Social Media in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is home to 35.59 million people and has a long standing history of strict gender and religious norms. This paper will discuss the rise of social media in the last two decades and how Saudi Arabians have challenged and increasingly circumvented regulated conservative norms imposed by the government, particularly as they relate to the issues of gender and religious expression, as well as daily life. 

In the past 10 years, Saudi Arabia has become an increasingly digital country. Statistically, social media usage has increased from roughly 7 million users in 2014, to 35 million users in 2024 (DataReportal). Meaning that as of January 2024, approximately 98% of Saudi Arabia's population is online. As a result of this massive growth, Saudi Arabia is a prime example of how change can be brought forth by social media in repressive states with a historically strict government. Social media's most active users in Saudi Arabia are between the ages of 25 and 34 (Digital Marketing Community). Platforms such as Youtube with 30 million users and Instagram with 25 million users give Saudis a voice that they have not been able to express (DataRepartol). The Saudi Arabian monarchy has therefore begun restricting these sites. The Saudi government fears that these unregulated opinions will spread because social media goes beyond geographical and ideological boundaries. The lifelong battle of personal freedom in Saudi Arabia has moved its playing field to social media. 

The massive increase in social media usage in Saudi Arabia has led researchers to look at the effects it has on daily life, which is otherwise not easy to learn about. Researchers claim social media has had an overall negative effect on Saudi Arbians daily lives. Some of the negative impacts according to, Asloyan (National Institute of Health) on the youth are “separation from reality as there is too much attachment to the virtual one, negatively affecting their [young adults] language, habit of telling lies, and wasting time.” Furthermore, Awad, a Saudi Arabian researcher for the National Institute of Health- argues that “social media is utilized to demolish the ethical, religious, social, cultural, and political aspects of Saudi culture.” Regardless of these perceived negative impacts by researchers, usage of tech still increases by the day in Saudi Arabia.

In addition to social media's impact on daily life, it also has caused a major shift in the way Suadis engage with their Islamic religion norms on dating. Saudi Arabia is a largely a Islamic country. Saudi interpretation of Islam is a strict monotheistic religion centered on the teachings of the Quran and Muhammad. Muslims (those who follow the Saudi Islamic religion) in Saudi Arabia also follow a set of laws called Sharia Law. Women are most impacted by these laws because the laws are stricter for women as the l;aws relate to morality, chastity, and marriage. For example, “As far as marriage, [In Sharia Law] a woman can have only one husband, but a man can have up to four wives.” (The Washington Post). There are five primary objectives of Sharia Law which are as follows: protection of sound religious practice, sanity, life, the family, and individual and collective wealth (The Washington Post). These laws are enforced strictly across Saudi Arabia and limit the romantic life of all Saudis, women specifically. 

The Sharia Islamic limits on dating has not kept the romantics from finding ways to evade rules on dating online. Divergence from the limiting dating laws happened in Saudi Arabia long before the internet. For instance, men would hang for-sale signs on their automobiles with their telephone numbers with the goal of finding a date or two. Now, with social media being available in Saudi Arabia, men and women are using it to find matches online. Sociologist Abdulrahman al-Shuqir, who practices at the Ministry of Education, says that social media has led to a rise in physical encounters between unmarried people (Ministry of Education). The Washington Post quotes a 23-year-old anonymous Saudi woman saying, “All my friends are talking to boys on social media” (The Washington Post). A typical social media encounter between the sexes in Saudi Arabia will not start on a highly Western dating app, such as Tinder, but instead on Instagram. One will reach out by liking photos and sending a DM (Direct Message) over Instagram. When things begin to spice up, Snapchats will be exchanged. “You know you’re getting serious if you’re on Snapchat,” said Dima, 19, a university student (The Washington Post). Even government workers are getting online. Muhammad, 25, a resident of Riyadh who works at a government agency says, “Why would you pay money for a matchmaker when you could just meet girls online?” (The Washington Post). Taking into account that citizens as well as government officials are dating online before marriage, it must be inferred that over social media dating is a common practice, regardless to the point that this action goes against Saudi interpretation of the Islamic religion and therefore Sharia Law. 

Relating to challenging Saudi interpretation of the Islamic religion Saudi have also challenged the government on the enforced ban on women driving. Women in Saudi Arabia were not allowed to drive and obtain a license until June 2018. There have been many protests against the ban on women driving that was established in 1957. One of the most notable protests was in 1990. Close to 50 women met at a Safeway drove vehicles down the main street of Riyadh. The women were stopped by the police force and many were suspended from work for weeks. (Human Rights Watch) This protest demonstrates women's ability to drive is an important issue for the women of Saudi Arabia because it is a necessity in modern living. Driving allows for freedom that walking simply does not provide. Driving is more efficient, less time consuming, and in almost all cases, a safer way of transportation. A sick or injured family member in need of medicine cannot be driven to the pharmacy by a woman, instead, she must wait for the man to get home. Furthermore, driving provides mobility to get to work. In other words, without having the right to a license there is no equal access between sexes to go to the grocery store, get medicine, attend events, get to work, and so much more. Driving is not a luxury but a necessity. 

Social media became a way to surpass the repressive social structure on the issue of driving by helping women obtain the right to a license. Before attempting to change the law over social media, campaigners sent in a document to the King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia demanding equal movement rights in 2007. No response was received. Wajeha al-Huwaider and Fawzia al-Uyyouni, the co-founders of The Association for the Protection and Defense of Women's Rights in Saudi Arabia,then took to social media to bring down laws against women driving (Human Rights Watch). On International Women's Day, Wajeha al-Huwaider recorded a video of herself behind the wheel in Saudi Arabia and posted it on YouTube. In 2011, many women were arrested and one sentenced to 10 lashes for using YouTube and to post videos driving to protest against the ban (Human Rights Watch). On the 26th of October, 2013 the official Women2Drive movement started on YouTube. Shortly after the announcement many involved in the campaign received threatening phone calls that included threats of what would happen to them and their families if the campaign did not cease. However, the women of Saudi Arabia did not back down and between 2013 and 2017 massive amounts of women posted videos online of themselves driving (Human Rights Watch). One to be noted was named Manal al-Sharif. Sharif, when asked about social media's role in attaining a woman’s right to drive, said, “Social media has had a pivotal role in my work for women’s rights. Without YouTube, Twitter and Facebook we would not have made it this far. In Saudi Arabia, there are no pulpits. There are no places to air your views. So, it’s amazing to have these tools” (Human Rights Watch). Manal al-Sharif was arrested and faced public shame. Still, on September 26th, 2017 protesters efforts were recognized by King Salman. This recognition was, in part, due to the global pressure that he received to change the ban. This global pressure was present because the hashtag Women2Drive became popular over social media. King Salman issued a statement that women were allowed to drive and the new law was applied to the women of Saudi Arabia in June of 2018. Their victory did not come without cost. Even after the decree, women involved in the movement and those seen driving still reported phone calls of threats and warnings against sharing their personal story on gaining the right to drive. Now, the total number of driving licenses issued to females in Saudi Arabia is 175,000 (Human Rights Watch). Women in Saudi Arabia battled through social media to gain these new licenses by taking advantage of social media’s unique form of communication Yet, not all social media usage in Saudi Arabia has been an overall victory. 

Manahel al-Otaibi was arrested in Saudi Arabia on the 16th November 2022 for posting in “indecent clothing" and promoting her views on social media. Amnesty International, a multilingual site who, “stands with victims of human rights violations… wherever they are,” and “helps fight abuses of human rights worldwide” reported on her story (Amnesty International). The narrative in the  article covering her story, written on April 30th, 2024 by Amnesty International (no author specified), has a sympathetic tone towards Manahel al-Otaibi and demonstrates outrage towards the Saudi Arabian Government. “Manahel’s conviction and 11-year sentence is an appalling and cruel injustice,” says Bissan Fakih, Amnesty International’s Campaigner on Saudi Arabia. Manahel al-Otaibi’s story starts in 2022 when “Manahel al-Otaibi faced sentencing in a secret hearing before the country’s notorious counter-terrorism court, the Specialized Criminal Court.” (Amnesty International). Her conviction stood on the grounds of her revealing clothing choice and feminist views related to lifting Saudi Arabia’s male guardianship system. She was found guilty and sent to Riyadh’s Malaz Prison where she endured physical and psychological abuse. Five months after being in prison she was finally allowed to speak to her family, “…she told them she was being held in solitary confinement and had a broken leg as a result of physical abuse,”  (Amnesty International). Her sentencing took place in 2022, three years after Saudi Arabias’ monarchy stated dress codes for women visiting the country would be more lenient. This rule was never applied to female residents. The Suadi Arbian government only made this rule, “as part of a drive to open up the country for tourism.”  (Amnesty International). Although authorities of Saudi Arabia are changing regulations towards the Western world, citizens still remain under intense and strict limitations regarding clothing choice and social media. Specifically female citizens face a grave risk when posting on social media. Although Saudi Arabian citizens have been using social media to express nuanced ideologies and circumvent government regulations on it, Manahel al-Otaibi’s story shows how dangerous it is to do so. Along with the fear of sentencing because of stories like hers, the Saudi Arabian government uses other tactics to keep citizens off social media. 

Saudi Arabia's government is entirely appointed by the monarch, blocks websites and apps, and has a suspected “electronic army” preventing freedom of speech (Freedom House). Freedom House, founded in 1941, was made to “to rally policymakers and a broadly isolationist American public around the fight against Nazi Germany, and to raise awareness of the fascist threat to American security and values” (Freedom House). Since then  “Freedom House has established itself through its advocacy, programs, and research as a leading American organization devoted to the support and defense of democracy around the world” (Freedom House). Freedom House conducted a report on the government's involvement on social media in Saudi Arabia in 2023. There is a possible bias in the report because Freedom House promotes democracy and Saudi Arabia is a total monocracy. Freedom House found that Saudi Arabian’s face censorship and surveillance online that limits their ability to speak freely. The government, which is appointed and controlled by the monarch of Saudi Arabia, regularly blocks websites, apps, removes content, and online information that negatively portrays the government. Freedom House reports that, “local courts handed down multiple multi decade prison sentences for peaceful online expression or activism” (Freedom House). For example, “Authorities intensified a crackdown on political and religious speech. In early 2023, Awad al-Qarni, a prominent cleric who has been incarcerated since 2019 on charges of using Twitter to share information “hostile” to the government, was sentenced to death,”(Freedom House).  The Saudi government has no hesitance to sentence those who use social media in ways that they see as unfit to harsh punishments. In addition Freedom House says, “the government has previously blocked VoIP apps including Viber,WhatsApp, and FaceTime, as well as integrated chat systems on social media websites such as Facebook Messenger. Now they block Whatsapp,”(Freedom House). As to why these apps are or have been blocked has never been officially disclosed. The regulation of the internet is done by the CITC and all of its members are appointed by the monoach. It is a system set up to ensure complete control from the monarchy. In March 2023, the CITC blocked 4,000 websites. Most of these websites belong to human rights or political organizations, LGBT+ websites, or pro-democracy platforms. Furthermore, the University of Oxford’s Computational Propaganda Research Project found the government employs a permanent staff to spread misinformation and propaganda. This “electronic army” uses “hashtag poisoning,” which is the spamming of a popular hashtag to disrupt criticism on Twitter to disrupt criticism of the government. Combined, Saudi Arabians do not have access to unbiased news sources, apps, websites, hashtags or the right to free speech on the internet. Social media in Saudi Arabia is a battlefield where citizens try  to get around the regulations and rules made by the government. 

Social media has changed the ways in which Saudi’s participate in religion, gender roles, and daily life. 

Pre-social media norms in Saudi Arabia were massively conservative. For example, women could not drive alone. Yet, once social media arrived in Saudi Arabia, its effects were seen quickly. The eyes of Saudi Aabians were opened to the contrasting norms of the Western world. Online platforms, like Instagram and Snapchat were used to meet matches, changing the youths' perception of dating. This emergence of alternative ways of thinking has impacted Saudi citizens. 

Communication over geographical borders has increased, youth mental health rates have gone down, and awareness of Western ideologies has gone up. 

The power dynamics in Saudi Arabia are shifting because of social media. Social media has become an extremely powerful tool by creating an online connected identity of Saudi Arabia whose ideals contrast with the traditional Saudi interpretation of Isam (DataReportal). The government who enforces the traditional norms has seen a decline in their ability to control social media. However, the government has not stopped restricting social media by blocking apps and websites as well as employing a permanent “electronic army” to spread disinformation. The government has seen the successful Women2Drive movement and others like it and therefore they see its potential for social change and awareness. Advocating for change in Saudi Arabia does not come without risk. Many Saudi Arabians have been arrested and punished for sharing their views online. Social media has heightened tensions between the government's more traditional and citizen’s moderate views.

In conclusion, social media is a proven catalyst for change in Saudi Arabia. Social media has created new channels for individual expression. The regulations from the Saudi monarchy on expressing new ideas are limiting. However, this has not kept citizens off the internet. Social media, therefore, has helped citizens challenge regulatory norms imposed by their government and brings potential for a more inclusive future in Saudi Arabia driven by digital connectedness. 

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