When somebody logs onto the Internet, do they use their real name? How does one know that the other person on Facebook, Twitter or other social networking sites is using a pseudo name or has logged on under a real name? These questions continue to haunt a large number of Saudi Arabian women, despite the fact that Internet social networking sites rely primarily on factual personal information. However a recent study carried out in Saudi Arabia shows that 68 percent of Saudi girls prefer to withhold their family name due to the sensitivity of this information, in comparison to just 32 percent of girls who appear on Facebook under their own full names. The study revealed that 16 percent of girls polled were members of Facebook under aliases or false identities. As for Saudi boys who use Facebook, the study showed that 60 percent of those questioned were members of Facebook under their own full name, with just four percent appearing under an alias or a false name, Asharq Al-Awsat Arabic newspaper said at the weekend. This information was disclosed as part of a study entitled “The Methodology of Saudi Youth When Utilizing Social Networking Sites” which was carried out by a group of students at the School of Computer Science at King Saud University in Riyadh. The group of students surveyed a number of Saudi students, half of whom were studying at King Saud University, while the other half were studying at secondary schools in Riyadh. Ahoud Al-Shaheel, a Professor of Communication at King Saud University, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the latest statistics on the Facebook phenomenon indicate that membership of the site is experiencing an annual growth of nine percent among young people. According to these statistics, there was one Saudi female for every five Saudi males registered on Facebook as of the end of 2009. The study highlighted how young men and women in Saudi Arabia are utilizing the social networking website Facebook. The study revealed that of the university students polled, 60 percent of male students uploaded a real picture of themselves, in comparison to just five percent of female students. While 10 percent of male students used an image of a famous person, 10 percent of female students used an image of somebody from their family, their father, brother, or another family-member, with the remaining 8 percent utilizing an “ineligible image” such as a drawing or cartoon or close-up of an eye. As for secondary school students, the study revealed that around 30 percent of boys and 60 percent of girls did not upload any picture whatsoever, while 10 percent of boys and 24 percent of girls uploaded a picture of a famous person. Sixteen percent of girls in secondary school utilized a picture of a family member. Regarding the nature of the comments posted on Facebook by university students, the study revealed that 10 percent of male students posted inappropriate comments, while the majority of other comments – estimated to be around 80 percent – were posts contributing to discussions or cultural topics. As for the language that these comments are posted in, the study revealed that 45 percent of posts are in English, 40 percent are in Arabic, with around 12 percent being posted in transcribed Arabic (i.e. Arabic language written in English letters). As for secondary school students, the study revealed that 70 percent of male students post responses that vary between positive and negative comments, while 15 percent post inappropriate comments. As for the language that these posts are made in, the proportion of comments posted in English increased to 54 percent, in comparison to 40 percent who posted in transcribed Arabic, with a minority of just 6 percent who posted comments in Arabic. It is worth mentioning that the most recent study carried out by the Saudi Communications and Information Technology Commission revealed that Internet access in the Kingdom had increased to 36 percent of Saudi society as of the end of 2008, which represented an increase of around six percent from the previous year. The Eastern Province has the highest proportion of Internet users, who constitute 39 percent of the total population, followed by Riyadh with 37 percent. __
