The aspects of celebrating the month of Ramadan go beyond the limits of decorations, lanterns, and the daily breakfast table, and extend to screens and platforms. Terrestrial and satellite channels compete to provide a hearty and rich meal of drama series, talk shows, entertainment, and competitions, turning into an essential element of joy in the holy month, and families in various countries are accustomed to it. Arabic: Turning around an entertainment series or program, but with the multiplicity of viewing media and platforms, the question arises: Have the family’s viewing habits changed, and is the television screen still the focus of their gathering?
Salwa Haswani, a housewife in Sharjah, says: “Since my childhood, I have been following soap operas and fawazir, and they were a great attraction and a sign of joy in Ramadan, and I still continue to follow them on satellite channels, not on the best platforms, even though the series on the channels are interspersed with many advertisements. But I also consider it part of my memories, especially since it currently attracts the most important stars.”
She continues: “I do not find advertisements to be a problem that prompts me to abandon television and turn to platforms with expensive subscriptions, which lack the spirit of Ramadan, and in which the series is narrated sequentially, thus losing the taste of suspense, excitement, and anticipation that distinguishes the series from other forms of drama, which makes me lose my enjoyment.” Watching, so I follow series on television during their broadcast times in the company of my young children, who memorize advertisement songs and series sequences, and repeat them, and in my opinion, this is important so that they have their own memories, like the rich reserve that I keep in my memory.”
Abeer Abdullah, a translator in Ajman, differs from the previous opinion, and says: “I think that the platforms have become the preferred means of following series and programs for many families, especially since they are free of wasted time in advertisements that interrupt the flow of events, and the schedules of series on regular television They are restricted, sometimes conflicting, and it is difficult to organize my time to follow them, but the platforms are more comfortable and easy to follow the programs we prefer at the time that suits us.”
She added: “I agree with my family on a specific time when we gather to watch series that satisfy our tastes, and this increases the enjoyment of watching without our lives being dependent on their broadcast times. It gives the viewer the opportunity to choose the appropriate time according to his circumstances every day, and we can spend breakfast or suhoor time outside.” At home without losing the pleasure of watching and following, we can also practice worship and prayers at their appropriate times, and organize our lives well without being tied to the broadcast schedules of this series or that program, which is a great advantage that has been added to our lives in the era of modern technology.
Jalaluddin Ibrahim, an employee in Dubai, says: “I completely stop watching soap operas during the holy month, and I devote my free time from work and family affairs to worship and reading the Qur’an, in addition to the work time that takes up most of the daylight hours, and the time for setting the table with my wife and children, in addition to The first half of Ramadan coincides with school exams, and therefore we decided to postpone watching the series until the beginning of the vacation.
He continues: “We have become dependent on platforms to follow series, programmes, films and matches throughout the year, not just in Ramadan. Despite all the positive aspects of the platforms, we have lost the advantage of gathering and gathering around one screen to watch a program or series together. The truth is that each of us may watch the same series, but in Different times, and on a different screen, especially since children prefer to follow their favorite programs on computers or mobile phones, even football matches, where group viewing is supposed to be better and more exciting. I find my children watching them separately, each in his room and in front of his mobile device or His phone, while I was sitting alone watching the same match on TV.”
He added: “Thus, perhaps the only thing we all watch together on television is the breakfast cannon ritual that Sharjah Channel broadcasts daily, because at that time we are gathered together at the breakfast table.”