The role of social media and network capital in assisting migrants in search of a less precarious existence in Saudi Arabia

ABSTRACT

Precarity is a consequence of the shift from Fordism, which was linked to lasting and secure employment, to post-Fordism underpinned by flexible labour with provisional, casual, unstable, low-paying jobs. Globalization and widening inequalities around the world have driven people to migrate in search of a better life. This paper aims to explore the extent to which migrants in Saudi Arabia use social media sites to facilitate their migration process in search of a better life. We found that social media strengthens social networks, which play an important role in influencing individuals’ decision to migrate. Their social network helped migrants during the planning and the actual migration to Saudi Arabia. Moreover, migrants used social media to persuade or assist relatives and friends ‘back home’ to migrate to Saudi Arabia.

KEYWORDS:

• Precarity
• social media
• social networks
• Saudi Arabia
• migration

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Mansour Pourmehdi

Dr Mansour Pourmehdi is a senior lecturer at the department of sociology Manchester Metropolitan University.  His research interests includes transnationalism, and violence against women in the Middle East and North Africa.

Hadi Al Shahrani

Hadi Al Shahrani was a former postgraduate student at Manchester Metropolitan University.