author - oman observer

For three days, X seemed to belong to Oman. Photographs, videos, commentary and reposts of the historic state visit by His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik to the United Kingdom filled timelines...

His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik has begun his state visit to the United Kingdom, hosted by Their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla at Windsor Castle from October 19 to 22. The visit...

The public conversation about artificial intelligence has become increasingly difficult to ignore. On X, discussions about AI regularly move between excitement and alarm: concerns about manipulation,...

One of the main findings of my decade-long research on social media and Arab identity, with a focus on Oman, is that social media has created new opportunities for Omanis to participate in civic...

Researching social media has given me a front-row seat to one of the most fascinating developments of the past decade: the rise of online sleuthing communities. Sometimes called Internet sleuths,...

A recent post on X turned artificial intelligence from a technical debate into an international public anxiety. Jacob Coxon, a researcher who had worked on pretraining at OpenAI and Anthropic,...

There is something exhilarating about the beginning of a new academic year. Campuses become busy again. Classrooms fill with familiar and unfamiliar faces, corridors echo with conversations, and...

As students in Oman and around the world prepare for a new academic year, social media discussions have raised an important question: Should students’ college specialisations be determined mainly by...

One practice that has helped me over the years is using a habit tracker, as discussed in a previous essay. It is a simple device, but it reveals something important: which habits I actually keep and...

This week, X (formerly Twitter) buzzed in Oman after a viral TikTok clip ignited anger and a broader debate about social media regulation. The video appeared to show several people using vulgar,...

Common sense suggests that a person’s future is not determined only by major decisions. It is also shaped by the small actions repeated each day. Habits influence our health, knowledge, discipline,...

This weekend, Oman on social media mourned the death of Nadhira al Harthy, the pioneering mountaineer who lost her life in an avalanche on Broad Peak in Pakistan. The sadness was immediate and...

This past weekend, Oman marked Purple Saturday - July 25 - under the slogan ‘A Day with a Lasting Impact.’ The goal is clear: raise awareness about inclusion, empower people with disabilities, and...

England’s quarterfinal win at the 2026 World Cup did not feel like sporting justice. It felt like a talent tax on a team carrying a singular bright light. Norway should have advanced. That is what...

As I gear up to go back to Berlin for the second half of my fellowship at the Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient (ZMO) research centre to further explore Omani national identity and social media, I...

I wrote this while watching Brazil play Morocco at the 2026 World Cup, which ended in a draw (1-1). I planned to watch without getting emotionally involved, but that was difficult once the match...

Lately, I have been feeling overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information that surrounds us. Every day brings a new technological development, a new artificial intelligence tool, a new digital...

I was pleasantly surprised to read an essay in Arabic recently, published in one of our Omani newspapers, by an Omani author reflecting on a growing social phenomenon: more and more Omanis are opening...

My relationship with cats started in childhood while growing up in Muttrah. Back then, it felt normal for every household to be connected to an animal in one way or another. In my own house, my oldest...

As a researcher of disability, I have spent years emphasising the empowering role of social media and digital technologies. I have written about access, voice, and visibility — about how platforms...