Young Omanis and their fellow Arabs are increasingly turning to the internet as their primary source of information, a major research project has reported.

According to the latest Arab Youth Survey, 35 per cent of Omani and Arab youth received their news from Facebook, while a further 31 per cent sourced it from the rest of the web, in contrast to 9 per cent of respondents, who preferred picking up a newspaper to keep themselves up to date. 

“I think it’s cool,” said one resident in the Sultanate. “It’s nice to see how technology can be used in many helpful ways, especially for us, the younger generation.”

“Because of IT penetration and the popularity of smartphones, people want news on the go,” added another. “Connectivity in Oman is simple and fast networks make it easy to reach news to the people.”

It is a sentiment that was agreed upon by Eliot Wright, Pathway Programmes director at Muscat University. “People want quick, fast information and they increasingly get that from their hand-held devices,” he said. “I don’t think that’s just true in this part of the world, because I think this is happening globally. I think it’s the speed with which you can get access to information; that is the reason behind this.”

“It also comes at no cost, and it’s the interactivity of it all: people can share comments and ideas with each other, and it’s instantaneous, because when papers are printed, the news is old within a day and you need to throw the paper away after that, but online, everything is easily accessible,” added Wright. “Another advantage is that they can get a more global perspective through what’s available online.”

Despite the easy access to information, unchecked online browsing carries problems of its own, according to Arnold Santos, a lecturer at the Systems Department of the Military and Technical College in Oman. “The current generation of youngsters, which the world calls millennials, are very happy-go-lucky and do not seem to understand the consequences of indiscriminately surfing the web,” he revealed. “They show too much trust in the web, and don’t understand that every time you access a website via Facebook, you are giving someone your personal information, which could later be used against you.”

“The recent cyber-attack, which affected people around the world shows just what could happen if this information falls into the wrong hands,” added Santos. “In the past, even the systems of the FBI have shown vulnerability, so it is very important to install safety software, and only visit websites you trust.”

Times of Oman’s own online channels, for example, showed an increase of nearly a million unique users last year, up from 5.2 million in 2015 to 6.1 million in 2016, while the number of page views the site received soared from 39.6 million to 56.5 million in the same timeframe.

Facebook audiences grew by nearly 80 per cent, resulting in more than 508,000 likes last year, contributing to a total engagement of 9.5 million, a steep increase from 3 million in 2015, as the publication continues to be the most popular media website in Oman, according to social media analysts Socialbakers.

The Arab Youth Survey was commissioned by public relations agency ASDA Burson-Marsteller in January 2017, with interviews with residents across 16 countries—the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Yemen and the Palestinian territories—taking place in February and March.

Source: Timesofoman