Saudi society evolves with social changes

DAMMAM: The Saudi family in this day and age is far different from that of a generation ago as many aspects have changed.
Khaled Al-Naqia, academic and social researcher, said that Saudi society witnessed two stages: Stable and unstable. The first one began during the reign of King Abdulaziz before the discovery of oil, while the unstable phase began after its discovery.
Al-Naqia said: “Development in economic conditions, along with other factors such as education, the availability of technological capabilities, migration from rural and bedouin to urban areas, travel and being in contact with other societies — all have affected the Saudi family system.”
Saudi society has seen the so-called gap between generations after the social and development transformation, as the educational and economic levels varied, values and customs were exposed to a lot of changes, and family lifestyle was significantly changed, he said.
Muhammad Al-Shouraim, educational and family consultant, said: “No doubt that societal changes have been affected dramatically as a result of economic and cultural changes, notably the shift from the extended family to the nuclear one which has both positive and negative impacts on community members.”
This change in family structure provided the emerging family with the highest level of privacy and independence, while it negatively impacted communication between generations, he said.
Al-Shouraim said: “There are many ways to maintain a strong relationship between nuclear and extended families, in accordance with social and financial conditions, such as housing near the parents or visiting them regularly, at least once a week.”
Sociologists attribute individualism and collectivism to the degree of urbanization, as the higher the degree of urbanization increased the sense of individuality in society, while the more the primitive society enjoyed more coherent and cooperative ties among its members, said Abdul Rahman Asiri, dean of the Saudi Center for Studies and Research on Prevention of Drugs and Psychotropic Substances.
He said: “Contemporary Saudi society has witnessed family disintegration and an increase of individualism, as an inevitable result of extreme urbanization experienced by the community, as the civilization in which we live now is the greatest in the Arabian Peninsula over the centuries.”
Asiri said that this problem began gradually as family members began to immigrate and disperse to various areas searching for livelihood; thus family members are only meeting in public events, weakening family ties even among village residents as well.
He said that the return to family life as previously experienced is not easy, but could be reached through intensive programs to achieve social and cultural balance in the community, if effective solutions are found to lessen the negative impacts of excessive use of modern technologies.
On the same aspect, Fawaz Khalaf said that blaming parents for giving up their traditional roles is no longer justifiable as some of them have been forced by their financial circumstances to work long hours away from their homes, which led to the absence of guidance, dialogue and follow-up by parents.