Arab youth say social media addiction leading to decline in mental well-being

While the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has among the highest levels of per capita adoption of social media networks globally, a majority of Arab youth say they are struggling to disconnect, and that social media addiction is negatively impacting their mental health.

These are some of the key findings under the theme, ‘My Lifestyle,’ of the Arab Youth Survey ASDA’A BCW, MENA’s leading communications consultancy, released in Dubai on World Mental Health Day on Tuesday.

With 77 percent internet penetration — higher than the global average of 65 percent — users in MENA have an average 8.4 social media accounts, each spending over 3.5 hours on them.

Saudi Arabia is the biggest user of YouTube worldwide, where 68 percent of the users consume more video digitally than on TV.

The top 5 countries by reach for TikTok are in the MENA (UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, and Iraq) while Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Egypt are among the Top 15 largest national markets for SnapChat.

With such significant social media usage, it is not surprising that in this year’s survey nearly three-fourths (74 percent) of young Arabs said they are struggling to disconnect from social media. Additionally, about two-thirds (61 percent) agreed that social media addiction negatively impacts their mental health.

Seeking fame as social media influencers

Asked which social channels are most important to them, 18 percent said of the respondents said Facebook, followed by Instagram (17 percent), WhatsApp (16 percent), YouTube (13 percent), TikTok (12 percent), SnapChat (11 percent), X/Twitter (8 percent) and LinkedIn (4 percent).

But most Arab youth (92 percent) also said big tech companies such as Meta, Apple, Netflix, and Google have ‘too much power’ — a sentiment shared by young people in all three regions covered — the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, North Africa, and Levant.

Similarly, an overwhelming majority (92 percent) said social media companies need to do more to stop disinformation on their sites.

Despite their struggle to disconnect, many young Arabs are swayed by the prospect of fame via social media, reflecting their ‘soft career’ choices rather than pursue challenging jobs in technology, medicine, or engineering.

Asked which field they would want to achieve fame, the highest percentage (13 percent) of Arab youth said they would rather be famous as ‘a social media influencer.’ The respondents had the option of naming multiple fields from over 30 options including careers in industry, education, business, healthcare, tourism, and others.

To be known as chefs, food critics, or food bloggers was equally popular (12 percent) while 11 percent each said they would like to be known for their humanitarian work or for their contribution to technology.

Ten percent of young Arabs said they would like to be famous in the fashion sector as designers or models.

Careers in education and in sports appeal to 9 percent each, while only 8 percent said they would prefer to be famous in business as entrepreneurs/CEOs.

However, there are regional disparities: In the GCC, technology, engineering, and culinary arts were named as the top three choices (10 percent each), while 17 percent of youth in North African nations seek fame as social media influencers, followed by 15 percent naming charity work and 12 percent wanting to explore culinary arts. In the Levantine nations, the top preference is for technology and culinary arts (13 percent each) followed by 12 percent wanting to achieve fame as influencers.

Although social media dominates the lives of Arab youth, when asked what defines their lifestyle, more than half (58 percent) said ‘eating out’ followed by 57 percent saying ‘hanging out with friends.’ Wearing fashionable brands was named by 42 percent while over a third (36 percent) said ‘holidaying in new destinations.’ Nearly a third (31 percent) said ‘going to the movies’ reflects their lifestyle, and almost as many (30 percent) said ‘driving a sports car.’

Social media as top source of news

Nearly two-thirds (61 percent) of the respondents said they get their news from social media, but this is a significant drop from 2019 when almost 80 percent of young Arabs surveyed said they get their news from social channels. Television, however, continues to be the second most preferred source of news – named by nearly half of young Arabs (45 percent).

A perceptible trend is the rise of online portals as a source of news for young Arabs. In 2019, over a third (38 percent) named online portals as their primary source of news; this has increased to 42 percent in 2023, also marking a 10 percent increase over 2022. Print dailies continue to see a steady decline, named by less than one in 10 (9 percent).

However, television is the most trusted source of news for young Arabs — named by 89 percent followed by online news portals (79 percent) and print dailies (76 percent). Social media influencers are not as trusted with 42 percent saying they are ‘not trustworthy’.

Announcing the findings, Sunil John, , President, MENA, BCW and Founder of ASDA’A BCW,said: “The lifestyles of the region’s youth are increasingly defined by their social media addiction, and even when they agree they struggle to disconnect, many favour seeking fame by choosing to be social media influencers. The overt dependence on social media appears to have left many young people living in a bubble, unaware of the socioeconomic realities. With the highest levels of youth unemployment in the world, it is important for the MENA region to channel the energies of these young men and women into vocational training and quality education for the jobs of the future.”

John added that the concern raised by Arab youth about the impact of social networks on mental health is especially significant. “A digital-savvy youth population is an asset for any nation, but their mental well-being must be given top priority by encouraging them to live a fuller social life in the real world.”