In their pursuit to be where the young consumers are, brands have long identified social media as a crucial place to establish a presence. Where else will you find huge numbers of youngsters highly active and engaged?
Results from market research company TNS indicate that 68 percent of MENA youth spend 12 hours per week on social networking websites, says Mennah Ibrahim, head of brand intelligence at communications agency JWT MENA, while, according to digital media company Yahoo! Maktoob’s “MENA Digital Consumption” study, around 37 percent of youth spend three hours or more on social media every day. This study also shows that youth use social media everywhere: in bed (55 percent), at a restaurant or café (47 percent), while watching a movie (38 percent), and on the go (36 percent). An interesting 26 percent even use it while in the bathroom. There really isn’t any particular time or place for social networking, as many youngsters are constantly logged on to their social media profiles via their smart phones or laptops. Smart phones in particular are becoming the primary way youth connect to social media, their convenience on the go being almost unrivaled. “Growing into and growing up with a range of electronic gadgets at hand, Gen Zs [those born after 1995] of the region are extremely connected; mobile devices being their ultimate social – if not ‘everything’ enabler,” says JWT’s Ibrahim.
