This report is the fourth in a series of annual reports designed to capture some of the key developments in
the world of social media – within the Middle East – during the past twelve months. Interest in this field,
which was first unlocked by the Arab Spring, continues to attract researchers, marketers and businesses.
The reasons for this are multiple: the region’s “youth bulge” makes the market attractive for anyone
seeking to attract a young tech-savvy audience, meanwhile the growth of ISIS – and their use of social
media – continues to pose challenging questions for policy makers and freedom of speech advocates.1
These developments play out against a diverse backdrop, and this diversity results in wide variances in
usage of social media and other digital technologies; with particular differences between the Gulf region
and North Africa. In aggregate, regional usage of social media continues to be behind the global average.
Whatever else happens in 2016, this will continue to be a region where the rise of social will continue to
attract considerable interest, not least because of the digital, socio-economic and political implications
which these platforms can unlock. As these annual reviews show, this is an arena which does not stand still.
As ever, I hope you find this annual round-up as interesting and useful as I do.
Damian Radcliffe, January 2016
