The spread of the internet and the surge in social networking offer new opportunities for wider dialogue.
Rachid Jankari in Casablanca, Siham Ali in Rabat, Hayam El Hadi in Algiers, Jamel Arfaoui in Tunis and Mohamed Yahya Ould Abdel Wedoud in Nouakchott contributed to this report – 12/03/10
Social media is taking over the Maghreb.
"Facebook has become the only way that we can know what's going on around us," said Tunisian student Thamir al-Ayyadi.
Al-Ayyadi is one of a growing number of people worldwide who have come to rely on social media to find information and connect with others. Millions in the Maghreb are now using sites like Facebook and YouTube. Facebook, for instance, has 1.3 million users in Morocco alone.
These networking sites have brought new opportunities for wider dialogue. Citizen journalists are using blogs, photoblogs and online video sites to spread information unencumbered by the restrictions placed on official media. Others have used the anonymity of the internet to criticize the government, as did the online voices who protested internet censorship in Tunisia.
Social media has also introduced new problems like isolation and internet addiction to the Maghreb. Nevertheless, as internet access continues to expand, social media has a bright future in the region.
Maghreb residents are pleased with this new connectivity.
"Before, I used to feel lonely," Moroccan IT worker Hamid Bekkali said. "Now I'm surrounded by acquaintances all the time."
Some users note that long distances no longer separate residents of the internet's many virtual communities.
"I am fond of the virtual community on the world wide web," said Chrief Ould Moulay. Moulay, 25, works in a Mauritanian management company. "I now have friends in all Maghreb states, Europe and the US, though I have never been abroad."
Tarik ben Younis of Tunis relies on Facebook to talk to like-minded people.
"Through this website, I was able to connect with people around me and throughout the world, with male and female friends who share my values. If it hadn't been for this website, I wouldn't have been able to meet them or enjoy the benefit of their company."
However, social media may not have changed relationships for the better, notes Tunisian University professor Amel Grami, who conducted an in-depth study of Tunisian internet users.
"It actually leads to the emergence of social diseases," she said. "This is in addition to the changes that we see in the behavior of a large number of users."
Anonymity allows users to assume different identities, Grami said.
"One [user] would open accounts under a girl's name and use her identity instead of his own," she said. "There are some who pretend to have problems, but they are just using that to become stars in the virtual world. In the end, isolationism and individualism turn into core values, and social hypocrisy turns into a motto."
Internet addiction is also a growing problem.
"I am addicted to Facebook, and so are all of my friends," Moulay said. "Not a day passes without me checking what has been posted."
"I spend more than three hours a day using it," Chahda Snoussi added. "To me, it's an indispensable tool to remain connected to events, whether ones related to my friends or university life, or to the latest trends in the world of art and politics."
Social media is particularly appealing to youth, added Mauritanian social analyst Mouchtaba Ould Ahmed.
"The virtual community, because it is so open, welcomes Mauritanian youth with open arms when their own society seems to give them the cold shoulder," he said. "Virtual spaces have become places to exchange feelings, biographies, dreams and aspirations, away from the conventional authority of society."
Not everyone has found social media so welcoming.
"To be honest, I'm kind of afraid," Samira Badili said.
Badili, 25, works in the public sector in Morocco. She receives about a dozen friend requests on Facebook every day, she said, but never replies to any of them. She only uses the internet for email and to look up information.
"I can't personalize my experience online," she said. "My friends tell me I'm missing out on a lot of opportunities. Maybe I am."
Social media provides young people with unprecedented opportunities to express themselves, Moroccan psychologist Mohamed Mrani said. But problems may develop when social media becomes a substitute for face-to-face relationships.
"The use of virtual social networks is a positive social practice," he said. "It's the abuse of them that is worrying, given that the phenomenon is new in Morocco."
As social media creates new relationships, it also creates the opportunity to more freely express political beliefs.
"It's a democratic tool without equal," Algerian campaign worker Fairouz said.
"My party's activities are not covered by state television," she said. "Thanks to YouTube, Facebook and Dailymotion, our sympathizers can find out about them. We post everything relating to human rights events and street gatherings."
Similar trends have emerged elsewhere in the Maghreb.
Facebook and Twitter represent "a shift for many Tunisians to a space where they can express what's going on in their minds," Raoudha Rezgui said, "especially their opinions on politics and politicians."
Social media also provides unprecedented access to information, Ahmed said.
"There is a revolution of information that is invading each Mauritanian household," he said. "Girls used to be bound to their homes, but now they are part of a virtual community that is with them where they live."
These virtual communities are often more egalitarian than their real-world counterparts.
Facebook has become "a veritable test-tube where all social classes mix on an equal footing", said Algerian IT worker Mohamed. "It gives you an idea of the trends the country is witnessing."
Government authorities have occasionally tried to censor online social media, with limited success.
Journalist Ziad El Heni filed a legal action in a Tunisian court against the National Internet Agency in 2008, accusing the agency of blocking Facebook. Authorities intervened after six weeks and un-blocked the site.
Adel Khammassi of Tunisia expressed appreciation for the emergence of social media.
"Thanks to these social networking websites, we no longer ask anyone for permission to express our own opinions," he said.
Source: Magharebia.com
Link:
http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2010/03/12/feature-02.
