Right after Eid was announced on Wednesday night, Saudis started sending Eid greeting messages via Whatsapp, SMS and different social media platforms. Most Saudis have replaced the traditional phone calls with texts for it saves more time and money.
“This might be the last time we send we can send a huge number of texts via whatsapp especially after the rumors we have been hearing lately about banning it in Saudi Arabia,” said schoolteacher Maram Al-Mutairi.
“This is free texting and we can send as much as we want messages and as long as we want using only wireless connection and not a halal is spent. This is very convenient for me because I sent over 200 messages this Eid alone.”
Social media platforms had its fair share of spreading greetings among subscribers.
“This is the easiest way to reach hundreds of people with one tweet only,” said Shatha Rajab, a college student. “You can even share photos of beautifully designed greeting cards with all your followers and they can reply back. Social media platform such as Facbook, Twitter and Instagram are the best way to help us reach people inside and outside the kingdom with only one bottom and I’m so thankful for this technology. I even skyped my brother to say happy Ramadan.”
Arab celebrities and Saudis in high positions sent out tweets to their followers to share happiness and wish them a happy Eid.
Many Saudis complained the phone connection was slow, which lead them to only send SMS instead of calling their loved ones.
“I tried calling my friends and family members but all my attempts failed which lead me to send messages to them,” said stay-at-home mother Halah Rashid. In my family not calling is disrespectful and I’m sure they were not happy with this it shows that I don’t want to make an effort. I kept trying until the next day but the connection keeps failing and when it finally connected it kept cutting off and I finally gave up.”
After greetings Saudi social media subscribers shared photos of their Eid clothing, family gatherings and Eid breakfast along with other different traditions.
“Social media has become an important part of our lives, we are obsessed with updating subscribers and friends with what we are doing and post photos where we are and what we are eating,” said high school student Haifaa Jameel. “I posted photos of our Eid prayer, Eid breakfast, Eid gifts and Eid dress to share with my friends and share with them my latest update.”
More Saudis sending Eid greetings via social media
