Impact of romantic Facebook “crush pages” on the Egyptian youth

Abstract

Purpose Like many social media trends, the romantic craze charms Egyptian youth. Romantic Facebook crush pages popped up locally in the past few years among university students particularly. They expressed a new aspect of online social interaction that has raised red flags with some adults, while thought to be a new healthy way to pour youth’s hearts out anonymously in a so-called a conservative society for others. Some crush pages, in particular, drew concerns of several parents for they are more vulgar and aggressive submissions. Laying between the two arguments, this study aims to examine the extent to which Facebook users make use of it to pursue romance, if Facebook’s characteristics and social context reflected in users’ perceptions of romantic relationships, the implications of being in a romantic relationship on Facebook and if such FB practices could pose a state of moral panic or a public concern. Design/methodology/approach A survey of 200 Facebook users between 18 and 25 years was gathered. Furthermore, a content analysis of three Egyptian universities’ “crush pages” posts was applied. Findings The study highlighted the conflicting ideals of today’s Egyptian youth moral lives. Ultimately, there is an evidence that practices of using Facebook online crush pages have been creating new contested but delightful moral normative rules around love. Originality/value Crushes pages have been sweeping across Egyptian colleges and faculties; however, almost no Arabic study was done to figure out its impact. Furthermore, the study takes into account the socio-cultural background of the Egyptian society.