1. Dominant conceptualizations of gender, sexuality, and/or so-called ‘race’ are not applicable in Online spaces. Online spaces have allowed people to be at the same level, regardless of their status in reality. Guta and Karolak (2015:117) stated, “The internet creates a space where women have an equal access and they are able to contribute to the public sphere in ways that are not possible outside of the virtual world where they are always regarded as women, beings subordinate to men”. Users often subverted traditional expectations through sharing ideas and thoughts freely without any real identity presence or often called anonymously (Otterman 2007, cited in Guta and Karolak 2015:116).
2. Australia's growth in overall digitization is because of the increase in digital usage and digital labor. However, digitization is uneven across Australia and there has been slow growth in digital infrastructure (Telstra 2017; Willis & Tranter 2006). ‘Digital divides’ is just part of a bigger issue that is economic development. This issue doesn't only exist in Australia rather in most countries that have access to digital media. The use of the internet has increased over the years. People now often rely on their phones to keep up with any updates or to connect with one another. This has become part of people's everyday needs as technology advances. There is also an issue that people still lack access to modern technology and the internet. According to Steele (2018), This problem distinguished both the developed and underdeveloped in Australia. The solution to decreasing the digital divide gap is that the country should focus on how to find a way to fix problems like low education levels, poverty, and poor infrastructure.
3. a. By creating empowered communities. According to Guta and Karolak (2015:117), there are blogs created to empower women's status in Saudi society such as Saudi Eve, Saudiyat, Saudiwoman’s weblog, and women2drive campaign.
b. Internet spaces allow information that may be obstructed by cultural and political and local barriers to be accessible to marginalized individuals and groups Guta and Karolak (2015:117).
c. Creating powerful online identities are now feasible to many people as “the cyberspace provides spaces of identity articulation and negotiation” (Guta and Karolak 2015:117).
d. By building new identities online. Online media enables people to “construct or reconstruct” their identity online (Turkle 1995:342, cited in Guta and Karolak 2015:118).
e. Despite maintaining relationships with family and friends, people can also share various content, express their interests, and build a supportive community (Guta and Karolak 2015:119).
4. Among Saudi Arabia women, it is popular to use the niqab (full-face cover), it is possible to use their photo online. And there are other types of women that are not wearing hijab but she put her picture with hijab to keep her family's good name. In Saudi Arab society, it’s strictly forbidden to have a friendship with men, so they poured it all out by playing facebook and find male friends.
There is also some negative impact of social media on Saudi Arabia that can happen, for example, a proliferation of false accounts in order to take advantage of naive users, second, The perceived disadvantages relate to relaxed mores, especially among women, and the exposure of body as a way to attract the attention of the opposite sex.
” Given the protection of female images in Arabian Gulf societies, stealing online photos of women has become a new type of fraud where a thief asks the family for ransom in order not to divulge the photos publicly and thus, bring shame on the family (Alqudsi-ghabra et al., 2011, p. 55).
Reference Lists :
Guta H and Karolak M (2 January 2015) ‘Veiling and Blogging: Social Media as Sites of Identity Negotiation and Expression among Saudi Women’, Journal of International Women’s Studies, 16(2):115-127, accessed 4 December 2020.
Reddy S (2019) Digital health and the divide, 4th edition, Elsevier, Australia.
Steele C (2020). Top Five Digital Solutions, Digital Divide Council, accessed: 4 December 2020.
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