Globalisation, the internet, and guilty pleasures in Morocco

Pourmehdi, M (2015) Globalisation, the internet, and guilty pleasures in Morocco. Sociology and Anthropology, 3.

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Abstract

This paper explores the ways in which the internet as the engine of globalization contributes to the spread of a global culture by transforming traditional cultural values. Morocco has been at the crossroad of globalising forces for sometimes, yet the cultural values that treat men and women differently remain strong. Using questionnaires and interviews, this research finds that the internet facilitates the breakdown of traditional boundaries that militate against sharing space and mixing with the opposite sex. The internet acts as a medium, which empowers individuals to behave in ways that breach Moroccan social norms, allowing young people to evade traditional barriers to romance by sidestepping cultural taboos without breaking them.