  We explore the meaning of privacy from the perspective of Qatari nationals as
it manifests in digital environments. Although privacy is an essential and
widely respected value in many cultures, the way in which it is understood and
enacted depends on context. It is especially vital to understand user behaviors
regarding privacy in the digital sphere, where individuals increasingly publish
personal information. Our mixed-methods analysis of 18K Twitter posts that
mention privacy focuses on the face to face and digital contexts in which
privacy is mentioned, and how those contexts lead to varied ideologies
regarding privacy. We find that in the Arab Gulf, the need for privacy is often
supported by Quranic text, advice on how to protect privacy is frequently
discussed, and the use of paternalistic language by men when discussing women
related privacy is common. Above all, privacy is framed as a communal
attribute, including not only the individual, but the behavior of those around
them; it even extends beyond the individual lifespan. We contribute an analysis
and description of these previously unexplored interpretations of privacy,
which play a role in how users navigate social media.
