than for their male counterparts. The authors suggested that the use of Facebook by males is consistent with its basic function, social networking with existing friends; while for females, Facebook seems to satisfy diverse roles and constitutes an important antidote to the restrictions often placed on their physical social lives.

The privacy of the social network has captured the attention of many scholars in the Arab world (Fauad, 2009; Mohamed, 2010). Fauad (2009) raised privacy as a crucial concept in networking websites. He argue that the extent of networking on Facebook raises a number of issues linked to personal privacy: the protection of personal information relating to site users, their friends and activities, which is revealed on three levels: the privacy of applications; ensuring privacy against members; ensuring protection against the economic ambitions of the website itself (advertising).

Mohamed (2010) highlighted the fact that concerns over the online privacy of Facebook are important issues in the Middle East. His findings present evidence that the majority of the respondents were in agreement with the statement, ?I?m concerned that the personal information I submit to online social networks could be misused?. Thus, Mohamed suggested that Arab users rapidly adapt new technologies and make use of them. But when these technologies can affect or threaten their privacy, they tend to take protective actions. Further, females are more concerned about their online privacy than males. However, one of the limitations of this study was that the respondents were only from the United Arab Emirates and Egypt. Therefore, the two nationalities that were examined didn?t represent the whole Arab world, the results can?t be generalized, and causality cannot be claimed.

This preview section has been concerned with the development of the Internet in the Arab world and particularly in the Middle East. Attention has been paid to studies about the Internet which have been conducted in the Middle East. The research reported in this thesis examines Internet use in Saudi Arabia. Thus, the next section will focus on the development of the Internet in Saudi Arabia and research about its use in that country.

?The Internet in Saudi Arabia

In the Arab region, The first connections to the Internet in the Arab region date back to the early 1990s. Tunisia was the first Arab country to use the Internet connection in1991. In 1992 Kuwait launched the Internet services. The period between 1993 and 1994 witnessed linked to the Internet by many Arab countries such as Egypt, Turkey, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates. However, Syria and Saudi Arabia were the last countries in the Arab region to established Internet services, with regular public access becoming available only in the late 1990s (Wheeler, 2006). Although that Saudi Arabia was slow in allowing the public to access the internet the introduction of the Internet in Saudi Arabia has witnessed significant developments which encourage scholars in the Kingdom to study this phenomenon. This section reviews the development of the Internet in Saudi Arabia.

Despite the Saudi government institutions being first logged on to the Internet in 1994 and King Fahd giving official approval of its introduction in 1997, it was not until December 1998 that the qualification of ISPs (Internet Service Providers) was announced by King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST). KACST is in charge of providing Internet services to Saudi Arabia, in coordination with the Ministry of Communications and the Ministry of Finance. It is connected to three different international providers in the USA, Canada, and France (Al-Rasheed, 2001).

The delay in permission for public Internet access was due to several reasons. The first reason was the country?s telecommunication infrastructure, which needed an upgrade to cope with the Internet. The second reason was that the authorities and decision-makers wanted to have time to take all the necessary measures to control its use and to prevent any misuse of the internet in order to protect the values and Islamic beliefs of Saudi society (Al-Qarni, 2004).

The Saudi government allowed private Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to start providing the service in November 1998, and approximately 40 companies were approved to provide Internet services. However, in January 1999, Saudi Arabia began allowing its public to access the Internet through local service providers while promising to implement what was described as the region?s most ambitious plan to prevent the flow of undesirable data online. The Internet service in Saudi Arabia is organised into three main levels: ISPs; National Backbone, which is the Saudi Telecom Company (STC); and the International Link, which is operated by the Internet Service Unit (ISU). To obtain Internet services, individuals, companies, organisations or government agencies, other than universities, have to subscribe through one of the licensed commercial ISPs (Al-Qarni, 2004).

In order to surf the World Wide Web in Saudi Arabia, most individuals must make a long distance call, which is an expense few can afford. This issue has raised a recurring debate in the country that returns with any new communications technology ? radio, television, or satellite. In 2002, the government allowed the public open access to the medium by digital subscriber line (DSL) (Sait et al., 2003). The ISU proposed some measures to improve Internet services in Saudi Arabia. To prevent a slow connection to the internet, the ISU contemplated allowing the ISPs to use a one-way satellite connection. However, there is a technical problem related to that, namely, how to control the information using the ?Push? technique. Furthermore, the STC started to increase the number of modem ports, thus allowing more users to connect to the Internet at the same time (Al-Hajery, 2004).

In late 2005 the government announced that Electronet company would start providing broadband connections through electric lines by mid 2006.

?Internet Censorship

The concern regarding Internet access in Saudi Arabia stems from the country?s cultural and religious values and national security. For content filtering reasons, Saudi Arabia is connected to the international Internet through high-speed data links, which are operated by the Internet Services Unit (ISU) in the Saudi government: ?While Saudi internet users may subscribe to any of a number of local internet service providers, all web traffic is apparently forwarded through a central array of proxy servers at the ISU, which implements Internet content filtering roughly in line with parts of the Resolution? (Zittrain and Edelman, 2002). Users are directed to the ISU?s warning page telling them that access is ?forbidden?, and that ?All access attempts are logged?.

Authorities in Saudi Arabia have blocked specific categories of Internet content. Pursuant to the 2001 Council of Ministers decree: ?The types of materials which the ISU is directed to block are few. As for the other categories, they consist mainly of pages related to ?drugs, bombs, alcohol, gambling and pages insulting the Islamic religion or the Saudi laws and regulations? (Internet Services Unit webpage, 2005).

Saudi Arabia internet filtering is considers as one of the most extensive between the Arab countries. Hence the Saudi authorities do not attempt to conceal their intentions or their censorship of the Internet. The authorities extended the prohibition to include any websites of which officials may disapprove. This led to King Abdulaziz City announcing its success in blocking 200,000 websites in August 2001. After the Internet service began operating in Saudi Arabia, almost 250 websites were being blocked daily. The number of banned websites is now in the region of 400,000 (Oshan, 2007).

Who Uses the Internet in Saudi Arabia

Saudis first gained access to the internet on December 15, 1998. Ten years later, the number of internet users in the country had grown to 7.7 million. In 2010, there were 9.8 million users, making up about 38 percent of the total population (Communications and Information Technology Commission, 2010). Saudis? use of information technologies grew at phenomenal rates in 2001. This past year saw a rapid increase in computer and Internet use, not only in homes, but also at the workplace, schools, and other locations (Al-Hajery, 2004). Young people aged 16 to 25 years are most likely to use the Internet in Saudi Arabia and the majority of Saudi Internet users are college and high school graduates since people in these two educational levels occupy the largest proportion of Saudi population (Sait et al., 2003). This pattern is consistent with western countries. However, in more advance nations, the generation divide in terms of general Internet use has become eroded over time, although more complex uses of the Internet still tend to be adopted most of all by young people in the first instance (Wensheng, 2001).

According to Mohammadayns? study (2010) Saudis interact with the Internet in a very large network, they show the greatest growth in rate of use, and their young people are mostly involved in social networking for the purpose of dialogue and emotional support, to highlight themselves and exchange views, and to make friends and communicate with others. However, males still have a greater presence on the web than do females, with the gap between them since the emergence of the Internet widening due to factors relating to the differences in social traditions between males and females. This is true especially of the freedom to use technology in general, and family concerns about technology damaging females more than males.

The expansion of the new technologies such as the Internet in Saudi Arabia and the gap between young and old people and between male and female with effective access to the Internet have raised concerns about equitable access in under-served social sectors in what is known as the digital divide, i.e., the divide between those with access to the Internet and those without access. However, although the issue of the digital divide is well documented in the west, For example, Norris (2001) has carried out considerable research on the issue of the digital divide. To date there is no literature examining this issue in Saudi Arabia. Note what I said above. This divide between age groups has diminished over time for general Internet functions. Specialised and advanced functions still attract more youthful users in the west.

How and why people use the internet in Saudi Arabia

Although there has been a tremendous amount of speculation about how and why people use the Internet, little research has systematically examined the implications of the unique uses that individuals make of the internet in the Saudi context.? Sait et al. (2003) identify three broad categories for why people use the Internet: communication, interaction, and information.

Al-Saud (2005) and Al-Farm (2002) find some support for their contention that people employ the Internet to satisfy the same needs that they bring to their consumption of other media. They argue that users use the Internet to gratify the same needs in reading news online which they bring to their reading of newspapers. Al-Saud (2005) surveyed Saudi student?s universities. When the author asked the participants ?what are your motives for using the Internet?? he found that one of Saudi students? motives to use the Internet is to read the news as the internet is the important source of news. Therefore, they decrease their reading of newspaper.

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To date, researchers have only linked motivations with certain uses; the gratifications gained from these uses remain unclear, especially within the context of factors that have produced the access divide. This issue raises questions which need to be answered: How do patterns of Internet use relate to specific gratifications obtained from these uses? Do the patterns of Internet use change within subgroups as defined by age, gender, and income status?

Internet Caf?s in Saudi Arabia

The Internet?s growing prevalence in Saudi society has been evident through the increased presence of internet caf?s. Internet caf?s first appeared in Saudi Arabia in 1998. The phenomenon of the Internet caf? found its way into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as is the case in many other Arab countries. Investors found a new area of investment; therefore, Internet caf?s proliferated in relatively large numbers in various regions during the first three years after the introduction of the internet in Saudi Arabia. Despite strict conditions being imposed on internet caf?s, many misuses occurred in internet caf?s, which had a negative impact on Saudi society (Al-Hajery, 2004). For example, cyber cafes can cause teenagers to have social problems, or they become so addicted to playing games that they would play for excessive length of time.

The phenomenon of the Internet caf? has prompted some scholars to conduct studies in order to study their social effects on users and society. The Saudi studies into the Internet caf?s (Al-Nufaie, 2003; Al-Hajiri, 2003) mainly focus on the impact of the Internet caf? on internet users. However, their findings were not the same, and this may be due to differences in the application of methods in conducting these studies. For instance, Al-Nufaie (2003) utilised the questionnaire method and found that users of Internet caf?s, who are usually teenagers but mostly accompanied by older friends, tend to stay until the middle of the night at these caf?s, away from the supervision of their parents. Consequently, several social and ethical problems have arisen, while Al-Hajiri (2003) monitored the activities of internet caf? users by CCTV and found that the most important advantage of internet cafes is that youths don?t have to own a computer or pay for the internet connection. In addition, most young people who go to internet cafes make good use of the internet. However, from my point of view this monitoring method has some particular disadvantages; first, if users knew about the monitoring, their usage would have been affected. Second, if they did not know about this monitoring process, it would have been an ethically questionable research method.

The Social Impact of the Internet

The rapid evolution of the Internet in Saudi Arabia naturally raises questions about both its potential positive and possible negative consequences (Sait et al., 2003; Sait et al., 2007). In consequence, the Internet?s impact on Saudi society needs to be understood. Several studies attempted to explore the effect of Internet use on the social lives of users (Sait et al., 2003; Sait et al., 2007; Alotaibi, 2006).? These previous studies agreed that there is no doubt that the Internet provides immense opportunities for social development by easily connecting individuals with family and friends, or bringing together people who share the same interests. However, the effects of the Internet go beyond the merely formal. It has entered into people?s social routines and has made a dramatic impact. It has affected people?s communications, family life, social circles, personal habits, face-to-face contacts and learning and studying customs.

Alotaibi (2006) based his study on the displacement approach to understand the nature of the social impact the Internet has had. Alotaibi raised the issue of the Internet acting as a ?time enhancer?, since his results showed an increase in the value of the internet for enhancing communications, as respondents indicated more use for matters that maximised time efficiency, e.g., studying, reading news and emailing. Also, the Internet has enhanced students? relationships with friends, and there was a definite positive association between the intensity of Internet use and the improvement of communications with family in Saudi Arabia. Alotaibi (2006) findings concur with similar findings from western studies. For instance, Robison et al. (2002) suggested that the Internet use seems to function both as a time displacer (one in which people do give up other activities to accommodate it) and as a ?time enhancer? (one in which people do not seem forced to give up other activities to accommodate it).

Alotaibi observed that the use of the Internet in Saudi Arabia has expanded significantly in recent years. This has resulted in less social contact and could be associated with an increasing feeling of loneliness. It might be worth noting here that this loneliness phenomenon was registered by early research on Internet use in the United States ? see Kraut, Patterson, Lundmark,? Kiesler, Mukhopadhyay, & Scherlis (1998) However, this was based on very use of the Internet. Later web 2.0 developments involving social networking sites changed all this. Prior research in the United States also show how social network sites can enhance or supplement offline social life ? see Subrahmanyam, Reich, Waechter, & Espinoza (2008). Even so, there have been concerns about some Internet users becoming too dependent on it for social contact.

Gender Differences and Use of the Internet

There is substantial, coherent literature on the use of the Internet among young people and students (Al-Jabri, 1996; Shaheen, 2001; Al-Saud, 2005; Oshan, 2007; Oshan and Khudir, 2008). However, due to the nature of Saudi culture, a wider discussion on gender differences in the use of the Internet has emerged, including the effect and attitudes of using the Internet among Saudi males and females (Al-Hajery, 2003; Al-Dobaiyyn, 2003; Oshan, 2007; Oshan and Khudir, 2008).

The gender issue of using the Internet in Saudi Arabia has been studied particular by information science scholars (Oshan, 2007; Oshan and Khudir, 2008) who placed emphasis on investigating cultural and gender factors associated with and influencing female university students? attitude towards using the Internet. Oshan and Khudir (2008) found that voluntary use of the Internet and single-sex education in Saudi Arabia were two factors shaping students? behavioural intention to use the Internet.

Other writers who have studied gender differences in internet use have tried to explore the motivations and barriers influencing internet usage (Shaheen, 2001; Al-Dobaiyyn, 2003; Goblan, 2003). These studies revealed that using the Internet to increase knowledge and for general information were the main motivation for Internet use, followed by checking email. Also, they identified some difficulties that respondents encounter when using the Internet such as slow Internet connectivity, and the language.

A great amount of the previous literature about the gender issue in Internet usage is based on the questionnaire method, except Oshan (2007), who applied a mixed method (questionnaire and focus group) to enrich the study with differences in philosophical view, and obtain more views from the variations in substantive theoretical ideas and in practical goals. Oshan (2007) stated that his study applied the focus groups method in order to have qualitative information from female participants and to investigate more about some conflicting results from the questionnaire.? Most of the previous studies were based on quantitative research, which underlines the need for qualitative studies about Internet use in the Saudi context.

The Impact of Internet Use on Other Media and Non-Media Activities

Although a significant area that has been explored extensively by previous studies and that has been a subject of debate between academics and media professionals in western countries is the impact of the Internet on other forms of mass communication, particularly television, little research in Saudi Arabia has been concerned with investigating the influence of Internet usage on other forms of mass communication (Al-Farm, 2002; Al-Saud, 2005; Sait et al., 2007). Al-Saud (2005) pointed out that the empirical literature on the effect of Internet use on other mass communication media in the context of Saudi Arabia is minimal and that much of the literature stems from the studies into using new technology. Although this provides a good context, it means that there is a gap in the literature that examines the implication of the emergent behaviour for the way Saudi young people use other media and allocate time to other activities.

??????????? Sait et al. (2007) suggested that Saudi people tend to reduce their time spent watching television because of daily Internet access and that other activities affected by the internet are ?reading books, magazines, and newspapers? as well as sleeping. Sait et al. (2007) argued that there are two possible reasons for this decline in other activities by internet users:

1- ?The availability of many services through the Internet such as books, magazines, newspapers which are constantly updated have affected the other traditional activities. Also, some television channels provide streaming audio and video online. Moreover, the Internet has takeovers almost all aspects of television use from news and information to entertainments. ?Hence, television has had the maximum setback? (p:14).

2- ?People who spend so much time on the Internet may lose sleep. This is indicated by their using the Internet instead of sleeping. However, another possible reason for this might be due to slow connectivity during working hours. Moreover, people would prefer to go online after office hours during evenings and night hours. Subsequently, they lose out on sleep.

Drawing on the uses and gratifications theory, the studies of Al-Farm (2002) and Al-Saud (2005) explored the influences of the Internet on use of other forms of mass communication. The authors argued that the uses and gratification approach is the most important model for understanding how people
use the media to gratify their needs and to examine the nature of audience involvement and gratification obtained from using new media. Both of these studies were quantitative research projects and utilized the questionnaire method to collect the data. Al-Saud (2005) based his study on a sample of about 320 students from Saudi universities (eight in total), with about 40 samples from each university. However, the sample of his study was small compared to the population of students in all Saudi universities. Thus, this sample restricted the ability of Al-Sauds? study to be generalised.

The findings of both studies suggest that users consider the Internet as an important source of news, information, and entertainment. Therefore, the Internet has an impact on other forms of mass communication. However, Al-farm (2002) pointed out that using the Internet has an impact on print media such as newspapers, reducing the time reported on newspaper reading, but did not affect watching television or listening to the radio. Al-Farm argues that the internet will not displace television. Instead there will be integration process between new media and traditional media. For example, people can read newspapers, listen to radio, and watch TV via the internet.

Al-Farm (2002) raised the issue of the novelty of the Internet. He addressed the question of whether people use the Internet at the expense of other forms of mass communication because of the novelty of the new medium. This author argued that the novelty of the internet may have the potential to prevent people from consuming other forms of mass communication.

The issue of the novelty of the Internet as mentioned by Al-Farm (2002) above may raise new problems for the measurement of the displacement approach. This may be the reason that the previous studies employed the uses and gratification approach rather than utilise the displacement approach to investigate the impact of the Internet on traditional media.

This body of literature is relevant to the current study as it shows the potential impact of Internet use as an empirical basis to examine the issue of the media habits of youths in Saudi Arabia and in particular their use of the Internet and of television.

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Conclusion

From reviewing the previous literature in the Arab world, and in Saudi Arabia in particular, it can be seen that the most of the studies have been conducted on young people from different viewpoints, since young people are the fastest segments of society in the adoption of innovations in the Arab region, and adolescents are seen as particularly vulnerable to the influence of new media. Although the Internet is becoming more popular among young people in Saudi Arabia, there is still no evidence of the nature and intention of that adoption.

Research in the Saudi context has focused on audiences. The framework of the majority of the literature that investigated mass media in Saudi Arabia, particularly television, was the uses and gratification model, which is suited to researching the motivation of audiences. Moreover, most of this research was quantitative in nature and relied on surveys. Examining consumer behaviours solely via respondents? self-reports runs the risk of measurement errors caused by memory lapses or a failure on the part of respondents to produce accurate cognitive maps of their routine behaviour patterns.

Although the development of the Internet has offered a challenge to television, little attention has been paid by the previous studies to answering the questions of: What does the shift from television to Internet mean for our understanding of the television audiences? How has the relationship between television and daily life been altered as a result of the emergence of new media?

The existing literature helps to provide a context from which my research questions and design are drawn. The literature suggests that there are gaps in research which examines the implications of the emergent behaviour for the way Saudi young people use media and allocate time to other activities.

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Source: http://writepass.co.uk/journal/2012/12/mass-communication-in-the-middle-east-and-saudi-arabia/

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