Friday 15 / November / 2024
Muscat: More than half of all young Arabs who took part in a survey say they use English more than Arabic every day.
Facebook is the number one medium for news for Arab youth, and more than ahlf of them read their news in English, according to the new survey.
More than a third of young people in the Arab world picked Facebook as their main daily news source, and the platform is tied with WhatsApp as the most popular social media platform.
“For the first time, more than half of young Arabs are using English more than Arabic in their daily lives,” the survey reported.
Unemployment and extremism are seen as the biggest problems holding the Middle East back, the ninth edition, the ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller Arab Youth Survey reported.
“With 200 million young people in the Arab world today, the aim of this annual survey is to provide public and private sector organisations with evidence-based insights to inform their decision-making and policy formation,” the report said.
For the survey, international polling firm PSB Research conducted 3,500 face-to-face interviews with Arab national men and women aged 18-24 in the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries of the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain. The survey also included youth from Iraq, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Palestine, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria and Yemen.
Among key findings in this year’s survey states that optimism among young Arabs is waning, with a clear split by geographical location on those who have higher aspirations, versus those who are pessimistic about their futures.
The survey showed that youth in the GCC states have high hopes for their future, as opposed to other Arab regions where optimism has plummeted.
Another finding states that young Arabs want their countries to do more for them, and that many feel overlooked by policymakers.
“The vast majority of young Arabs say their needs are not being addressed, though youth in the GCC are confident their governments are putting the right policies for their demographic in place,” the report said.
Unemployment and extremism are seen as the biggest problems holding the Middle East back. The survey concludes that the threat from Daesh has receded for young people, but extremism and economic uncertainty remain key concerns.
Youth also believe that the education system is falling short of preparing students for jobs of the future. According to the survey, nearly half the Arab youth said they were not satisfied with the current level of preparation of students for jobs of the future.
The survey notes however that those who are happy with their educational systems hail mostly from the GCC states.
According to the survey, young Arabs said that Daesh is getting weaker.
“Concern over Daesh has diminished, and young Arabs say education reform and providing jobs are as important as military action in defeating the terrorist group,” the report said.
Youth in the Arab world also believe that the UAE is ahead of the pack as the country in which most young Arabs would like to live and want their countries to emulate.
“The UAE is viewed by young Arabs as a safe and secure country, with a growing economy and a wide range of work opportunities,” the report said.
Young Arabs also expressed that Donald Trump is anti-Muslim, and express concern, anger, and fear about his presidency. The election of the controversial US president is viewed by young people as a development that will have the biggest impact on the Middle East.
Anti-American views are on the rise, and now Russia – not the US – is seen as the region’s top international ally, according to surveyed youth.
“US influence is waning, with a majority of young people in eight countries now viewing America as an enemy, and not an ally,” the report said.
In addition, despite their pride in the Arabic language, most young Arabs admitted to using English more in their daily lives. The notion that Arabic is losing its value is on the rise, according to the survey.
