This is the fourth in a series of ten short extracts from my 2015 round-up: Social Media in the Middle East: The Story of 2015 (also available on Scribd, SlideShare and Academia.edu + the UNESCO Media Literacy Portal).
- Saudi Arabia and UAE continue to dominate MENA’s Twitter market (53% and 51% of SM users in those countries have an account). Usage is lowest in Libya (12%) and Syria (14%), TNS discovered.
- But, daily usage is highest in Jordan, Libya, Palestine and Syria; and lowest in Saudi Arabia the same survey found; suggesting that despite lower Twitter penetration, users are more active.
- 45% of Twitter users are aged 18-24. Only a quarter (25%) are aged 45+, Northwestern University in Qatar noted in their latest media usage study.
- Saudi’s Prince Alwaleed bin Talal attracted criticism[i] after seeming to tweet an offer of a Bentley to each of the 100 Saudi pilots who took part in airstrikes in Yemen.[ii] The tweet is now deleted.[iii]
Figure: Percentage of Twitter users who access it daily per country (TNS)
[i] http://english.alarabiya.net/en/media/digital/2015/04/23/Saudi-prince-s-Bentley-pledge-to-fighter-pilots-gets-global-coverage.html
[ii] http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-32417773
[iii] https://twitter.com/Othmanbay/status/590844910661697536
Damian Radcliffe 