Starting on a new client in a new office always has a learning curve. Being in a new country with entirely different consumer habits is a really steep one. I’ve learned so much this past month at work and am really enjoying acclimating to a new market with so many intricacies. I’m finding social media usage to be the most interesting because of the popularity and distinctly different uses compared to the US and globally – particularly creating content to watch, protesting, posting in privacy, or finding a spouse.
Apolitically, Saudis like posting on social media just as much as the rest of us. Funny anecdote about that, the first time we went to Sultan’s Steakhouse I snapped a few pics of our meal and a very yummy non-alcoholic strawberry mojito. Our waiter came by after he’d me seen me pull out my phone and asked how long we’d been living Riyadh. At that point it had only been two weeks. He was surprised that we’d been here such a short time and had already picked up the habit of taking pictures of food (HA!). I didn’t have the heart to tell him that Saudi’s didn’t start this habit.
My first client meeting on STC was also a first half annual review, which involved the creative work. I was impressed with J. Walter Thompson’s beautiful cinematic storytelling of Ramadan, featuring families gathering together breaking their daily fast in remote locations of the kingdom, but I was taken aback that they played directly to the insight of taking photos of food and STC making it possible to post these pictures in the far reaches of the country. It kind of ruined the story for me, but I guess it resonates locally. It’s a fascinating insight. In a country where so much is censored or monitored and where women don’t post many pictures of themselves (do a location search for Riyadh vs. London on Instagram) it makes sense why people share the pics of their meals or everyday events.
With media being state run it’s kind of surprising that Youtube is incredibly popular. KSA accounts for 90MM+ of it the sites’ global video views, daily. The reason for its popularity is the comedy content. It seems that the local content creators aren’t doing anything haram (illegal) so there hasn’t been much censorship or regulation on the content. The guys in the office have showed me some channels, but I can’t understand a thing that’s going on. I trust that it’s funny. In fact, the Youtube personalities have become so popular here, and approved by the government, that some are even getting their own shows on the major state owned networks in the country.
Even though Twitter is regulated by the government, it rivals Facebook for the second highest active monthly users (6.4MM vs. 8MM)! Twitter has become a platform for people to air their frustrations. Trolling for haram posts is the norm, which seems crazy to monitor that much activity. Subsequently people have gotten arrested and been sentenced jail time for making negative comments about Islam, the government and royal family. It doesn’t seem to stop anyone though. Some appear to use their real name and others are anonymous. I’m impressed because I’m not sure I would have the guts to do it. It says a lot for a country and its' people who feel compelled to speak out though.
Worth noting, I read that the kingdom spent $68MM on hosting Trump during his May visit. Granted this was also a leaked document and only posted on rival country news sites, so I’m not certain of the validity. We weren’t in Riyadh for the visit, but I’ve been told that there was an obscene amount of advertising (TV, newspaper and out of home were the most popular) welcoming Trump. There was an uproar in the Twittersphere by the outspoken opponents of the government, protesting the use of funds and protesting Trump as well. Citizens are getting brave. Everyone has heard about the video posted to Snapchat of the Saudi model who wore a short skirt while walking through a historical village in the desert. She later said that she didn’t know that the video was posted her, but she was brave enough to walk around without an abaya, which is most definitely haram.
Much like the US, even though people may have a Facebook account, activity is actually down. As we know, everyone and their grandmother is on Facebook. You can’t post something without all of your cousins, aunts, and uncles seeing it. Saudi women want some control over what’s being seen by whom, so they can be more open and feel liberated. I had an enlightening conversation with my female colleague about this. Instagram Stories and Snapchat (5.4MM and 4.4MM month users, respectively), with content expiring in 24 hours, it's making it possible for women to post pictures and videos of themselves without their niqab, hijab, and even abaya without family or their Mahram (guardian) seeing . There are Saudi woman celebrities (@fozaza) and influencers (@theabduls, @justbayan) posting pictures in western clothing. It’s worth noting that they often post from other countries, but I think these women are opening the door for others to feel more comfortable being themselves in these self-controlled social environments.
Speaking of having control, I think the rest of the world takes for granted being able to interact freely, even just platonically, with the opposite sex. As I’ve previous written, it’s really difficult for non-related single men and women to mingle. Social now opens the possibility for male-female interaction that isn’t possible face-to-face, even though it's deemed haram. People are finding a way to meet in these platforms and with their family’s blessing!
In many countries we see the downfalls of social media. It’s creating a culture of conceited, self-absorbed people and/or those who constantly have their heads buried in their mobile, more concerned about the lives of others or strangers than those sitting right next to them. Many conservatives might argue the same, and more that's haram, here in KSA. In less than a decade, social media has catapulted some of this county’s people in the 21st century. Social media is demonstrating what people want, gives them a voice, and allows for some "freedom". I think it’s wonderful and I hope people, especially women, continue to feel empowered by it.