Mobile Phone Use in an Arab Context

Abstract

This exploratory study examines how college students in an Arab-Islamic context perceive and use their mobile phones. Informed by previous research on the use of mobile telephony, the study investigates how a mobile phone is appropriated to serve family relations, friendship, and face-to-face communication. Extant research exists on the use of mobile phones in various parts of the world (Campbell, 2007; Castells, Fernandez, Qiu, & Sey, 2007; Katz, 2008; Leonardi & Leonardi, 2006; Ling, 2008). Very few studies have dealt with the use of mobile telephony in the Arab world. For example, one study suggests that, at the micro level, the mobile phone will lead to substantial change in identity construction in the Arab world (Kriem, 2009), leading to more individualism. The use of social media during the Arab Spring, particularly in Tunisia and Egypt, suggests that the mobile phone will lead to significant political change in the Arab world, opening new avenues for more democratization.