Arab millennials’ articulation of identity in Cyberspace : a study of three MENA youtubers

Abstract EN

This study investigates how three young Arab influencers negotiate their identities in cyberspace.

Abdallah Al Maghlouth, Abdulrahman Mohammed, and Laila Hzaineh were selected for this study because they were listed among the top MENA influencers by the Arab Social Media Summit (2015) or by Stepfeed.[1] The article draws on the cultural hybridity perspective to demonstrate how these influencers articulate cultural identity across three themes: human engagement, women’s empowerment, and cultural revivalism.

Cultural hybridity gained prominence within a range of cultural and social theories beginning in the 1980s.

Recently, it has come to be interchangeably used with Robertson’s notion of ‘glocalization’ (Robertson 2012).

Hybridity is a dynamic process necessary for cultural co-existence, continuity and for reconciling global sets of values with local (dominantly Arab-Islamic) social norms.

Identity is informed by aspects of belonging or not to social groups; cyberspace is a new frontier for shaping and renewing social identities in the Middle East, with the majority of the population under 25 years and great levels of internet penetration, it is important to examine emerging sense of self and groups amongst Arab youth in cyberspace.