Symbols in Qatar

What are the Symbols of Qatari Culture?

As a Qatari female, I have been influenced tremendously by society. Especially that I have to watch every word or gesture I make, the way I walk or talk to other people. In other words, I do not have much freedom as Qatari society has females under the microscope.
Symbols are anything that carries a particular meaning, which is recognized by the people who share a culture. Symbols in Qatar vary, there are certain words and things we are not allowed to say as these are recognized as wrong or “haram” which means it is against our religion. For example, asking a man what his mother’s name is; is considered wrong and intolerable unless you are part of the family whilst in other country there is no problem in sharing such information with a friend.
However, Qatari and Arab teens have now created a new sub-culture by the symbols we use to “Blackberry message (bbm)” or “text” each other with. As Western movies, songs, shows have entered our lives we have started communicating in English with one another. Arabic has not been forgotten but we prefer typing in English that is why we created a language called “arabeezii” which means Arabic/English in one word. Where we write an Arabic word in English and use numbers to make the certain letters in Arabic differ from one another. This is a new generation technique which was created with the rise of technology, but if you ask most teens and look at their phones, most probably you would not understand the language unless you knew what each number represented as a letter in Arabic.

Can We Breathe Without Our “BB”?

We see blackberries everywhere; people are unbelievably addicted to their blackberries. The question here is, what’s the reason behind this? Blackberry messenger is probably the main answer to this question. The blackberry messenger is a social chat with all friends and family or whomever you choose to add to your list.
There are many features incorporated in your blackberry. You can download social interaction websites. Websites like Facebook or Twitter. Not only do people ‘BBM’ which means the blackberry messenger, but also they tweet and go on Facebook to check updates. The blackberries are a form of automation, since you can also check your email and accomplish tasks all on this technological device. There are also games attached to the device and different organizing programs like calendars and notepads. A Blackberry can be like your personal organizer.
Some people use blackberries for work, but nowadays it is mostly used for entertainment. There are certain norms in Doha about using phones in front of guests. It is rude to stay using your blackberry if you have visitors over, usually parents would not allow their children to use their blackberries. It shows disrespect to the visitor.
All age groups use blackberries. It has become an addiction problem to a certain degree. If you realize in restaurants, many people are gathered in one table but every member is not talking. Instead, they are using their blackberries to chat with other individuals. Many accidents have occurred because of the blackberries. The driver would not pay attention to the road and get into an accident because he/she was too busy ‘BBM-ing’
Some argue that blackberries have decreased the face-to-face social interactions of the primary group. This is due to the reason that they are talking to certain individuals all the time with no limits, and they can send pictures, videos and voice notes.
Sometimes individuals get negative sanctions when using their blackberries. For example, personally if my mother catches me using my blackberry in a family gathering she would get angry and tell me to put it away. These are just natural reactions. Mothers in Doha do not like it when their children use their blackberries too much. It is very unlikely that people will receive positive sanctions

when using their blackberries, most people find it disrespectful.