Facebook remains UAE’s procrastination tool of choice with 95% of residents hitting like

According to the 7th Arab Social Media Report, Facebook remains the most popular social media platform in the Arab region and the world with more than 1.8 billion users in total.

About 95 per cent of the UAE population have Facebook accounts, breaking 90 per cent for the first time. Nicolas Asfouri / AFP

DUBAI // About 95 per cent of UAE residents share their thoughts, photos and video on Facebook – crossing the 90 per cent mark for the first time in the Arab world.

Eight million of us are logged into the social media platform, a leap of 3 million from two years ago, with a penetration equal to only Qatar.

That compares with an Arab World average of 34 per cent, according to the latest Arab Social Media Report. Just under half of Facebook users are under 30, with 50.8 per cent older.

“While Facebook users in the Arab region remain mostly youthful, the trend is moving towards a more balanced age breakdown,” said report author Fadi Salem, of Mohammed bin Rashid School of Government.

But the gender imbalance remains. In the UAE, three quarters of Facebook users are male.

The 7th Arab Social Media Report says Facebook remains the most popular social media platform in the Arab region and the world, with more than 1.8 billion users in total.

There are 300,000 Twitter users in the UAE, or about 9 per cent of the total of users in the Arab region.

The UAE has the region’s highest penetration rates for LinkedIn at 32.5 per cent, followed by Qatar at 22 per cent and Bahrain on 17 per cent. Almost 20 per cent of all LinkedIn users in the Arab region are in the UAE.

The UAE also has the highest penetration for Instagram, with 13 per cent of the population active on the messaging app.

But the country comes in second at 17 per cent after Saudi Arabia (30 per cent) when it comes to the highest share of the region’s Instagram users.