THE TRANSITION FROM TRADITIONAL MEDIA TO SOCIAL MEDIA IN THE PRODUCTION, DISTRIBUTION, AND CONSUMPTION OF CULTURAL CONTENT IN THE MENA REGION

Abstract

Social media platforms in the Middle East and North African region (MENA) have provided artists, writers, scholars, activists, politicians, religious leaders, and others with a powerful tool to promote their cultural content. Social media platforms have also challenged the influence of traditional media outlets in MENA that formerly held tight controls on the dissemination of cultural content in the region. This thesis explores the profound transition from traditional media to social media as the site for the production, distribution, and discussion of cultural content in MENA. Using a systematic review of the literature on social media and cultural content in MENA, this thesis conducts a theoretical exploration of how social media’s challenge to traditional media serves the interests of audiences seeking a broader and more diverse array of cultural content. Yet this transition also comes at the cost of those content creators and audiences that favored traditional media. This represents a paradox in the transition from traditional to social media as the primary site for distributing and accessing cultural content. Cultural content creators lacking access to traditional media outlets now have an instrument to reach an audience, while on the other hand, cultural content creators that rely on traditional media outlets might experience a decline in audiences and influence. The findings show how audiences that rely on traditional media outlets for content lose access as social media disrupts the media landscape, while social media audiences find this disruption more appealing in their search for and enjoyment of content. The systematic review and proposed conceptual model provide a powerful tool for scholars, media professionals, business leaders, government officials, cultural content creators, and others interested in and impacted by the transformative effects of digital platforms on the cultural landscape.

Date of Award	2024
Original language	American English
Awarding Institution	HBKU College of Humanities and Social Science