Mohammed Bencasim - Al Jazeera Net
A recent report titled "Youth in the Middle East and North Africa" revealed that young Moroccans (between 19 and 29 years) are the most trusted social networking sites among the youth of 11 Arab countries surveyed known as the "Arab barometer"; Is the least trusted of those sites.
According to the results of the fifth edition of the Arab Barometer, 77% of young people in Morocco are more confident in receiving news on the websites than in newspapers and TV bulletins, while the percentage is much lower among Moroccans over 30 years of age to 45%, and in the second place we find Egyptians (74%). Then the Lebanese (67%), followed by the Palestinian youth (56%).
The youth of Iraq came in fifth place (53%), then the Sudanese (51%), and less than half of the youth of Algeria (49%), Yemen and Tunisia (47%), and Libya (41%), and the Jordanian youth were less confident in communication sites By 36%.
| Source: The official website of the Arab Barometer |
The difference in the level of trust in the communication sites varied between the youth and the older categories from one country to another.In Jordan, the difference was two points for the first category, the difference reached five points in Libya, three points in Yemen and Sudan, while the gap was greater in Lebanon (16). And Egypt (18).
Young people between the ages of 15 and 29 represent nearly a third of the population of the Middle East and North Africa.
The largest platform
Unsurprisingly, Facebook was the most widely used social media platform for young people in these countries, with the exception of Yemen, whose youth said they use WhatsApp more than Facebook by 46% to 36%.
Egyptian youth were more likely to use Facebook (94%) than their counterparts from the Arab countries surveyed, while Palestinians were the least (73%).
The report points out that Yemeni youth are the most used social networking sites, where 99% of respondents said they use social networking sites, and the proportion with other Arab countries close to 98% in Jordan and 97% in both Iraq and Lebanon, and by one point less find the proportion Among the youth of Palestine, Libya, Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco, up to 94% in Algeria and Sudan.
The youth of Arab countries spend two hours or more browsing the communication sites, and there is no significant difference in the duration of exposure to these sites between the category of youth between 18 and 29 years, and between the category of 30 years and above.
With the exception of Yemen and Libya, 90% and above of youth in the Arab countries surveyed have access to the Internet, the percentage increases to 99% in Lebanon, and Yemeni youth are less fortunate by 77%.
The gap in Internet usage between youth and higher age groups is widening to 30 percentage points in Yemen and North Africa, and to 20 in Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine.
The executing agency
The Arab Barometer presents itself as an "independent, non-partisan research network that provides insight into the social, political and economic trends and values of ordinary citizens in the Arab world" and has been conducting public opinion polls since 2006.
The Arab Barometer is guided by a steering committee whose members are responsible for four institutions in the Arab region: the Center for Strategic Studies at the University of Jordan, the Palestinian Center for Political and Survey Research, the Institute for Social, Economic and Survey Research at Qatar University, and the One to One Foundation for Research and Surveys. Tunisia; the committee also includes researchers working at Princeton and Michigan Universities.
| 42% of Iraqi youth say they are religious (Anatolia) |
Religiosity rate
42% of Iraqi youth said they are religious, while the percentage drops to 36% among Egyptians, 33% for Yemenis, and one point lower than that of Palestinians. The percentage of young Moroccans is 24%, Lebanese 23%, and Jordanians 22%. Libyans have 18%, young Tunisians 16%, and Algerians 15%.
The survey indicates that the percentage of religious among the youth of the 11 Arab countries increased compared to the previous version of the barometer, rising in Egypt by 12 percentage points, in Yemen by seven points, in Tunisia and Iraq by six points, and in Morocco and Libya by two points; 12 percentage points), Palestine (9 points), Jordan (seven points), Algeria (three points) and Lebanon (two points).
Interest in politics
The results of the poll show that the level of interest in politics in the Arab countries covered by the barometer is low. Only one third of Lebanese youth are interested in politics, and the percentage drops to 29% in Yemen and Palestine and 28% in Sudan.
The percentage in Egypt is 27%, in Jordan 25%, in Morocco 23%, in Iraq and Libya 21%, and the Arab youth least interested in politics are Tunisians (17%) and Algerians (15%).
In the countries surveyed except for Iraq and Lebanon, politics concerns young people only slightly less than older age groups, and the gap in Tunisia and Palestine widens to 10 percentage points.
| Source: The official website of the Arab Barometer |
Turkey and Iran
It is noteworthy in the results of the Arab barometer that support for young people surveyed to establish strong external relations between their countries and Turkey ranges from the highest 82% among Jordanians, and the lowest percentage of 18% among Egyptians.
Support for a strong relationship with Turkey remains much higher compared to support for strong external relations with Iran, with only 38% in Lebanon and 8% in Egypt.
The most supportive of establishing strong relations with Ankara - after the Jordanians - are Palestinians (75%), Sudanese (73%), Tunisians (64%), Yemenis (61%), Moroccans (56%), Algerians (53%), Iraqis (45%) and Lebanese. (41%), Libyans (36%) and Egyptians last.
While the biggest support for a strong relationship with Tehran was among the Lebanese, then the Sudanese (36%), the Palestinians (34%), the Iraqis (32%), the Tunisians (31%), the Moroccans (22%), the Jordanians (21%), the Yemenis and the Algerians (20%). Libyans (18%) and finally Egyptians.