Sultan Al-Saad Al-Qahtani

Between the Individual and the Institution: 'Social Media-ization of Things' and the Dilemma of Eroding Specialization

July 23, 2026 - 00:01 | Last updated July 23, 2026 - 00:01

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The Gulf economy has witnessed rapid transformations in recent years driven by digital platforms and social media, to the extent that it has sometimes become difficult to distinguish between someone with genuine expertise and someone with a digital presence. This phenomenon, which can be called 'social media-ization of things,' does not only mean the transfer of businesses to the digital space, but also means the decline of specialization in favor of fame, to the point that anyone appears capable of practicing any profession or offering any service simply by having a large audience.

The danger of this phenomenon lies in the fact that it weakens the professional standards that used to distinguish between a specialist and others. Media and drama today provide clear examples of this overlap, where success is no longer linked to experience or qualification as much as it is linked to reach. This raises a legitimate question about whether this situation might extend in the future to more sensitive fields such as medicine or technology, where popularity cannot replace competence. When standards decline, the role of the 'gatekeeper' that used to impose a minimum level of quality before a product or service reaches the audience gradually disappears, making the mediocre familiar while quality becomes an exception.

Economically, the theory of the firm developed by economist Ronald Coase confirms that firms did not emerge in vain, but because they are more efficient than relying on individuals alone in organizing economic activity. A firm does not only provide a product or service, but also builds accountability systems, invests in training, employs talent, pays taxes and fees, creates jobs, and preserves accumulated knowledge within the market. Therefore, its economic value exceeds what an individual, no matter how famous or influential, can offer alone.

This phenomenon is clearly reflected in several economic sectors. In the advertising market, many advertisers no longer turn to an advertising agency that performs an integrated economic role by employing specialists in planning, creativity, production, and research; instead, they prefer to deal with a single influencer who has a large audience. Thus, economic value shifts from a firm that distributes income among dozens of workers and accumulates knowledge and expertise, to an individual activity that achieves immediate marketing results but does not perform the same economic function. The same can be observed in the spread of cloud kitchens that manage dozens of brands from a single kitchen; these models may be more operationally efficient, but they also reflect the dominance of the platform or digital model at the expense of building independent institutions with identity and accumulated expertise. The problem here is not in the technology itself, but in the decline of the institution's role as a producer of long-term economic value, replaced by models that focus on speed to market and cost reduction, even if that comes at the expense of professional diversity and accumulation of experience.

This does not mean rejecting digital development or new technologies, as these transformations may be a natural part of market evolution, and may even contribute to raising efficiency, reducing costs, and opening new opportunities. However, the problem begins when reach becomes a substitute for quality, and when institutions that build sustainable economic value decline in favor of models based on momentary presence and digital popularity. The market does not need more fame as much as it needs more efficiency, nor does it need the abolition of institutions, but rather their development to keep pace with the times without losing their essential function.

A strong economy is built not on individuals alone, nor on institutions alone, but on a balance that preserves space for individual creativity within an institutional framework that protects quality and ensures sustainability. When this balance tilts in favor of fame at the expense of specialization, the loss does not affect a specific institution, but extends to the entire market, to the quality of products and services, and to the economy's ability to innovate and grow in the long term.