Stare Into A Screen: 6 Saudi content creators you should be watching

With the novel coronavirus pandemic and global quarantine looming over everyone's heads, a little entertainment has helped people take their mind off things — even if it's for the duration of a simple YouTube video.

To pass time, people have either been creating content (live Instagram stories are infiltrating the platform) or enjoying it. Many Saudis have been creating content for years; they've established a name for themselves either on social media or other forms of the latter.

If you're one to spend hours on end staring into a screen, here are six of Saudi Arabia's top content creators to keep you entertained while in quarantine: 

Hisham Fageeh is a Saudi comedian, actor, producer, and writer whose career began flourishing in 2013 after he - alongside production house Telfaz11 - released a sarcastic video titled No Woman No Drive, a commentary on the kingdom's former ban on women driving. 

Fageeh also starred and co-produced a 2016 Oscar's submission film Barakah Meets Barakah, which can now be watched globally on Netflix.

The 32-year-old former head of content at Telfaz11 has amassed an Instagram following of almost a quarter-million.

Asrar Aref is a beauty and lifestyle vlogger with two YouTube channels, Drama Queen and Drama Beauty, each with no less than a million subscribers and hundreds of videos.

She made her first "appearances" on YouTube in 2012 without actually showing her face. In 2018, at 24 years old, she finally took the decision to reveal her face to her audience as a celebration for hitting the 1 million subscriber mark.

The Saudi Reporters is a YouTube channel created by twin Saudi brothers Abdul Aziz and Abdullah Bakr. With over 5.9 million subscribers and almost a billion views, their channel is arguably one of the top watched in the country.

Since 2010, the twins have been keeping their audience entertained by uploading weekly videos ranging from comedy sketches and challenges to travel vlogs and science experiments.

Lojain Omran has made her mark on the world as both a TV presenter and a social media personality. She caught a big break when she hosted the hit TV show Sabah Al Khair Ya Arab (or Arabic for "Good Morning Arabs") and has since garnered 8.9 million and 1.3 million Instagram and Twitter followers, respectively.

She recently signed a contract that is expected to lead her into the world of Saudi film within the next year or two. The 42-year-old also happens to dabble in a bit of real estate investment on the side.

Abdullah Al-Jumah is a Saudi writer and the author of 2013's best-selling book Tales of a Saudi in Europe. He is known across the region for his flashpacking escapades.

The 32-year-old Harvard graduate and legal counsel for the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources has to date backpacked through Europe, South America, South East Asia, and Africa. He's made sure to chronicle his travels with pictures posted on his Instagram account.

AlJuhara Sajer is one of the first female YouTube content creators in the kingdom. Eight years ago, she launched her beauty, fashion and lifestyle vlogging channel JaySajer; she has since accumulated over 500K subscribers.

Sajer has a second channel, with over 100K subscribers to whom she documents some of her previous travels. YouTube is not the only social media platform she uses to showcase her sense of fashion and love for beauty. She uses her Instagram account to post fashion-inspired posts and poetry, which she plans to publish soon.