As we make our way through “the information age,” our ways of collecting information keep on changing alarmingly. Our ways of gathering information have deviated from traditional ones and we have left them behind. What are the effects of such a change? A study of the reading habits of Saudis is in order. How do recent media options affect their reading habits?
The Internet has of course affected methods of searching for reading material as well as mediums for receiving it. Will these new options render traditional “reading” obsolete? Some say that the written word itself is in no danger of becoming extinct as a source of information. What is changing is the mechanism for delivering information.
True, we have access to more information today than ever before. But does this necessarily amount to progress? We in the Kingdom have satellite TV. This can easily and quickly transport us to other lands and ideas. Satellite TV connects us to the rest of the world — but does it? It connects us to a watered-down, pre-packaged Western notion. Perhaps Saudi Arabia is at risk of gradually becoming overwhelmed by another culture and different values. The entire world may be at risk since Western TV dominates the world. The media — TV, books, magazines — are ways of communicating culture but the culture being communicated isn’t ours. The world should value variety rather than uniformity.
I recently went to a major bookstore in Jeddah to find out what was being sold. The manager of the English section told me that novels were the best sellers. In the Arabic section, I learned from its manager that most of the books sold were translations. These are books on a variety of subjects — psychology, computer studies, etc. — translated from English. Again, it seemed local readers preferred Western material, even in Arabic.
Neither of the managers thought that the new media had much effect on what people read or the number of books they bought. In fact, they both seemed reluctant to admit the impact of the new media on Saudi reading habits. Later, however, the Arabic section manager said that he thought the other media actually increased book sales; people learn about books and then buy them. The English section manager, however, said that he thought the availability of CD-ROMs had reduced the demand for books.
Facts and figures can always be manipulated and we must use our own discretion. With this in mind, we still wonder whether Saudis want to become part of a worldwide, predominantly Western popular culture?
Another matter was that the books selling best were rather superficial. Has the time come when we should mourn the loss of intellectual stimulation? What has happened here seems to be that we have too much information available. We need only to connect to the Internet and pick up a mouse. Because of “information overload,” we may be confused about what, when and how much we should read. With so much available, we want to maximize intake but that cannot be done with sacrificing something — usually quality. Too often we settle for quantity instead of quality. Bits and pieces are collected from a variety of sources but they remain only that — bits and pieces. Poetry, philosophy and the writings of influential thinkers are not in demand; we want something easy — if we even bother to read at all that is. Too often we simply turn to television.
I interviewed some Saudis in order to discover their reading habits. I found that most people complained about not having enough time to read. One middle-aged man was typical, “I read very rarely; the last book I read was eight months ago and was related to my profession. I work most of the time and the rest of the time I spend with my family.”
Saudi women in general read more than men, possibly because many do not work and so have more free time. On the whole, most people admitted they didn’t read very often. When I questioned them, however, about how much they watched TV, virtually all said for at least an hour a day. No one said there was no time for watching TV. One man explained, “Watching TV can be a family activity but when I read, I am alone and can’t spend time with my family.” It seems, time is the issue. An older man said, “The younger generation reads too little; it is lazy and watches too much TV which doesn’t teach it how to think.”
I leave it to you: Is Saudi Arabia, like many other countries, entering a phase of “cultural eclipse”? We should definitely not reject new technology but we do need to create an awareness in the younger generation that there is more to life than flashy cars and glitzy shopping malls. There may be more at stake than we realize.
