Arabic Culture

This chapter presents the literature of culture, the Arabic Islamic culture to be specific. Also presents the literature of social media and its different types, with its influence on the elderly and the Arab culture. Furthermore, explores the influence of culture on IT and IT on culture, as a whole including social media.

2.2 What is culture?

The term culture is defined by many authors & scholars based on their own concepts in more than one way. For example, many identify culture by discussing how culture has been sculpted in numerous studies as ideologies, articulate sets of beliefs, uncomplicated assumptions, and common sets of core values, key understandings, and trust. Others suggest that culture includes clearer, observable cultural

These values are the motive why people behave the way they do. Values are purely a reflection of the essential cultural assumptions. As such, these values are more visible, even arguable, with individuals having a superior level of awareness of them. (Leidner D, Kayworth T, 2006) Values are assimilated early on in life providing assumptions of how things are and how we react to them. Once any value is taught and learned it becomes integrated as part of routinely priority. Value systems change eventually based on culture changes or even personal experiences. Some definitions also suggest that culture extends attention to communal patterns of thinking based on values; which defines culture as a patterned way of thinking, reacting, and feeling transmitted by symbols which may include human group’s accomplishments. Also focusing on patterns of thinking and values, idiosyncratic culture was examined which was defined as a characteristic way a group perceives a part of the environment which is man-made. Configurations of thinking based on values define culture as the programming collective mind which distinguishes members of separate groups from one another. Some scholars go into depth by further understanding the core and secondary values and how those add to culture changes. (Straub D, Loch K, Evaristo J, Karahanna E, Srite M,

In this sense, values can be seen as a set of social norms that define the rules or context for social interaction through which people act and communicate, according to specific authors. These social norms have an impact on subsequent behaviors of individuals through acting as a means of social control that sets the expectations and boundaries of appropriate behaviors for them. (Leidner D, Kayworth T,