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Throughout this case study, the use of social media in a societal culture will be analyzed through the views of countries such as Saudi Arabia, the United States, and China. It’s apparent that Saudi Arabia and China have different ways of handling social media than the United States. Within these countries, culture directly impacts social media with and without government interference. The role of culture in the world of social media can impact the views of religion and cultural beliefs. It is evident that countries have different views on how social media should be used and implemented in society.
The role of social media in a societal culture, specifically Saudi Arabia, is that of cultural awareness. People in Saudi Arabia, especially women, use social media to learn about the beliefs of other people in other countries and interact with them, but not adopt their views. Social media takes on the form of globalization in that it has the role of impacting people all over the world in different countries. In a societal culture, it allows people to see what other people are thinking without crossing the line of their own beliefs or values. Social media does present a normalizing effect across those boundaries in creating a space for people of all different cultures and backgrounds from different countries to be able to voice their opinions in a positive way. It can have a negative effect if used the wrong way in criticizing others and not embracing everyone’s differences. In Saudi Arabia, it can have a positive and negative effect for several reasons starting with government control. The government monitors and controls social media activity to make sure that people are not denouncing the religion as well as not engaging in unsavory activity (Deresky, 2017). Women in Saudi Arabia do not have many rights and are not allowed to do anything without the permission or accompaniment of men (Deresky, 2017). With the use of social media, women have more power as well as the freedom to do as they want within the confinements of the government. It is even bringing change within Saudi Arabia’s government policies. The added pressure and global awareness of social media have forced a change in the country within the past few years, with women being able to drive and go to the mall without a man accompanying them. As the younger generation grows up in the social media world, it will continue to enforce change within government policies to gain more rights. The main positive effect of social media is education. People can use social media, specifically YouTube, to expand their knowledge of everything. It is a place where people can learn about concepts taught in school or different beliefs, levels of acceptance, and behavior. As social media has no geographic boundaries, it is present in all countries regardless of cultural beliefs and values.
Societal culture and lifestyle are as intricately intertwined with religion in the United States as it is in Saudi Arabia, but not to the same extent. Throughout the United States, societal culture and religion mingle with each other through news media and the community. Even though America is considered is be a “melting pot” in the blending of all cultures and religions, “71% of Americans identify themselves as Christian” (Zimmermann, 2017). This is evident throughout the country in reference to the famous fast food chain, Chick-fil-A, being closed on Sunday as it is “God’s Day”. It is also evident in people’s personal and family lives in praying before eating a meal. Another example is at hotels where Bibles are left in the nightstand drawer for customers to use so that they don’t have to carry one back and forth when traveling. Through news as well as social media, religion plays a big part in the interaction among people. This interaction could be about politics or religious views, but those sometimes intertwine as well; There is a difference between the United States and Saudi Arabia governments in that there is an amendment about the separation between Church and State. Religion plays a big part in the United States and has an impact on people’s lifestyles in one way or another. For example, in the lyrics of the national anthem, the third to last line of the song states “and this be our motto — ‘In God is our Trust’” (Blumberg, 2019). From this, songs have been made such as “God Bless America” to display the religious views of America. In most countries, societal culture and lifestyle directly relate to religion. In Saudi Arabia, it is evident in all aspects of the country throughout government, businesses, people’s way of life, etc. In the United States, it is not as incorporated in the many facets of the country, but is a major underlying view.
In China, social media has a radical effect on cultural expectations in that they have government-controlled social media networks. “China has the world’s most active environment for social media”, but does not use the same apps as used in the United States as well as other countries (Chiu, Ip, and Silverman, 2012). Chinese social media does not have Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp, YouTube, or even Snapchat. Instead of these apps, China created an alternative to these that is operated and “accessible through virtual private networks or VPNs” so that the government is able to monitor the usage and activity of people (“Social Media and censorship in China: how it is different to the West”, 2017). For example, in China WhatsApp is WeChat, Twitter is Weibo, Google is Baidu, Facebook Messenger is QQ, and YouTube is Youku (“Social Media and Censorship in China: how it is different to the West”, 2017). Unlike Saudi Arabia, this radical government control in China with social media and the internet does not extend to religious views, but the cultural expectations of residents. Chinese residents using these apps are not allowed to post, talk about, or spread ‘violence, terror, false rumors, pornography, and other hazards to national security, public safety, and social order” (Radcliffe, 2017). All user posts are tracked by the government through phone numbers (Radcliffe, 2017). The cultural expectations of its residents in China are strict to the point where freedom is available on the social media platform, but limited in its content and interaction with other users. The government closely looks at all posts from all of its users to make sure that residents follow the regulations or rules. There are no official penalties for a user neglecting these policies, but the user must be careful in selecting what to post and say as the government is always watching. The globalization of social media has made its way to China, but in a radical capacity where the user must abide by the cultural expectations of the country and not adopt or pay attention to the views of other countries.
In this case study, the use of social media in the countries of Saudi Arabia and China is viewed as radical compared to the United States. Within Saudi Arabia and China, government control plays a big part in how social media is used in not condemning the religious as well as cultural views of the home country. In the United States, there is a separation between Church and State where the government cannot interfere or control the views of its residents through social media in exercising free speech. Throughout this case study, it was displayed that cultural views are different in many countries which impacts social media.
References
- Deresky, H. (2017). International Management (9th ed.). Pearson/Prentice Hall.
- Zimmermann, K. A. (2017, July 14). American Culture: Traditions and Customs of the United States. Retrieved from https://www.livescience.com/28945-american-culture.html.
- Blumberg, N. (2019, February 13). The Star-Spangled Banner. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Star-Spangled-Banner.
- Social media and censorship in China: How is it different from the West? (2017, September 26). Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/41398423/social-media-and-censorship-in-china-how-is-it-different-to-the-west.
- Chiu, C., Ip, C., & Silverman, A. (2012, April 12). Understanding social media in China. Retrieved from https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/marketing-and-sales/our-insights/understanding-social-media-in-china.
- Radcliffe, D. (2017, November 29). Understanding social media in China. Retrieved from https://ijnet.org/en/story/understanding-social-media-china.
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