Social media addiction among Arab youth has skyrocketed to crisis levels, contributing to deteriorating mental well-being across the Middle East, the Arab Youth Survey found.
The comprehensive study of Arab youth, the Middle East and North Africa’s largest demongraphic, found that a staggering 74 percent of young Arabs now say they struggle to disconnect from social media networks. Shockingly, 61 percent agree that their addiction to platforms like Facebook, Instagram and TikTok has negatively impacted their mental health.
The statistics were released as part of the 2023 ASDA’A BCW Arab Youth Survey, the largest of its kind surveying 3,600 Arab citizens aged 18-24 across 18 countries.
“These figures point to a mental health crisis brought on by social media that is too often ignored,” said Sunil John, President of BCW MENA and founder of the Arab Youth Survey.
“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.”
John said the region’s youth have become defined by their heavy social media use. While 77 percent are online, respondents spend an average of over 3.5 hours daily scrolling feeds and timelines. The lure of online fame overshadows careers in healthcare, science and technology, with 13 percent of youth now most aspiring to influencer status.
The findings come on World Mental Health Day amid growing international concern about social media addiction, especially among minors. Platform algorithms and peer pressures are seen by experts as major contributors to anxiety, depression and issues of self-worth.
However, 92 percent of the survey’s respondents placed the blame squarely on big tech for spreading disinformation and lack of oversight, suggesting that social media companies should do more to stop fake news. The vast majority criticised the likes of Meta and TikTok for prioritising profits over wellbeing.
Nakhle Elhage, General Manager of digital media hub blinx, called the statistics “revealing and troubling.” Based in Dubai, blinx aims to combat disinformation through impactful storytelling focused on young audiences.
“These insights remind us of social media’s true impacts, both positive and negative, especially on impressionable minds,” Elhage said.
“While connecting billions, platforms remain rooted in attention economies that too often sacrifice wellness. All stakeholders must prioritize welfare holistically in the public interest.”
Elhage maintained taming toxicity will require collaboration between industry, government, health professionals and audiences themselves. Empowering users to populate feeds with uplifting community support could help balance harms of highly-engaging outrage and vice content, he suggested.
The Arab Youth Survey, now in its 15th edition, suggests that mental health will continue rising up agendas as both a regional developmental priority and an issue of global digital citizenship.
Over 12% of Arab youth aspire to be social media stars
The growing scourge of social media addiction among Arab youth has also translated into inflated aspirations of internet fame. 1 in 8 named their top career goal as becoming a social media influencer.
The glamorised lives of influencers marketed on Instagram and YouTube appears to be appealing to youth far more than roles in science, healthcare and other fields critical for regional progress.
“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,” John said.
“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.”
Social media fragmenting Arab communities
The survey results suggest social media is weakening real-world community ties.
While 58 percent named eating out with others as defining their lifestyle, only 31 percent said going to the movies and a mere 30 percent identified driving sports cars as a priority.
Younger Arabs are spending more nights in on their phones and less bonding time face-to-face, a troubling trend that risks fragmenting communal spirit.
Arab youth swipe right on influencers, left on Academia
The pursuit of fame online has also overshadowed the value Arab youth place on education. Just 8 percent hoped to be renowned for starting successful businesses, showing many prioritise viral clips over career credentials.
With few coveted industries outside oil and this aversion to vocational pathways, Arab nations may struggle to diversify knowledge economies and plug youth joblessness.
Social platforms glorifying easy riches now compete with school and learning for mindshare, the report found.
While TV had prevailed for decades streaming information to passive audiences, social networks have now usurped the older medium’s influence. The dramatic decline of television and print’s stature as trusted sources, supplanted by distrusted influencers despite fake news concerns, signals how participation in contrived peer dynamics online has overhauled the media diets of regional youth. This shift impacts civic awareness and, without solutions, risks democracy deficits in the long run.
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