Introduction

Within an increasingly digital landscape, cultural identity expression has extended beyond traditional realms and onto online spaces where linguistic features, visual depictions, and narratives intersect to provide dynamic representations of both individual and collective identities. For diasporic Arabs and more specifically Saudi citizens living abroad, social media has emerged as a critical space for identity negotiation and the sustenance of cultural belonging. Among these sites, Twitter recently rebranded as X provides a distinctly open and real-time space in which cultural representation can be disseminated, archived, and reinterpreted by worldwide audiences.

Arabic as a symbolic marker and linguistic instrument lies at the heart of how individuals and communities of Arab background assert their cultural identity online (D’Anna, 2020; Alsahafi, 2018). Through the use of ordered hashtags, visual materials, and language choice, users in the diaspora combat cultural dilution and reassert their heritage. This research is drawn from the author’s direct experience with the Saudi Students Club in Perth, Australia, where the club’s Platform X handle operated as an integral site for announcing information about communal events, national observances, and religious celebrations. Tweets written in Modern Standard Arabic and embellished with Saudi symbols, such as the palm tree and national flag, constituted digital articulations of national and religious identity.

This study contends that Platform X serves a dual purpose as both a means of information dissemination and a site for cultural resistance and identity construction among Saudi diaspora youth. Using the Saudi Students Club in Perth as a case study, this study examines how the Arabic language, national symbols, and online curation intersect to form a Saudi identity across integrated public spheres.

Theoretical Framework

 

An in-depth analysis of Platform X ‘s potential to form and represent Saudi identity in the diaspora is necessary, especially in relation to core concepts such as digital identity, networked publics, translanguaging, cultural resistance, and media representation.

Digital identity is defined as the individual constructed and expressed in cyberspace through various aspects such as imagery, language, social groups, and interpersonal ties. Pérez-Torres (2024) argues that social media serves to function as a “digital mirror,” in which people, especially young people, negotiate their identities and present themselves, especially on platforms such as Platform X . For diaspora communities, digital identity is a process of cultural heritage and social inclusion in which people strategically highlight particular aspects of their heritage to establish a sense of belonging (Di Yuna et al., 2022). The theory of networked publics by boyd (2008) is important in describing identity construction in digital spaces such as Platform X . A networked public is both a physical concrete space and an abstract social space surrounded by technological features such as persistence, replicability, scalability, and searchability. These features blur the divide between public and private discourse and thereby convert every tweet into a potential performance of identity to be viewed by an anonymous and varied population.

For Saudi Arabian transnational students, Platform X acts as a platform to articulate and strengthen religious and national identities (Marko, 2023). A key theoretical idea submitted in this research is the idea of translanguaging as resistance. For Savski (2024), the use of language in internet communities particularly multilingual ones can be a sign of exerting agency and a form of resistance. The use of Arabic in a mostly English-dominant setting not only relates people to their cultural identity but is also a discursive act to resist assimilation and highlight cultural value.

This premise is backed by Alsahafi (2018), who demonstrates how Arabic is a pluricentric language, thus creating unity among diaspora communities of Arab descent and enhancing their cultural heritage.

Media representation plays a central role in shaping how cultural identity is formed and expressed. As I have observed, media doesn’t simply reflect cultural values—it actively helps shape how communities understand themselves and how they are perceived by others. In the case of the Saudi Students Club in Perth, the intentional use of Arabic language, national symbols, and religious themes in their tweets was more than just decoration; it was a thoughtful expression of identity and belonging. These posts served as a way for students to affirm their Saudi heritage, especially in a multicultural environment where such identities can easily become overlooked or misunderstood. Platforms like Platform X  offer more than just communication; they become spaces where identity is built, negotiated, and protected, particularly for communities living outside their homeland.

 

The Saudi Students Club in Perth: A Study Based on Platform X

 

The Perth Saudi Students Club provides a strong example of how diaspora communities engage with digital platforms to express and maintain their cultural identity. As a student-led association operating under the Saudi Cultural Mission in Australia, the club serves as a cultural bridge between Saudi students and the broader Australian context. From my own involvement in the Public Relations Committee, I experienced firsthand the responsibility of managing the club’s Platform X  account. This role was not limited to posting updates; it became a space for meaningful cultural expression.

Producing and sharing content that reflected Saudi identity required careful attention. We made deliberate use of the Arabic language and national symbols to create a sense of familiarity and pride among fellow students. Every tweet was composed in Modern Standard Arabic, ensuring clarity and linguistic integrity. Before being published, posts were reviewed through a formal approval process to meet expectations for tone, grammar, and presentation. This level of scrutiny reflected the importance placed on how the club, and by extension, the Saudi community, was represented in the public digital space.

Every publication meant more than mere recognition; it was a statement of national identity and oftentimes contained culturally relevant imagery such as Saudi Arabia’s green flag, traditional clothing, and Islamic motifs. These iconic signs went beyond functioning merely as symbols of “Saudi-ness” in order to serve as tools for cultural authentication in the context of Australian social media. This is in line with Pérez-Torres (2024) description of social media as a digital mirror in which identity is negotiated through self-narratives.

Worthy of note is that Platform X has been used in the People’s Republic of China for purposes beyond traditional commercial functions. The platform was used as a vehicle to market culture-related initiatives connected with major religious and national celebrations such as Eid al-Fitr, Ramadan, and Saudi National Day. For instance, in conjunction with Perth Arab Community Eid Festival, an organisation set up a Saudi pavilion to showcase the nation’s culture. The author was involved in planning and executing this pavilion, followed by a series of tweets to advertise the event whose goals, environment, and audience interaction were communicated accordingly. As put forward by boyd (2008), these activities take place in “networked publics,” a physical and abstract audience of Saudis who were at the festival, in addition to a wider Arab and Australian audience.

The author made a notable contribution to drafting official materials used in public events held by the institution, such as graduation and national celebrations. The documents were also utilized by the author in performances or by invited performers. The use of complex Arabic language infused with a patriotic theme helped these documents serve to constitute cultural identity and strengthen communal values in people in the diaspora. This cultural expression is in line with Wheatley’s (2024) argument that representation through media has the potential to build rather than reflect collective identity. Importantly, online presence of the PRC was noticed by local and external communities alike. The author capitalized on existing rapport with editors of major Saudi publications such as Sabq, Okaz, and Al-Madina to publish reports about club activities. The reports were later tweeted in real time, thus giving authenticity to the club in online space. This multi-platform interaction is a strategic augmentation of cultural presence beyond geographical locations, for their contributions, the author was formally rewarded by both Club President and Acting Cultural Attaché, in a demonstration of digital and traditional media strategy in identity performance.

The later part of this case study outlines how the club’s online activism evolved to move beyond text- and image-centric Platform X postings to participating in wider media ecologies and public spaces. A pivotal point was when the author appeared as a guest speaker in a TV segment aired by SBS Australia in conjunction with the Eid al-Fitr celebrations in Perth. Representing the Saudi Students Club, the author spoke about the club’s cultural initiatives and the role of national identity in diaspora contexts. During this experience, the author felt overwhelming pride and a deep sense of belonging—sentiments that were expressed on air. A version of the segment was subsequently shared on the club’s official Facebook and Platform X pages, extending its impact to broader local and international audiences.

This case is an example of what Wheatley (2024) has articulated in terms of media representation in shaping and distributing identity and hence transforming individual cultural feelings into publicly recognized meaning. The process of hybrid consumption of media wherein conventional broadcasting media is combined with its distribution through social media demonstrates how diasporic individuals move through different public arenas. As has been argued by boyd (2008), networked publics reduce differentiating between various audiences and allow for unobstructed flow between different boundaries and make it available to previously unpredicted audiences. A tweet related to SBS coverage was both watched by Saudi student communities living in Perth but also accessed by wider communities in Australia, Saudi Arabia, and also elsewhere.

This positioned the Saudi diaspora community in a wider national multicultural landscape, and not relegated to a simple ethnic enclave. The various roles taken on by the author in her occupation of writer, TV show presenter, lecturer, and content editor similarly demonstrate young Saudis engaged in constructing and negotiating their identity in digital settings. Aligning with Savski (2024) work in translanguaging as a means of resistance, purposeful use of Arabic even in multilingual contexts legitimated cultural continuity and responded to the threat of assimilation.

The purposeful use of complex and rhetorically effective Arabic in public tweets and formal documentation is a strategic move to promote Saudi values, language, and worldview in a largely English-dominated context. Pérez-Torres (2024) describes this tendency to be “mirrored identity,” where people build and affirm their self-image through online participation. The club’s use of visual symbols, shared articles, retweeting movement leaders, and hashtags formed a model of identity affirmation. This was more than information sharing; instead, it was a ritualized validation of membership and cultural preservation.

Ramadan iftars and Founding Day events were lived in real-world venues; yet they were also celebrated and re-created in virtual space, and so amplified in their symbolic meaning beyond physical gathering horizons.

As such, the Saudi Students Club in Perth was not only a social or educational club but also an online cultural exchange platform. Through a Platform X account, it carefully crafted and shared cultural materials to consolidate identity, prevent feelings of invisibility, and instill a shared sense of national belonging among diaspora students.

The way in which this information is framed makes it clear that diaspora identity is not necessarily passed or gained, but is instead constructed and reconstructed by engaging in active interactions with all types of digital media.

Ultimately, this experience illustrates the complex interconnection between language, rituals, and digital media in constructing transnational identity. By persistently campaigning on Platform X and communicating well with the media, both the author and the Public Relations Committee were able to present Saudi culture accurately, with pride, and in a sophisticated manner reflecting the very nature of a digitally mediated Saudi identity in globalized, multicultural Australia.

Discussion

The online activism carried out by the Saudi Students Club in Perth is representative of diasporic communities directly engaging in conscious identity formation through social media. This movement is not accidental or celebratory but is part of larger cultural and political contexts in which language and representation are powerful tools of resistance and belonging.

The prevalence of Arabic in a considerable percentage of tweets can be understood as a confirmation of cultural identity. When in a country like Australia where a public discourse is largely in English, the inclusion of Arabic regardless of formality involved in announcements or designations amounts to a linguistic affirmation of presence. This is consistent with Savski (2024), who also argues that translanguaging in multilingual communities is a means for marginalized groups to resist erasure and seek to be seen in a culturally diverse online environment.

In addition, the Platform X commemoration of major Saudi occasions such as Eid, Ramadan, and National Day is more than a reflection of religious sentiment or patriotic fervor; it is a cultural preservation effort. Here, through sharing pictures, written histories, and active participation, Platform X is involved in what Pérez-Torres (2024) refers to as the “digital mirror of identity,” where continuous online representation becomes an important factor in constituting individual and group identity over time.

The reference to Saudi news headlines is used to mark out the club’s bifurcated audience. On the one hand, tweets act as a means of communicating to fellow Saudi students and thus to consolidate a shared identity. On the other hand, the hyperlinks to Sabq or to Okaz enable a connection to be made back to one’s nation and establish a transnational response aiming at visibility and approval. This double nature complies with boyd’s (2008) definition of networked publics in terms of how the public constantly observes the communicated information and is open to amplification by this very same public so that local acts can carry global reach. In addition, this account of the club strays away from the business-driven or trend-related content we would normally expect of social media influencers. Rather, it provides what Wheatley (2024) describes as “authentic representation”-a communal representation of daily cultural activity aimed at reinforcing a sense of belonging and activity rather than commercializing identity. This also rings with a rejection of Westernized and English-centric imagery. In summary, the author’s own lived experience explains how leadership in online worlds enables leadership in physical worlds. The processes of writing tweets, planning events, and connecting with media institutions integrate online and offline worlds and show how identity is performed in virtual worlds to a limited degree; it is also grounded in face-to-face interaction through structured practice, language, and shared cultural participation.

 Conclusion

This study has considered how online places, in this case Platform X , are important sites of cultural expression and resistance for Saudi youth in diaspora. The case study of the Saudi Students Club in Perth showed how language most prominently Arabic, works not so much to be a communications tool but a performative act of identity and belonging in a multicultural virtual space. By analyzing what was posted through the club Platform X account, this study detailed how repeated themes of religious and national festivities, deployment of the Arabic language, visual performance of Saudi identity, and selective references to media were manifestations of wider tactics of cultural maintenance and digital activism. These tactics are consistent with established theory, such as digital identity (Pérez-Torres, 2024), networked publics (boyd, 2008), translanguaging as a resistant strategy (Savski, 2023), and representation through mediation (Wheatley, 2024). The authorial participation in production accompanying this study provided a glimpse into thoughtful cultivation of digital identity in diaspora. Such acts go beyond mere visibility; they are acts of possession of space, performance of identity, and maintenance of connection to origins in a situation of physical displacement. As digital technologies continue to build worlds and communities afresh and in novel fashions, such roles of language, self-expression, and local activism in modelled identity are predicted to be of increasing importance. Future studies might investigate how such acts differ between different diasporic Arab communities in different social media sites or different generational cohorts. This study concludes to argue a position long argued in other sites: that social media is more than a mere site; it is a site of memory, meaning, and belonging for diaspora Saudis and for countless other displaced communities.

 

References

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