UAE Social Media

Executive Summary

With the rising internet penetration and youth population in United Arab Emirates (UAE), the usage of social media has increased in the past. The use of social media sites Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Whatsapp has grown from communication and networking to business development. Various reports indicate that Facebook is being used extensively in UAE followed by LinkedIn and Twitter. Social media’s use by individuals in UAE for networking, usage of government services, to interact with the business and service providers has increased over the years. Businesses and various marketing agencies are trying to leverage social media for promotion and brand building purposes. Social media has become the new channel of communication for businesses with their clients and citizens with the government and vice versa in UAE.

The report analyses the statistics on the usage of social media and user demographics of various social media websites in UAE and provides a comparison with the other countries in the GCC region. The growth drivers that influence the increasing usage of social media in UAE are described. The impact of social media on people of UAE, businesses, marketing agencies and government services in UAE are analysed. The growth in Information and communication technology infrastructure and increased ICT spending in UAE, the government initiatives like Dubai’s internet city and Media city and its impact on social media are discussed. The report analyses penetration of smart phones and its impact on usage of social media in UAE.