Trends in Social Media Usage: An Investigation of its Growth in the Arab World

Abstract

In the present era of Web 2.0 and Web 3.0, Social Networking Sites have given us means of providing real-time services. Recent years have brought a massive growth in the social networking phenomenon. The use of social media in the Arab World has been extensive, yet there is very little current, comprehensive and accurate accounts of social media usage is available. This study aims to highlight the highly used SNSs across the Arab Gulf States The database of StatCounter was selected for tracing the use and growth of SNSs in this region. The findings show that the three most used SNSs in the Arab Gulf region are: Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. It is observed that Facebook is the leading social networking site used in the region until now, but Twitter is fast gaining market. Twitter is becoming popular among users and giving a tough competition to Facebook in almost all countries of the region except Iraq. In 2013, it has moved to 1st position in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, replacing Facebook. However, in some countries like the UAE and Qatar, Facebook is still going strong.