SnapChat, WhatsApp become trendy in Middle East

Dubai - Facebook and Twitter use declining in the Middle East; Instagram on the rise

Social media use in the region is shifting away from Twitter and Facebook and moving toward direct-messaging platforms such as SnapChat and WhatsApp, according to a study released by Northwestern University in Qatar, in partnership with Doha Film Institute.

The use of Instagram across the Middle East region increased by 24 per cent from 2013 to 2016 while Facebook's popularity has declined in the last three years by six per cent. Twitter, however, registered the biggest decline over the past three years at 17 per cent, with a big 12 per cent drop from just one year ago.
The survey examined the trend on the use of social media among 6,058 adults in the UAE, Egypt, Lebanon, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia. Questions in the survey covered cultural attitudes, censorship, regulation and online surveillance, online and social media, film, TV, music, games, sports, news, and children's media.
"The survey provides significant insight into the ways in which media and entertainment is consumed across the Middle East, revealing cultural and political attitudes of the Arab world. As the concept of media continues to change in this ever-connected digital world, our survey provides insight into how people are connecting and interacting today," said Everette E. Dennis, Dean and CEO of NU-Q.
While Internet penetration levels are up across the region, Internet and smartphone penetration are significantly higher in the GCC than the other countries included in the survey. The UAE has the highest rate of internet penetration with 100 per cent of nationals saying they are connected to the Internet in 2016. Closely following are Qatar and Saudi Arabia, both at 93 per cent Internet penetration. Lebanon is at 84 per cent Internet penetration. The lowest levels of Internet penetration are recorded in Egypt and Tunisia at 59 and 49 per cent, respectively.
Smartphone penetration is highest in the UAE at 99 per cent, followed by Qatar (95 per cent), Saudi Arabia (95 per cent) and Lebanon (90 per cent), and lowest is in Egypt (61 per cent) and Tunisia (43 per cent). Concerns about online privacy were also measured in the survey. Over two-thirds of those surveyed said they have changed their social media behaviour due to concerns about privacy.
It was also revealed that more Internet users are concerned about corporate surveillance of their online activity (42 per cent) than government surveillance (31 per cent).
Based on the survey, "the region is divided on whose responsibility it is to block objectionable content. More nationals in Egypt, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia believe it is the responsibility of governments to block objectionable content, while majorities in the UAE, Lebanon, and Tunisia believe it is the responsibility of the individual to avoid such content."
The study also shed new light on the shift from TV to online video. Over two-thirds of Internet users watch films online, but only a small fraction (five per cent) have paid to do so in the past year.
reporters@khaleejtimes.com 

• UAE