Throughout the world, social questions and interactions are changing, just as the bases of human contact in the Arab world are moving from “classical” ones to electronic channels that are directly and indirectly affecting social relations and constituting pressure tools on the performances of the governments and the official and civil institutions that do not care about the people's needs. Today, no one asks about your phone or fax number or about your home address. They rather ask: Do you have a Facebook or Twitter account? Do you have a Blackberry pin, or email? The Arab world is changing fast and its youth are exerting pressures and shuffling the cards of governments, most of which are suffering stalemate while their institutions are going through a state of chronic “bureaucracy.” This is especially true after these youths found “flexible” online networks capable of conveying their concerns, demands and ideas and expressing their hopes and aspirations. On February 21, I wrote an article headlined: “Thank you Facebook… Thank you Twitter… Thank you YouTube,” in which I tackled the way these social networks allowed “deprived” Arab populations that were living in belts of oppression and injustice, to express their pain and put forward their demands and projects without any fear from the security fists or the partisan and ideological restraints. These new media outlets lit up the dark path before the Arab populations, after they allowed them to topple regimes that had been governing them for many decades. This was done through the initiative of youth groups who knew how to use a fast and independent media that can document images, ignite hope and motivate the crowds to shake off the dust of regimes and governments that grew accustomed to flagellating the people and expanding the scope of selfishness and nepotism. What is good at this level, despite the spread of the intelligence apparatuses' “spies” in the hallways of these international social networks to track down those voicing ideas that are not to their liking, is that the number of Facebook and Twitter users doubled during the last stage. This reached the point where many officials who did not care about human rights, started following what was carried by these forums in terms of calls and initiatives, even opening accounts, adding friends and inviting others to learn about the ideas being expressed in utter freedom. In Saudi Arabia for example, although the country holds an advanced position at the level of the use of online media, it is unfortunate that some users are still resorting to pseudonyms. This generated a clear “phenomenon” which requires not only one study, but several ones. Indeed, hiding behind pseudonyms is a disease that must be eradicated, because it conceals the truth, weakens the language of dialogue, reduces the credibility of the initiatives and instates a lack of self-confidence when expressing one's opinion and responding to “fictive” names. Some of the fast-moving events in the region prompted many Facebook and Twitter users to form groups to present initiatives and support or oppose an idea or an event, especially with the spread of the reputation of these means during the last stage, and the increase of their implications in parallel to the heated political events and the rise of the ceiling of popular demands. According to the Socialbakers website, the number of Facebook users in the Arab world has reached 21.3 million (out of a total of 609.5 million users around the world). Egypt holds the first position on the Arab level with around five million users and is followed by Saudi Arabia with three million, in the absence of information about Syria and Sudan. This is certainly not due to progress, but rather to underdevelopment and the desire to continue “enslaving” and oppressing the people. The number of Facebook users in the Arab world has doubled. In January of last year, the number was of 11.9 million while in January of the current year, it reached 21.3 million. The age of 75% of these users ranges between 15 and 29, which means that the Arab governments need a clearer vision and a non-arrogant dynamic action to interact with the youth, solve their problems, contain their demands and deal with them through dialogue, and far away from any preaching in order to read their minds and guide them. On the other hand, the number of Twitter users in the Arab world is 5.5 million, which marks a clear growth in the number of users since the end of 2010 by up to 240%. I believe that these numbers doubled following the popular revolutions witnessed in the region, considering that Twitter recently announced that it reached 300 million accounts, which is a record number considering that until January 20 of this year, it was 200 million. There is no doubt that intellectual action and political awareness in the Arab world are heading toward deeper understanding in the ranks of the youth in comparison with the governments, thanks to the “dynamism” of the modern social networking means that feature some mistakes which will be corrected later on. For their part, the Arab governments must know that the people will not waste any of their new gains and will not bury their heads in the sands again, even if the regimes were to deploy further oppression and were to threaten them with bullets and dark prison cells. If these governments do not realize that, the party will be prolonged and there will be many more dancers.
