Current research demonstrates that when people engage in social photo sharing, they are mindful of how audiences perceive and interact with their photos. We extend this vein of inquiry to focus on photo sharing in the context of the Arab Gulf. We provide insight into how this activity is practiced in a region governed by strict adherence to cultural norms and Islamic traditions that dictate how to "appropriately" share content in digital settings. In particular, we look at the relationship between photo sharing and its effects on identity and self-presentation. To understand how Saudi and Qatari participants represent themselves through photo sharing applications, we conducted 42 face-to-face interviews. Our results reveal that Arab Gulf users engage in photo sharing practices that construct a collective self, distinct from an autonomous self. This collective self often trumps the autonomous self in shaping photo sharing practices.

Recent research on social media use in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has focused on their role in the Arab Spring uprisings, but less work has examined the more mundane uses of these technologies. Yet exploring the way populations in the MENA region use social media in everyday life provides insight into how they are adapted to cultural contexts beyond those from which they originated. To better understand this process, we interviewed eleven Qatari nationals currently living in Doha, Qatar. Our analysis identifies ways users, particularly females, practice modesty, manage their own (and by extension) their family's reputation, and use social media to monitor and protect others. These findings are placed within a framework of social, or participatory surveillance, which challenges conventional notions of surveillance as a form of control and instead shows how surveillance has the potential to be empowering.