Fouziya Al-Bakar Al-Jazirah Until now, it is not clear how far the YouTube revolution, which dominate our present world, have reached. But one thing we know is that Saudis collectively take two hours out of more than 100 hours generally estimated to be spent for viewing YouTube in a minute worldwide. This means that Saudis spend for viewing YouTube more than 120 hours in an hour worldwide! From this you can imagine how many hours Saudis spend in this kind of activity in a day, month and year! I would like to add one more thing to this observation. Saudis comprise the highest number of people who watch YouTube in proportion to population. Nearly half of these viewings are made through smart phones which anyone can use in any place and at any time. This brings to the fore the immense influence of this high tech revolution has in the current digital world, compared to the traditional world of printing and broadcasting. Even education, with its traditional means, will be subjected to this phenomenon. But it will reach ultimately in an advanced form as in the case of distant education that is possible at any time and by various means. In distant education, it is not necessary to hire a teacher or professor as in a traditional classroom. This is what was expected by the renown educationist Everett Reimer, who was the proponent of de-schooling in 1970s. He advocated that the school is dead. Even during those days, he tried to alert us about the high cost of formal education. Normally, more than 20-25 percent of a country's budgetary allocations is set aside for education. Nearly 90 percent of this budget goes to the salary and allowances of teachers, in addition to the cost for buildings, educational tools and the likes. However, only students of these educational institutions are entitled to use these facilities while the other members of society are not allowed to use them although the community as a whole is shouldering the expenses to run these institutions. Look at the sports institutions or school libraries that are not allowed to be used by the public. This justifies what Reimer said about the illusion of schooling! We imagine that we are studying but in reality we go to educational institutions only to secure a certificate, which is required when you look for a job. There is no actual need to study. Look at our children studying in Saudi schools, as an example. You know that they are attending “parties of ignorance” under the illusion of learning! The modern means of education and their values have been subjected to change whether we like it or not. Our children are not ready to abandon their smart phones or computers, firstly because they do not see any exciting alternatives that fulfill their needs. Secondly, they see that schools have no role to play in their lives after dhuhr or noon prayers when they return home and then sit in front of electronic devices until its time for them to sleep. This helped us achieve the highest percentage of watching YouTube in the world! Uploading and watching YouTube would not have taken place unless there is a clear change in values affecting their social, political and personal mindset. These youths don't need the formal permission of any authorities or organizations or require any commercial registration or good moral background and not even the permission of their parents to upload anything on YouTube. They need only to fulfill certain conditions of YouTube that the content should be free from any racial or regional contents or something that can provoke violence. There are several youths who demonstrate their talent and innovative skills in technical production on YouTube. There are several youths like Malek Najjar who won global appreciation of millions of YouTube users. These prompted several international companies to clinch deals with these talented youths. It is amazing that Saudi youths are making wonders in such fields as animation, production and photography even though they did not have favorable environment to develop their talent at schools or home or in their surroundings. This puts emphasis on the natural inclination of human beings to enjoy arts and nothing can stop its momentum.
