The Emirates Internet Project Report. 2012.

THE INTERNET AND THE EVOLVING U.A.E.The Emirates Internet Project - Year III

Dr. Ilhem AllaguiDr. Harris Breslow

Table of Contents

Introduction 1Executive Summary 3I. Brief Facts About the U.A.E. 8 A. Population 8 Total Population 8 Age Structure 8 Ethnic Composition 8 B. Urbanization 9 C. Telecommunications Infrastructure 10 Fixed Lines Telephony: 10 Broadband Internet:** 10 Mobile services Telephony:** 10 D. Economy Rankings (2010) 10II Research Methodology 11 Quantitative survey research 11III Internet Usage Profile 12 A. Who Uses the Internet 12 Gender 12 Age 14 Education 15 Household Income 17 Location of Residence 18 Location of Workplace 20 Employment Status 21 Internet Users’ Heritage 22 Marital Status 24 B. Internet Access 25 Internet Connectivity 25 Reasons for Not Accessing the Internet 26 Internet Connectivity in the Home 30 Use of Mobile Broadband 32 History of Internet Use 33 Frequency and Location of Internet Access 34IV. What Internet Users in the U.A.E. do When They Are Online 36 Frequency of Peer-to-Peer Communication 36 Frequency of Use of the Internet as a Source of Information 38 Knowledge Acquisition via the Internet 40 Blogging 41 Social Networking 42

i

Online Media Use 45 Ecommerce 49 Ecommerce Security 51 The Reliability of Information Found Online 52V. The Social Impact of the Internet in the UAE 53 Impact of the Internet Upon Social Relationships: Friends and Family 53 Impact of the Internet on Time Spent with Family by Nationality and Age 55 Impact of the Internet on Time Spent with Friends by Nationality and Age 58 Language Used Most Often When Using the Internet 60 Importance of Media as Sources of Information 65 Importance of Media as Sources of Entertainment 67VI. The Internet and the Public Sphere in the UAE 68 A. The Internet and Perceptions of Governance 68 Freedom of Political Speech Online 68 Online Criticism of the Government and the Online Expression of Extreme Ideas 69 B. Regulation and Policing of the Internet 69 Government Regulation of the Internet 69 Surveillance of Online Activities 69 C. Political Participation Online 71 D. The Use of the Internet in the Preservation of National Identity 72 The Role of the Internet in the Preservation of National Identity 72 Expatriate Consumption of News from the Home Country 74VII. Conclusions From the Third Year of the EIP 75

ii

Table of Figures

Figure 1 Internet Usage by Gender 12Figure 2 Internet Usage by Age 14Figure 3 Internet Users’ Education 15Figure 4 Internet Users’ Monthly Household Income (US $) 17Figure 5 Respondents’ Residential Emirate 18Figure 6 Emirate Where Respondents Work 20Figure 7 Employment Status of Respondents Using the Internet 21Figure 8 Internet Users’ Heritage 22Figure 9 Respondents’ Marital Status 24Figure 10 Internet Connectivity Levels in the UAE 25Figure 11 Reasons for Not Accessing the Internet 26Figure 12 Type of Internet Connectivity in the Home 30Figure 13 Use of Mobile Broadband via Handheld Device 32Figure 14 History of Internet Use 33Figure 15 Frequency and Location of Internet Access 34Figure 16 Frequency of Peer-to-Peer Communication 36Figure 17 Frequency of Use of the Internet as a Source of Information 38Figure 18 Knowledge Acquisition via the Internet 40Figure 19 Contributing to a Blog 41Figure 20 Publishing a Blog or a Website 41Figure 21 Have a Social Networking Page? 42Figure 22 Frequency of Social Networking Activities 43Figure 23 Frequency of Online Media Use 45Figure 24 Frequency of Downloading Media Content 45Figure 25 Frequency of Ecommerce Activities 49Figure 26 Concern in the UAE Over Ecommerce Security 51Figure 27 The Reliability of Information Online 52Figure 28 The Impact of the Internet Upon Social Relationships Shared Interests 53Figure 29 Impact of the Internet on Time Spent with Family by Nationality and Age 55Figure 30 Impact of the Internet on Time Spent with Friends by Nationality and Age 58Figure 31 Language Most Often Used for Email and Instant Messaging 60Figure 32 Frequency of Websites Visited by Language 61Figure 33 Frequency of Language of Websites Visited by Age and Nationality 63Figure 34 Importance of Media as Sources of Information 65Figure 35 Importance of Media as Sources of Entertainment 67Figure 36 Perceptions of Online Governance in the UAE 68Figure 37 Online Political Participation in the UAE 71Figure 38 Internet Use in the Preservation of National Identity 72Figure 39 Frequency of Expatriate Consumption of News from the Home County 74

iii

Introduction

Research for the World Internet Project in the United Arab Emirates is being conducted under the auspic-es of the Emirates Internet Project (EIP). The EIP is housed in the Department of Mass Communication, at the American University of Sharjah. The EIP’s lead investigator is Dr. Ilhem Allagui. Dr. Harris Breslow serves as principal investigator.

This report is based on a quantitative survey of 1000 respondents, most of them aged 16 and older. Re-search for this report was carried out through face-to-face interviews.

Of the 1000 respondents, two in three respondents (67%) reside in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, or Sharjah. These emirates have been oversampled due to the fact that, of the seven emirates that comprise the UAE, these three are the largest, contain the highest degree of Internet penetration, have the greatest amount of in-frastructural development, and are responsible for the lion’s share of the country’s economic activity.

The authors would like to thank the Office of Re-search, American University of Sharjah, for provid-ing an initial Faculty Research grant with which to carry out analysis of the data for the initial research for EIP I. Funding for EIP III has been generously provided by the National Research Foundation, and we would like to thank the NRF for its generous fund-ing of this research project.

We would also like to thank Dr. Mark Rush, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, American Univer-sity of Sharjah, Dr. Gautam Sen, Vice Provost for Re-search and Graduate Studies and Dr. Thomas Hoch-stettler, Provost, American University of Sharjah, for their continued financial assistance and support for the Emirates Internet Project, its ongoing research, and dissemination.

1

Executive Summary

The Emirates Internet project (EIP) surveys Inter-net usage by residents of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It describes patterns of Internet access, usage, and attitudes amongst a sample of Internet users who comprise 90% of the survey’s respondents.

The EIP survey consists of a sample of 1000 respon-dents during the months of February, March, April and May 2012.

GenderThere is no gender divide in the United Arab Emirates regarding Internet usage.

● 63% of Internet users in the UAE are male ● 37% of Internet users in the UAE are female

AgeRespondents who use the Internet tend to be of Uni-versity age or older.

● 66% of respondents who report using the Inter-net are between the ages of 13 and 30

● 63% of respondents who report using the Inter-net are between the ages of 21 and 39

● 24% of respondents who report using the Inter-net are above the age of 40

EducationUsers of the Internet in the UAE are very highly edu-cated.

● 25% of Internet users report that they have at-tended or are currently attending a university

● 36% of Internet users report that they have a Baccalaureate degree, or higher

History of AccessThe majority of Internet users in the UAE have a great deal of online experience.

● Slightly more than one in three respondents (34%) report using the Internet between 5 and 10 years

● Almost one in five respondents (18%) report using the Internet between 10 and 15 years

Non-UsersRespondents who do not access the Internet do not do so for reasons related primarily to knowledge and culture.

● One in four respondents (25%) state that they have no time to connect to the Internet

● Slightly more than one in five respondents (21%) report that they don’t know how to con-nect to the Internet

● Almost three in ten respondents (29%) claim that they have no interest in connecting to the Internet

Frequency of Type of Internet UsageInternet usage in the UAE is primarily to facilitate person-to-person communication.

● Almost three in four respondents (73%) check their email at least once per day

● Almost two in three respondents (64%) use an Internet messaging service at least once per day

● More than four in five respondents (82%) use an Internet messaging service at least once per week

2

Respondents are adverse to both writing and reading blogs.

● More than three in five respondents (62%) re-port never having written any form of blog

● Almost half of all respondents (49%) report reading a blog less than once per month or nev-er at all

EcommerceEcommerce is in its infancy in the UAE.

● At least half of all respondents report making purchases online (56%), booking travel reser-vations online (59%), or investing in stocks and bonds (79%), less than once per month or never at all

● More than half of the respondents (56%) report paying bills online once per month or never at all

● Slightly more than half of respondents (51%) report having researched product information on at least a weekly basis.

Ecommerce SecurityConcerns over the security of the Internet with respect to ecommerce are prevalent amongst respondents in the UAE.

● Approximately one in four respondents (28%) reports that they are, at the least, very concerned about ecommerce security

● Almost half of all respondents (49%) report that they are at least somewhat concerned about ecommerce security

● Approximately one in eight respondents (13%) reports that they have no concerns regarding ecommerce security

Reliability of Information Found on the World Wide WebRespondents believe that most of the information found on the World Wide Web is accurate.

● Two in five respondents (52%) believe that most or all of the information found on the World Wide Web is reliable

● More than four in five respondents (87%) be-lieve that at least half of the information found on the World Wide Web is reliable

● Less than one in ten users (6%) believes that little to none of the information found on the web is reliable

Impact of the Internet Upon Social Relationships: Friends and FamilyInternet use in the UAE may be said to have had a moderately positive impact upon family relation-ships.

● More than two in five respondents (43%) report that they are spending the same amount of time with their family

● Less than one in six respondents (14%) reports that they are spending less time with their fam-ily

● Three in five respondents (61%) report spend-ing more time with their family

3

Internet use in the UAE may be said to have had an even more positive impact on social relationships outside of the home.

● Two in three respondents (66%) report spend-ing more time with friends since the advent of their Internet use

● Approximately one five respondents (19%) re-ports spending at least the same amount of time with friends since they began to use the Internet

● Approximately one in eight respondents (13%) reports spending less time with friends since they started using the Internet

Language Used While OnlineRespondents overwhelmingly report that the lan-guage they most often use while online is English.

● More than seven in ten respondents (73%) re-port that the language they most often use on the World Wide Web is English

● Less than one in six respondents (14%) reports that the language they most often use on the World Wide Web is Arabic

● Seven in ten respondents (70%) report using English for email and instant messaging

● Approximately one in 16 respondents (7%) re-ports using Arabic for email and instant mes-saging

● Approximately one in five respondents (19%) reports using both Arabic and English equally for email and instant messaging

Importance of Media as a Source of InformationThe Internet has clearly supplanted all other mass me-dia as the most important source of Information in the UAE.

● More than four in five respondents (82%) state that the Internet is either an important or very important source of information

● More than three in five respondents (64%), claim that television is either an important or very important source of information

● Slightly more than half of all respondents (53%) claim that newspapers are either an important or very important source of information

 Involvement in the Production of Web ContentAlthough respondents in the UAE are active consum-ers of Internet content, they are not necessarily active producers of Internet content.

● Three in five respondents (60%) have a social networking page

● Approximately one in six respondents (16%) writes a weblog

● Approximately one in six respondents (17%) has a website

4

5

I. Brief Facts About the U.A.E.

A. Population

Total Population ● 5,314,317 (CIA world fact book) ● 8.26 million (end of 2010- UAE national Bu-

reau of statistics published in http://www.uaein-teract.com/society/ )

Age Structure ● 0-14 years: 20.4%

M: 537,925 F: 513,572 ● 16-64 years: 78.7%

M: 2,968,958 F: 1,080,717 ● 65+ years: 0.9%

M: 30,446 F: 17,046

● Median Age: 30.2 years ● Male: 32.1 years ● Female: 24.9 years

(2011 CIA world fact book)

Ethnic Composition ● Emirati: 19% (947,997 in 2010 in http://www.

uaeinteract.com/society/). ● Other Arab / Iranian: 23% ● South Asian: 50% ● Other Expatriates: 8% 1

“Of the total 8.9 million residents, less than 15% are Emirati, more than one-third are South Asian, and a significant number are from Europe and North Africa.Population (2009 est., U.A.E. Government): 8.9 mil-lion.

Ethnic groups (U.A.E. Government): Indian (1.75 million); Pakistani (1.25 million); Bangladeshi (500,000); other Asian (1 million); European and Af-rican (500,000); and Emirati (890,000).”

● Expatriates comprise 81% of the total popula-tion

● Expatriates comprise 85% of the labor force ● Expatriates comprise 74% of the population

aged 15-64

From Other Sources 2

● Arab 48.1% (of which UAE Arab 12.2%) ● Bedouin 9.4% ● Egyptian Arab 6.2% ● Omani Arab 4.1% ● Saudi Arab 4% ● South Asian 35.7% (of which Pashtun 7.1%,

Balochi 7.1%, Malayali 7.1%) ● Iranian 5% ● Filipino 3.4% ● Caucasian/European 2.4%, other 5.4% (2000)

(note: less than 20% are UAE citizens)

B. Urbanization ● 84% of total population ● Rate of urbanization is 2.3% annual rate of

change (2010-15 estimates)

Population (2008) 3

● Dubai: 2,262,000 ● Abu Dhabi: 2,061,130 ● Sharjah: 934,364 ● Ajman: 387,322 ● Ras Al Khaima: 263,217 ● Fujairah: 167,517 ● Umm Al Quwain: 82,549

6

1 Other expatriates are comprised of Westerners and East Asians. 2 http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5444.htm3 http://www.worldstatesmen.org/United_Arab_Emirates.html4 The TRA has changed data reports in 2012 as per the ITU recommendations; The TRA now considers ‘Active’ subscriptions to the Internet, broadband or mobile service, this means service con-

sumption in the last 90 days.

C. Telecommunications In-frastructure

Fixed Lines Telephony 4

● Fixed Lines services Total Subscribers: 2012: 1,880,725

● Fixed Line Penetration (population): 23.4%

Broadband Internet 4

● Total Subscribers 2012: 904,270 ● Broadband subscribers (2012): 898,513 ● Broadband subscribers (2011): 870, 144 ● Dial-up subscribers (2012): 5,757 ● Dial-up subscribers (2011): 453,915 ● Broadband penetration 2012 (population): 11.2 ● Broadband penetration 2011 (Households):

14.8% ● Internet penetration 2011 (Households): 56.3%

Mobile services Telephony 4

● Mobile lines Total Subscribers 2012 (millions): 12,367,290

● Mobile penetration 2012 (population): 153.8% ● Mobile penetration 2011(population): 199.3% ● 3G Subscribers expected to be in 2012: 6.99

million ● 4 G subscribers expected to be in 2012: 164,000

D. Economy Rankings (2010)

● GDP (Purchasing Power Parity) 53 ● GDP (Real Growth Rate) 137 ● GDP / Capita 21 ● GDP / Capita (Purchasing Power Parity) 21

GDP (2009): 914.3 billion AED (approx. U.S. $248 billion); Annual growth rate (2007): 6.3%.; Per capita GDP (2008): over U.S. $53,400.

8

II Research Methodology

Quantitative Survey Re-search

● N= 1,000 ● Respondents are 13 years and older ● 67% of respondents reside in Abu Dhabi, Dubai,

or Sharjah ● In past iterations of EIP these emirates were

oversampled because they are the three largest, contain the highest degree of Internet penetra-tion, have the greatest amount of infrastructural development, and are responsible for the lion’s share of the country’s economic activity. This is no longer the case beginning with EIP III.

The EIP survey has been conducted by face-to-face interviews with respondents primarily in shopping malls and occasionally via door-to-door household interviews. In the UAE random contact on the street, while not legally prohibited, is generally seen to be inappropriate. As a result, face-to-face interviews are conducted in malls, which comprise the most popular public space in the UAE. Residents of the UAE spend an average of 127 hours per year visiting the coun-try’s shopping malls. This research methodology may skew the data: Fully half of the population is of South Asian heritage, and the large majority of this group is comprised of laborers. These individuals are typically very undereducated, have little to no access to digital telephony beyond a basic mobile phone, do not live in households that may have access to a broadband con-nection (they live in labor housing facilities) and are very rarely to be found in shopping malls.

9

III Internet Usage Profile

A. Who Uses the Internet

Gender

Figure 1: Internet Usage by Gender

As with the results from EIP II (2010) and EIP 1 (2009), the results from EIP III continue to indicate that there is no gender divide in the UAE with respect to Internet Access. Indeed, females report somewhat higher proportional levels of Internet use than do their male counterparts: Although female residents account for 32% of the total population of the UAE, and 49% of the population of Emirati nationals, they account for 37% of Internet users in the country.

We continue to posit three possible explanations for this fact. One explanation may lie in the fact that the median age of females in the UAE is 25% below that of the median age for males, and that the median age for females (24.7 years) falls within the age range re-spondents in the UAE who are most likely to use the Internet.

A second explanation for this result may be due to the unique demographic characteristics of the UAE. The population of the UAE is a little more than 5.3 million of which less than 20% are indigenous Emira-tis. More than half of the UAE’s total population, and more than five in eight expatriate residents, is South Asian followed by large percentages of expatriate residents from Africa and Europe. The overwhelm-ing majority of South Asian males are employed as labourers in construction, maintenance, and the many other jobs that employ workers who have low educa-tion and low skill levels, and that almost exclusively employ males. This explains the low percentages of female residents with respect to all residents regard-less of nationality, even though they comprise half of the Emirati population. This may also help to explain the overrepresentation of females amongst Internet users: Education and income play a role in the likeli-hood of Internet use, and may be doing so amongst the population of expatriate labourers.

A third explanation may lie in levels of education in the UAE. The UAE ensures equal access to education and employment for Emirati females, and as of 2009 female Emiratis spent an average of one additional year in school compared to males. Female students comprise approximately 35% of the total student pop-ulation at all levels of study. As well; more than one in three (35%) students attending secondary school are female, and one in three students (33%) attend-ing university in the UAE are female. These are very high rates, considering that the male population in the UAE is more than double that of the female popula-tion. In particular we note that females make up only 27% of the population aged 16-74, yet they constitute 33% of university students. 

10

Age

Figure 2: Internet Usage by Age

Our data suggests the clear display of the somewhat typical distribution of Internet usage with respect to age: The older one is, the less likely one is to access the Internet. Two in three respondents (66%) who re-ported accessing the Internet are between 13 and 30 years of age. Slightly more than three in five respon-dents (63%) who report accessing the Internet are be-tween the ages of 21 and 39. Approximately one in four respondents (24%) who reported accessing the Internet is above the age of 40.

Young people who can, and who can afford to, access the Internet in public venues such as Internet cafes and coffee shops that offer Internet access via WiFi (80.11b/g/n wireless standard). It should be noted that Internet cafes in the UAE charge exorbitant rates for both computer use and Internet access. As well, and unlike many places in the West, most of the cof-fee shops in the UAE do not offer free WiFi access. The two mobile providers, Eitsalat and Du, directly provide WiFi access in coffee shops, and both charge relatively expensive fees for this access.

As well, the majority of respondents between the ages of 18-25 are enrolled in some type of educational in-stitution. As such they are able to take advantage of free Internet access when they are on campus. 

Education

Figure 3 Internet Users’ Education

The results found in EIP III with respect to the re-lationship between education and Internet access re-flect the results found in both EIP II and I. However, it should be noted that although the results found in EIP III reflect that patterns found in earlier surveys, the distribution of the results in EIP III is somewhat different as a result of the fact that a younger range of respondents has been surveyed. In EIP II and I re-spondents were aged 18 and above. In EIP III respon-dents are aged 13 and above.

● Approximately one in eight respondents who use the Internet (12%) reports not having com-pleted primary school education.

● Approximately one in eight respondents who use the Internet (13%) reports that they are at-tending secondary school.

● Approximately one in eight respondents who use the Internet (13%) reports that they have completed secondary school.

● One in four respondents who use the Internet (25%) reports attending or having attended a college or university.

● Slightly more than one in three respondents who use the Internet (36%) reports having a college/university degree (Baccalaureate) or higher.

11

Our results continue to reflect two facts. First; note that slightly more than three in five respondents (61%) reporting Internet usage have, at minimum, some university education. All colleges and universi-ties in the UAE have access to the Internet, and one can postulate that with access to a higher education facility comes the ability to access the Internet. More-over, Internet access via an educational facility may be used as a substitute for Internet access at either Internet cafes, or cafes that provide WiFi access via Etisalat or Du, whose relatively high rates may create a barrier to entry for those without access at an edu-cational institution.

Second; this data tends to reflect the fact that approx-imately half the population in the country does not have the means to have regular access to the Internet. Internet use will thus skew towards respondents who have the financial means - and these respondents are, typically, also educated.

Our sampling of younger respondents in EIP III dem-onstrates that Internet usage is not exclusive to uni-versities or other institutions of higher education in the UAE, but in fact is distributed across all levels of education. We believe that our results demonstrate evidence of the success of the UAE’s progress to-wards its avowed goal of 100% connectivity across the country, along with connectivity in all govern-ment-funded schools. 

Household Income

Figure 4 Internet Users’ Monthly Household Income (US $)

These results corroborate our assertion (immediately above) regarding the fact that Internet use in the UAE is skewed towards individuals who are educated. In-deed, there is a correlation between income and ed-ucation with respect to Internet usage. Slightly less than one in six respondents (15%) who reports us-ing the Internet also reports an annual income of at least $US 80,000. More than one in four respondents (28%) report an income of at least $US 50,000.

The results with respect to income skew lower in EIP III than in EIP II or I. This is a result of a concerted effort on the part of the Emirates Internet Project to expand its survey coverage to the Northern Emirates - Ajman, Umm Al Quuwain, Ras al Khaimah and Fu-jairah. Incomes are lower in these Emirates, as are levels of education, infrastructural development, and commercial activity. 

12

Location of Residence

Figure 5: Respondents’ Residential Emirate

● 34% of Internet users reside in Dubai ● 22% of Internet users reside in Fujairah ● 17% of Internet users reside in Abu Dhabi ● 15% of Internet users reside in Sharjah ● 5% of Internet users reside in Umm Al Quu-

wain ● 3% Internet users reside in Ajman ● 2% of Internet users reside in Ras al Khaimah

As discussed, above, EIP has made a concerted ef-fort to roll out its survey to the above-mentioned Northern Emirates. This is clearly evident in the sam-pling of Internet users by Emirate of residence. In the past Internet users residing in the four Northern Emirates have comprised just four and 12 percent of respondents in EIP II, and I respectively. In EIP III re-spondents who use the Internet and who reside in the Northern Emirates make up one in three respondents (33%) to the survey.

We note that EIP III has unintentionally, but signifi-cantly, oversampled respondents residing in Fujairah. This unintentional oversampling will have had a sig-nificant effect on reporting of respondents’ income and education levels, as well as the Emirate where respondents work. 

Location of Workplace

Figure 6: Emirate Where Respondents Work

● 35% of Internet users work in Dubai ● 22% of Internet users work in Abu Dhabi ● 17% of Internet users work in Fujairah ● 16% of Internet users work in Sharjah ● 5% of Internet users work in Umm Al Quuwain ● 2% Internet users work in Ajman ● 2% of Internet users work in Ras al Khaimah

Almost three in four respondents (74%) who report using the Internet work in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, or Sharjah. The much lower percentages of respondents who work in Umm Al Quuwain, Ajman, or Ras al Khaimah reflect the fact that these Emirates func-tion in part as bedroom communities for Dubai and Sharjah. The percentage of respondents who report using the Internet and who work in Fujairah reflects the unintentional oversampling of respondents from Fujairah. 

13

Employment Status

Figure 7: Employment Status of Respondents Using the Inter-

net

● More than two in five respondents (45%) who

report using the Internet are employed full-time. ● Slightly more than one in three respondents

(34%) who reports using the Internet are em-ployed part-time.

● Approximately one in eight respondents (12%) who reports using the Internet are students.

 Internet Users’ Heritage

Figure 8: Internet Users’ Heritage

● Emiratis and Arab expatriates comprise approx-imately two in five (41%) Internet users.

● Expatriate residents from all South Asian coun-tries comprise slightly more than one in three (38%) Internet users.

● Almost one in five (18%) Internet users are from a Western country.

The survey results reflect several things. First, the re-sults reflect our intentional oversampling of the three largest Emirates in general, and Dubai in particular. These Emirates have the largest expatriate popula-tions, both in absolute terms and as a percentage of the total population of each Emirate. This may also be the reason behind the underreporting of Emiratis as Internet users.

Second, the results reflect our unintentional oversam-pling of the Emirate of Fujairah, where there is a large South Asian population, and a relatively small West-ern population and which may be skewing the results with respect to the national heritage of respondents who report using the Internet. In EIP II we reported that slightly more than one in four (28%) of respon-dents who report using the Internet were of any Asian heritage.

Despite this oversampling, our results continue to reflect the fact that a large percentage of the South Asian population does not have access to the Inter-net as a result of income, education, or other factors. Fully half of the resident population of the UAE is of South Asian heritage, and greater than half of the resident population (perhaps as much as three in five residents) of the UAE is either South Asian or East Asian, and yet less than two in five (38%) respon-dents who report using the Internet users are from any Asian country. We can infer from our results a clear correlation between income, education, and access to the Internet. Clearly the idea of universal access to the Internet has yet to gain traction in the UAE. 

14

Marital Status

Figure 9: Respondents’ Marital Status

Equal percentages of respondents to EIP III report that they are either single (43%), or married (44%). Four percent of respondents report that they are di-vorced or separated, while one in fifty respondents reports that they are widowed. 

15

B. Internet Access

Internet Connectivity

Figure 10: Internet Connectivity Levels in the UAE

Nine in ten respondents (90%) to EIP III report us-ing some form of Internet connectivity. One in ten respondents (10%) report that they do not connect to the Internet in any fashion. 

Reasons for Not Accessing the Internet

Figure 11: Reasons for Not Accessing the Internet

Of the reasons stated to explain the lack of Internet ac-cess the three most interesting are “no interest” (29%), “don’t know how” (21%) and “no access” (14%). EIP III’s figures for the responses “don’t know how” and “no access” are within the margin of error in compari-son to those obtained in EIP II and I. However, EIP III’s figures for the response “no interest” are significantly greater than in past years. In EIP III the response “no in-

terest” is ranked first amongst answers given by respon-dents who report not accessing the Internet, unlike EIP II (17%) and I (18%) when the response ranked third amongst answers given by respondents who reported not accessing the Internet. One reason for this may be the difference in the distribution of age groups amongst respondents. In EIP I slightly more than one in five re-spondents (21%) was above the age of 40, while in EIP II approximately one in seven respondents (14%) was above the age of 40. However, in EIP III one in four respondents (25%) is above the age of 40. As discussed above, there is a clear correlation between age and In-ternet usage in the UAE: the older one is the less likely one is to use the Internet.

Clearly, however, this response (“no interest”) contin-ues to be the most interesting. It must be understood that many residents of the UAE, and the greater GCC for that matter, lead what people in the West might un-derstand as parochial and/or cloistered lives that center on God, family, clan and/or tribe and work. For these people the Internet is a technology that may be seen to add nothing to the quality of their lives; devotion to God occurs in the mosque, devotion to family occurs in the home, devotion to clan/tribe and one’s work life occur within the immediate community.

Furthermore, so-called “traditional” Arab lives in the GCC are organized around, and lived within, layers of privacy: This principle has, in the past, guided the de-sign of houses, the organization of cities and villages, and one’s conduct in the public sphere. This is unlike the West, where life has been organized around the principles of publicity and the public sphere for almost half a millennium. In this respect the Internet may be viewed and understood as something “extraneous” and inappropriately public and the knowledge found on the net unnecessary or inappropriate to the way that respon-dents conduct their lives. We postulate that this is the

16

reason behind the high percentage of respondents who report that they do not access the Internet because they have no interest in doing so.

Because the median age of the UAE is comparatively low, and the monthly incomes reported by respondents comparatively high, one might infer from these facts that the technological knowledge required for basic In-ternet access (logging onto the Internet and launching a browser, for instance) would be more widespread than our responses indicate. The persistence in the frequency of the response, “don’t know how”, 25% in EIP I, 27% in EIP II, and 21% in EIP III, is thus very interesting.

This response may be understood in three ways. One way of understanding this is in light of the number of respondents who report that they have no interest in accessing the Internet. In this respect, the large num-ber of respondents reporting that they do not have the requisite knowledge with which to access the Internet may be serving as a substitution for stating a cultural predisposition leading to a lack of interest in accessing the Internet.

A second explanation for the frequency of this response lies in the discrepancies found in primary and second-ary education in the UAE. Emirati nationals and expa-triates alike enroll their children in primary and second-ary schools of varying infrastructural and pedagogic quality. The existence of training in basic computer skills, along with access to the Internet at school may thus be playing a role in respondents having the requi-site knowledge with which to access the Internet.

Lastly, given the predominance of expatriate residents from less-developed countries, it may also be postu-lated that the high frequency of this response is due to the fact that a significant percentage of residents in the UAE have not had, and continue to lack, either the

opportunity or means to have the requisite training in basic computer and Internet skills. This correlates with our discussion of the nationality of respondents who re-port accessing the Internet, above.

The third most popular response, “no access” (14%), is within the margin of error for results found in EIP II (13%) and EIP I (18%), although somewhat lower than in EIP I. One way to understand this is in terms of the success of the UAE’s Internet infrastructure build-out. The UAE initiated its wired-country strategy in 1995, and recent expectations were that the UAE would be-come the first country in the world to achieve 100% penetration of fiber to home connectivity by the end of 2011. Our results may be showing that, while perhaps proceeding apace, this goal has yet to be achieved.

A second way to understand these results is in terms of the continuing costs associated with Internet connectiv-ity. Although the UAE leads the Arab world in terms of the affordability of Internet access, this does not mean that everyone in the UAE can afford to access the Internet. We should not forget that the accessibility of costs is not only comparable amongst countries but also within countries. The digital divide in terms of costs is very significant between classes and rural/urban areas where there is a clash between buying power amongst citizens. There is a significant disparity in terms of per-sonal computer ownership between urban areas and the three large Emirates (Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah) and that in rural areas and the Northern Emirates, where some may not be able to afford even a single PC, let alone Internet access. In these cases access to the Inter-net is achieved through the use of cybercafés that are very popular and also relatively expensive. Connectiv-ity costs are also comparatively high for 3G cellular connectivity, which is more expensive than one would expect to find in North America, Europe or Southeast Asia.

17

Internet Connectivity in the Home

Figure12: Type of Internet Connectivity in the Home

Broadband Internet access in the home has achieved a high degree of market penetration in the UAE.

● Almost three in four respondents (73%) who re-port accessing the Internet report using some of broadband in order to do so at home.

● Almost two in three respondents (64%) who report accessing the Internet report having some form of broadband Internet access in their homes.

● Approximately one in eight respondents (13%) reports using a dial up service at home in order to access the Internet.

● Almost one in ten respondents (9%) reports us-ing mobile broadband service in order to access the Internet in the home.

● Slightly more than one in ten respondents (11%) who report accessing the Internet reports having another form of Internet connectivity in the home.

We note that it would appear that, despite the UAE’s avowed goal of 100% fiber to home connectivity by 2011, not all residents are choosing broadband ser-vice in order to access the Internet at home. One rea-son for this may be the costs for access, which are relatively inexpensive when compared to other coun-tries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) but still high when compared to average connectivity costs in a number of North American, Western Euro-pean and Southeast Asian countries. Observe, in this respect, the percentage of respondents who report us-ing a dial up connection (phone modem) in order to connect to the Internet. This percentage has remained stable over the last two years: EIP II found that 12% of respondents who reported accessing the Internet from their home did so via a dial up connection. Also note the percentage of respondents who report using a mobile broadband connection (3G) in order to access the Internet from their home. Respondents reporting this method may not be able to afford either a PC or a broadband connection, resorting instead to the use of an inexpensive smartphone or feature phone as a substitute. 

18

Use of Mobile Broadband

Figure 13: Use of Mobile Broadband via Handheld Device

The use of mobile broadband (3G) services in the UAE has become as popular as connecting to the In-ternet at home via some form of broadband. Almost two in three respondents (65%) who report access-ing the Internet report using a wireless device such as a cell phone or tablet in order to access the Inter-net. This compares favourably with the percentage of respondents who report accessing the Internet via a broadband connection at home (64%). We conclude, given the two high penetration rates and taking into account the use of mobile broadband connectivity in the home as a substitute for broadband, that respon-dents making use of either broadband in the home or wireless devices, also tend to use the other of these two methods of connectivity. This reinforces our ear-lier discussion of the digital divide within the UAE: If one can afford either broadband in the home or 3G broadband services via the use of a wireless device, then one can typically also afford to subscribe to the other method of connectivity. 

History of Internet Use

Figure 14: History of Internet Use

● Slightly more than one in three respondents (34%) reports using the Internet for between five and ten years

● More than half of the respondents (55%) report using the Internet for at least five years

● Approximately one in 30 respondents reports using the Internet for at least 15 years.

Given that widespread Internet access dates to 1995, and that slightly less than four percent of respondents date the start of their access from 1995-1999, we be-lieve that this result reflects the usage history of the North American and Western European expatriates living in the UAE. We note that this result is far less than in previous years of the EIP. We believe that this is due to the increased emphasis on sampling respon-dents from the Northern Emirates, where one is less likely to find expatriate residents from either North America or Western Europe, as well as the uninten-tional oversampling of respondents from Fujairah. 

19

Frequency and Location of Internet Access

Figure 15: Frequency and Location of Internet Access

A large majority of Internet users in the UAE report accessing the Internet for ten hours per week or less, regardless of either location or type of access.

● More than three in five respondents (63%) who access the Internet from a wired PC in the home report doing so for ten hours per week, or less. More than four in five respondents (83%) who access the Internet from a wired PC in the home report doing so for 20 hours per week or less.

● Slightly more than three in five respondents (61%) who access the Internet from a wired PC at work report doing so for ten hours per week or less. Slightly less than four in five re-

spondents (77%) who access the Internet from a wired PC at work report doing so for 20 hours per week or less.

● More than four in five respondents (85%) who access the Internet from a wired PC at school report doing so for ten hours per week, or less. More than nine in ten respondents (94%) who access the Internet from a wired PC at school report doing so for 20 hours per week, or less.

● More than four in five respondents (85%) who access the Internet from a wired PC from any-where other than home, school, or work report doing so for ten hours per week, or less. More

20

than nine in ten respondents (91%) who access the Internet from a wired PC from anywhere other than home, school, or work report doing so for 20 hours per week, or less.

● Slightly more than seven in ten respondents (72%) who access the Internet from a wireless device such as a cell phone or tablet report do-ing so for ten hours per week, or less. More than four in five respondents (83%) who access the Internet from a wireless device such as a cell phone or tablet report doing so for 20 hours per week, or less.

The results from EIP I, II and III are within the margin of error for all categories of frequency of access with the exception of respondents who access the Internet from a wired PC from anywhere other than home, school, or work report doing so for either 10 hours per week or less or 20 hours per week, or less. We be-lieve that this may be a result of our increased empha-sis on sampling respondents from the four Northern Emirates, where infrastructural build out lags behind that of Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah as well as the unintentional oversampling of respondents from the Emirate of Fujairah. 

22

IV. What Internet Users in the U.A.E. do When They Are Online

Figure 16: Frequency of Peer-to-Peer Communication

Consistent with the results obtained in both EIP II and EIP I, the results in EIP III continue to show that Inter-net use in the UAE is primarily for peer-to-peer (P2P) communication; either for institutional, commercial, or interpersonal reasons. Two in five Internet users (40%) check their email more than once per day, and almost three in five Internet users (73%) check their email at least once per day. Approximately half of all Internet users (49%) send an attachment with their email at least once per day, and almost three in four users (73%) report doing so at least once per week. Almost two in three users (64%) use some form of Internet messaging service to chat online at least once per day, while slightly more than four in five almost Internet users (82%) report doing so at least once per week.

The results in EIP III also continue to demonstrate that, despite the extremely high percentage of ex-patriate residents, VoIP telephony in the UAE may only be on the verge of emerging from its infancy in comparison to other forms of P2P communication: Although two in five respondents (40%) make use of the Internet for VoIP telephony at least once per week a slightly larger percentage of respondents (47%) re-port having never used the Internet to make a VoIP call, or having done so less than once per month,. Although Internet messaging is extremely popular, the use of chatrooms is not: slightly less than one in five Internet users (19%) report visiting chatrooms at most on a weekly basis, and slightly less than one in four (24%) report visiting chatrooms at least once per day. Given the low median age of the overall popula-tion, one would expect these results to be higher.

Frequency of Peer-to-Peer Communication

23

Figure 17: Frequency of Use of the Internet as a Source of In-

formation

As in both EIP II and I, our results continue to show that the concept of the Internet as the fount of a variety of information is still in its infancy in the UAE. Al-most twice as many respondents (51%) report having used the Internet for a job search less than once per month or never at all than do those who report having done so at least once per week (28%). A slightly high-er percentage of respondents (40%) report using the Internet in order to search for humorous content less than once per month or never at all than having done so at least once per week (36%). Despite the presence of the region’s largest and most important air travel hub (Dubai International Airport), and the extremely high income levels reported by the survey’s respon-dents, almost half of all respondents (49%) report us-ing the Internet to search for travel information less than once per month or never at all.

Consistent with both EIP II and I, and in contrast to the results immediately above, slightly more than three in four respondents (76%) report using the In-ternet at least once per week to search for news, while more than half of respondents (55%) report doing so at least once per day. A slightly higher percentage of respondents who report using the Internet do so in or-der to search for information pertaining to their health (38%) on at least a weekly basis than doing so on a monthly basis or never at all (33%).

Frequency of Use of the Internet as a Source of Information

24

Figure 18: Knowledge Acquisition via the Internet

Although its status as a source of general informa-tion is in some question, and is contingent upon the type of information being researched, the Internet has established itself as a source of knowledge acquisi-tion and pedagogic supplement in the UAE. Three in five respondents (60%) report using the Internet for finding or checking facts at least once per week, and almost one in three respondents (32%) report doing so on at least on a daily basis. Almost two in three re-spondents (64%) report using the Internet to look up vocabulary definitions at least once per week, while two in five (40%) report doing so on at least a daily basis. More than two in five respondents (44%) report using the Internet to find information for schoolwork at least once per week, while one in four respondents (25%) report doing so on at least a daily basis.

Where the Internet has not gained purchase in the UAE is as a pedagogic environment. Almost two in three respondents (64%) report having used the Inter-net for distance learning or job training less than once per month or never at all.

Knowledge Acquisition via the Internet

25

Our results also corroborate our discussion in both EIP II and I, and above, concerning the nature and importance of privacy in the Arab world. The most popular forms of Internet usage are those that tend to reinforce and maintain personal relationships, while those that encourage more “public” forms of behavior (for example, chatrooms) are far less popular. This may also explain the aversion towards blogging: Ap-proximately three in five Internet users (59%) report that they do not contribute to any form of blog. Al-most half of all Internet users (49%) report reading a blog less than once per month or never at all, A higher percentage of Internet users (34%) report leaving a comment on a blog less than once per month or never at all than do those who report doing so on at least a daily basis (30%). Seven in ten Internet users (70%) report having worked on a blog in one way or another less than once per month or never at all.

Not unexpectedly, publishing either a blog or a web-site are not yet popular activities in the UAE. Less than one in five respondents who use the Internet re-ports having ever published either a blog (16%) or a website (17%). Almost one in ten respondents (9%) reports that they have no intention to ever create ei-ther a blog or a website. We also note that slightly more than half of all respondents who use the Internet (51%) report that they have the intention to create a blog or website soon.

Blogging

Figure 19: Contributing to a Blog Figure 20: Publishing a Blog or a Website

26

● Three in five respondents (60%) who use the Internet have some form of social networking page.

● Almost two in five respondents (39%) who use the Internet do not make use of social network-ing sites or services.

Given that almost two in five respondents (39%) who use the Internet do not make use of social networking sites or services, the dichotomous results regarding the use of these sites and services are unsurprising. More than two in five respondents (43%) who use the Internet report updating their status on a social net-working site on less than a monthly basis or not at all, while a similar percentage of respondents (44%) who use the Internet report doing so on at least a weekly basis, and one in four respondents (25%) reports do-ing so on at least a daily basis. More than half of all respondents (52%) who use the Internet report that they upload pictures to a social network site on less than a monthly basis or not at all, while almost one in three respondents (30%) does so on at least a weekly

basis, and approximately one in eight respondents (12%) does so on at least a daily basis. More than two in five respondents (45%) who use the Internet report that they upload music videos on less than a monthly basis or not at all, while almost four in five respondents (39%) report doing so on a weekly basis, and almost one in four respondents (24%) report do-ing so on at least a daily basis. Slightly more than one in three respondents (34%) who reports using the Internet reports that they post messages on message boards on less than a monthly basis or not at all, while more than half of all respondents (53%) do so on at least a weekly basis, and almost one in three respon-dents (32%) do so on at least a daily basis.

Social Networking

Figure 21: Have a Social Networking Page?

Figure 22: Frequency of Social Networking Activities

27

The use of the World Wide Web may have declined in popularity. In EIP I more than three in four respon-dents (76%) who used the Internet reported doing so in order to surf the web on at least a weekly basis, while more than half of these respondents (55%) re-ported doing so on at least a daily basis. Similarly, in EIP II more than nine in ten respondents (93%) who used the Internet reported doing so to surf the web on at least a weekly basis, while approximately two in three of these respondents (65%) reported doing so on at least a weekly basis. In contrast, our figures for EIP III are somewhat lower. Two in three respondents (66%) who report using the Internet also report doing so in order to surf the web on at least a weekly basis, while less than half of these respondents (49%) report doing so on at least a daily basis.

We can posit at least two explanations for this pos-sible decline: The first involves our sample and the implications of the increased sampling of respon-dents from the Northern Emirates where Internet use is somewhat more limited and less frequent than it is

in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. This will undoubt-edly affect the propensity of respondents who report using the Internet to surf the web.

Our second explanation involves the popularity of wireless web access from devices such as cell phones or tablets. We posit that the widespread (and grow-ing) popularity of both free and low cost applica-tions for both smartphone and tablet platforms such as IOS, Android, RIM and Windows Phone7 devices, and that function as dedicated channels for specific websites and/or web-based content, are being used as substitutes for surfing the web. In this respect re-spondents who report using wireless devices do not so much surf the web as they surf their apps. This bears further investigation, as it points to a potential paradigm shift in terms of the use of the World Wide Web as well as for the business models that have been developed to capitalize upon web use.

Online Media Use

Figure 23: Frequency of Online Media Use

28

Less than one in four respondents (24%) reports lis-tening to a radio station online on at least a weekly basis, while approximately one in eight respondents (13%) reports doing so on at least a daily basis. More than three in five respondents (62%) report doing so on less than a monthly basis or never at all.

EIP III confirms an increasing trend with regards to downloading of either music or video content that was discussed in our reports for EIP II. In EIP I only one in five respondents (20%) who reported accessing the Internet also reported downloading or listening to music on a weekly basis, or downloading/watching video content on a weekly basis (21%). Only one in five respondents (20%) to EIP I who reported access-ing the Internet also reported either downloading or listening to music online on at least a weekly basis. A similar percentage (21%) reported downloading or watching online video content on at least a weekly basis. In EIP II almost three in five respondents (58%) who reported accessing the Internet also reported downloading or listening to music online on at least a

weekly basis, while slightly more than three in ten re-spondents (31%) reported doing so on at least a daily basis. In EIP III more than three in five respondents (61%) who report accessing the Internet also report downloading or listening to music on a weekly basis, while more than one in three respondents (36%) re-port doing so on at least a daily basis.

In EIP I slightly more than one in five respondents (21%) who reported accessing the Internet also re-ported downloading or watching of video content online. In EIP II three in five respondents (60) who reported accessing the Internet also reported do-ing so on at least a weekly basis, while almost one in three respondents (31%) reported doing so on at least a daily basis. Despite our increased emphasis on sampling the Northern Emirates, and our uninten-tional oversampling of respondents from the Emirate of Fujairah, more than half of all respondents (56%) who report accessing the Internet also report down-loading or watching video content online on at least a weekly basis, while three in five respondents (30%)

Figure 24: Frequency of Downloading Media Content

29

report doing so on at least a daily basis. Moreover, more than three in five respondents (63%) who report accessing the Internet also report visiting video shar-ing Social Networking Sites, such as Vimeo and You-Tube, on at least a weekly basis, while almost half of all respondents (48%) report that they do so on at least a daily basis.

There are at least three potential explanations for this trend. The first explanation concerns the continued growth of smartphone ownership, as well as the intro-duction of media tablets, such as the iPad. Recall that almost two in three respondents who report accessing the Internet make use of either a cell phone or a tablet to do so. Both major telecommunications providers, Etisalat and Du, have aggressively marketed mobile broadband services that offer relatively generous data packages. The marketing of these packages has in-creased in intensity, and their terms - including the sale of a smartphone and/or media tablet at a deeply discounted price - have grown more generous since the introduction of iPhone4 and the first generation iPad during Q2 2010, along with improvements to and widespread distribution of their Android-based competitors. It could very well be that the introduc-tion of sophisticated mobile devices for media con-sumption are driving the downloading and streaming of media content in much the same way that the intro-duction of inexpensive and easily-adopted broadband technologies in other countries previously drove this trend. In our current survey slightly less than two in three respondents who report accessing the Internet report using a wireless device (65%) to do so. In EIP II we predicted that the percentage of respondents re-porting at least weekly online music and video con-tent use, along with downloading, would continue to climb alongside the aggressive marketing of mobile broadband packages and the continuously improving smartphones and media tablets that are included with,

and sold alongside, these packages. This prediction appears to have been accurate, although further lon-gitudinal data will be required to be collected before any firm conclusion can be reached.

A second explanation concerns the overwhelm-ing popularity of applications for smart phones and tablets, many of which are channel-dedicated video streaming apps for websites such as YouTube, Netf-lix, and other video streaming channels. These ap-plications are typically low in cost or free, and enable simplified viewing of either low cost or free stream-ing video.

A third explanation concerns the sample. In EIP II we wroteWhile we have continued to oversample Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah, the percentage of respondents from Dubai has increased. Dubai is the most “West-ern” of the seven Emirates. It contains the largest number of Western expatriates, the most sophisti-cated telecommunications apparatus, and Emiratis and other Arabs in general who live in Dubai tend to be more “modern” in outlook, and are more likely to make use of Western patterns Internet content con-sumption than Emiratis and other Arabs in the other six Emirates.

This is clearly not the case with the results from EIP III, where respondents from the Northern Emirates comprise a significantly larger percentage of our sample.

Of continuing interest to these authors is the fact that the use of the World Wide Web in order to visit re-ligious or spiritual web sites has yet to catch on in the UAE. Half of all respondents (50%) who report accessing the Internet also report visiting religious or spiritual sites less than once per month or never at all.

30

Slightly more than one in four respondents (27%) re-ports visiting religious or spiritual websites on at least a weekly basis, while less than one in ten respondents (9%) does so on at least a daily basis. 

31

Ecommerce has made gains in the UAE, but contin-ues to remain in its infancy. Almost four in five re-spondents (79%) who report accessing the Internet report that they make investments online less than once per month or not at all. At least half of all re-spondents who report using the Internet report pay-ing bills (56%), booking travel reservations (59%), or making purchases online (56%), less than once per month or not at all. More than one in three of these respondents (35%) reports using online banking ser-vices less than once per month or never at all.

There are at least two infrastructural factors that con-tinue to contribute to the low levels of ecommerce activity in the UAE. The first reason has to do with the fact that there are very few commercial outlets within the UAE that have either a sophisticated web presence or an IT infrastructure that enables ecom-merce activities. As a result, online purchases must be made from outlets overseas, resulting in long delivery times, customs inspections, and frequent additional customs charges upon arrival. This may, in part, be

due to the fact that there is a lack of a robust ecom-merce security infrastructure in the UAE that surely contributes to the lack of ecommerce activities within the country. The lack of ecommerce security in the country contributes to a lack of trust in online pur-chases from vendors within the country on the part of consumers, and discourages vendors from making the necessary infrastructural investments to their online presence. This will be discussed in detail, below.

The second reason is far more basic in nature: The UAE does not currently employ a system of street ad-dresses; instead residents make use of a PO Box. As a result, all home deliveries made via courier are quite laborious and time consuming in nature. The deliv-ery agent must call the house, arrange a delivery time period—which is typically half a day to a full day in length—and then call the house prior to the delivery for directions to the house. This not only discourages ecommerce purchases on the part of consumers, it also discourages implementing ecommerce-ordering systems on the part of vendors.

Frequency of Use of the Internet as a Source of Information

Figure 25: Frequency of Ecommerce Activities

32

Although actual ecommerce activities have yet to become popular in the UAE, product research has gained a foothold in the country. More than half of respondents (51%) who report accessing the Internet also report having researched online information con-cerning a product at least once per week. This figure corresponds to the percentage of respondents (52%) who reported having done so at least once per week in EIP II, and EIP I (53%). We believe that this reinforc-es our thoughts concerning the limiting role played by infrastructural factors with respect to ecommerce activities.

33

Ecommerce Security

Figure 26: Concern in the UAE Over Ecommerce Security

Concerns over the security of the Internet with re-spect to ecommerce continue to be prevalent amongst respondents in the UAE. More than one in four re-spondents (28%) reports that they are, at the least, very concerned about the security of the Internet with respect to the ecommerce activities discussed, above. Almost half of all respondents (49%) report that they are at least somewhat concerned about ecommerce security. One in eight respondents (13%) reports that they have no concerns regarding ecommerce security.

These concerns continue to have an effect on the level of ecommerce activity in the UAE. Given the levels of wealth reported by respondents and their propen-sity to consume, and given the limited levels of avail-ability of products that are ideally suited to ecom-merce (books, CDs, DVDs), one would assume that ecommerce would have taken off in the UAE, con-cerns over the web presence of local vendors aside. It should also be noted that the UAE has been the subject of several widespread banking network hacks in the past three years, and that this may be affecting the level of response regarding concern over ecom-merce security. 

The Reliability of Information Found On-line

Figure 27: The Reliability of Information Online

Our results in EIP II concerning the reliability of the information found online diverged in interesting ways when compared to our results from EIP I. Very similar percentages of respondents report that none of the in-formation found online is reliable (3% in EIP I, 4% in EIP II, 6% in EIP III), or that about half the informa-tion found online is reliable (39% EIP I, 43% in EIP II, 35% in EIP III). Less than one in six respondents to EIP II (14%) and EIP III (15%) reports that all of the information found online is reliable, while almost three times as many respondents (39%) did so in EIP I. Slightly more than half of all respondents (52%) believe that most or all of the information found on the World Wide Web is reliable. More than four in five respondents (87%) believe that at least half of the information found on the World Wide Web is reliable. This corroborates our findings and discussion, above, concerning product information searches and the use of the Internet as a source of news and information.

35

V. The Social Impact of the Internet in the UAE

Our results in EIP II and III concerning the effect of Internet usage upon time spent with friends and family diverge from our results in EIP I. In EIP I slightly more than two in five respondents (43%) reported that time spent with their families was unaffected by their Inter-net usage, while similar percentages of respondents in EIP III (22%) and EIP II (25%) report that time spent with their family is unaffected by their Internet usage. In EIP I two in five respondents (40%) reported that they spend less time with their family as a result of their Internet usage, while almost identical percentages of re-spondents in EIP III (14%) and EIP II (13%) report spending less time with their family as a result of their Internet usage. In EIP I only one in ten re-spondents (10%) reported spending more time with his or her family since they began using the Internet, while three in five respondents in both EIP III (61%) and EIP II (60%) report spending more time with their family since they began using the Internet.Our findings in EIP III and EIP II diverge significantly from our findings in EIP I concerning the effect of the Internet upon time spent with friends. Approximately two in three respondents in both EIP III (66%) and EIP

II (68%) report spending more time with friends, while in EIP I this percentage is less than one in four respon-dents (23%). The discrepancy between EIP III and II and EIP I in the percentage of respondents reporting spending more time with friends since they began to use the Internet can be accounted for by the decline in the percentage of respondents reporting that their time with friends has remained unchanged since they went online. In EIP I almost three in five respondents (58%) reported that they spent the same amount of time with friends since they began to use the Internet, while in both EIP III and EIP II slightly less than one in five respondents (19%) reports that their time spent with friends is unaffected by their Internet usage. The per-centage of respondents who report that they spend less time with their friends since they began to use the Inter-net remains roughly unchanged: In EIP III and I slightly more than one in eight respondents (13%) reported that they spent less time with friends since they began to ac-cess the Internet, while in EIP II slightly less than one in ten respondents (9%) reported spending less time with friends since they began to go online.

Impact of the Internet Upon Social Relationships: Friends and Family

Figure 28: The Impact of the Internet Upon Social Relationships: Shared Interests

36

As was found in both EIP II and EIP I, the picture changes somewhat when we break out the results ac-cording to age and nationality. Doing so reveals a dis-cernable pattern in the data in terms of a correlation between Internet usage, age, and its effect on the time that respondents spend with their family, regardless of heritage, although this pattern is less pronounced in EIP III than in either EIP II or EIP I. The data shows that the younger one is, the more likely that Internet use is to have a deleterious affect upon the time that one spends with one’s family. In EIP III the effect ap-pears to peak at approximately the age of 25.

Three in four respondents (75%) who are Arabs and between the ages of 18 and 25 report that they spend less time with their families since they began to use the Internet. Approximately one in six South Asian respondents between the ages of 18 and 25 reports that they spend less time with their family since they began to access the Internet, and one in ten Western

respondents who are between the ages of 18-25 re-ports that they spend less time with their family since they began to access the Internet.

Approximately one in ten respondents (9%) who are Arab between the ages of 26 and 32 reports that they spend less time with their families since they began to use the Internet, the same percentage as that of South Asian respondents (9%) between the ages of 26 and 32 who do so. One in ten respondents (10%) of Af-rican heritage between the ages of 26 and 32 reports that they spend less time with their family since they began to access the Internet.

More than one in eight respondents who are Arabs be-tween the ages of 33 and 40, and approximately one in four respondents (24%) who are Arabs between the ages of 41-50 report that they spend less time with their families since they began to use the Internet. Slightly less than one in ten Asian respondents (8%)

Impact of the Internet on Time Spent with Family by Nationality and Age

Figure 29: Impact of the Internet on Time Spent with Family by Nationality and Age

37

between the ages of 26 and 32 report that they spend less time with their family since they began to access the Internet.

There are several patterns amongst the data that bear discussion. As with EIP II and I, there appears to be a point of demarcation concerning the effect of the In-ternet upon one’s propensity to spend time with one’s family. In EIP II this point lay somewhere between the ages of 30 and 40. In EIP I this point was clearly demarcated at the age of 33. In EIP III the point of demarcation is at age 25.

We continue to posit several reasons for this trend. The first is the fact that, in 1995, respondents now aged 35 or older were at least 18 years of age, and had already gone through their primary socialization, and thus had already formed their core habits, tastes and patterns of social interaction. We focus on this year because 1995 is typically seen as the moment when Internet usage approaches a tipping point, be-coming both technologically viable and economical-ly feasible. This is the point in time when affordable broadband Internet access first becomes widely avail-able in the west. Similarly, 1995 also marks the ad-vent of the first commercially available web browser - Netscape. While it is true that email proved to be the first “killer app” of the online era - particularly for those in the corporate world—it was the introduction of the World Wide Web that drew people’s attention to the Internet as a leisure activity i.e., an activity that would have consequences for how one spent one’s time, as well as for the formation of patterns of social behavior. This point of demarcation becomes even more evident when one considers that many of the Internet services that young people spend their time engaged in - P2P messaging, social networking sites, blogging, streaming audio and video, online gaming of all forms, etc. - literally do not come online until

much later in the lives of people aged 35 and older, and thus increasingly further from the moment when the patterns social behavior had been formed.

We are not trying to imply that people aged 35 and older do not make use of the aforementioned features and services of the Internet. We do want to claim, and the data is clear on this point, that respondents aged 35 and older do not make use of the Internet as extensively as younger respondents. The Internet does not serve as a substitute for family interaction amongst respondents who are 35 and older as it does for younger respondents, although it is substituting for other activities heretofore more commonly found amongst respondents aged 35 and older.

It is also possible that the Internet may be serving to enable respondents in the UAE who are over the age of 35 to spend more time with their families as a re-sult of the efficiencies that it enables when working. Internet usage may be serving to offset the increased work responsibilities—and thus the extra amount of time either working or at work—that respondents over the age of 35 often find themselves assuming as they occupy increasingly important positions in their chosen careers. Given our earlier observations con-cerning the relationship between levels of education and Internet access in the UAE it is not inaccurate to draw a correlation between age and work-related responsibilities; admittedly an inherently corporate model, but one that suits the data that our research has produced.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the data sug-gests that we may also be witnessing the sociocul-tural rearticulation of concepts such as “space” and “presence” with respect to Internet usage. Here we refer to the lack of discernible results concerning Western respondents of any age, and the diminution

38

of time spent with family since the advent of their Internet use. Given their very high levels of educa-tion, income, and Internet savvy, we hypothesize that Western respondents (of all ages) may in fact view their time spent online with distant members of the family as time spent with their family. Should this be the case, then we may very well be witnessing a reart-iculation of the interpersonal use of concepts such as “space” and “presence”. Heretofore articulated to a sense of corporality and materiality, these concepts may be undergoing a rearticulation within the current techno-cultural conjuncture, such that they are articu-lated to, and signify, a dematerialization of space, and a disembodiment of presence. 

39

In contrast with EIP II’s somewhat mixed results con-cerning the impact of the Internet on time spent with family, a closer examination of the effect of Internet usage on time spent with friends based on breaking out the survey’s general results by both nationality and age reveals that, on the whole, a majority of respon-dents of all nationalities and of all ages reports spend-ing somewhat more time with their friends since first becoming connected to the Internet. There are, how-ever, some exceptions to this general observation. For example, three in four Arab respondents between the ages of 18 and 25 (74%) report that they spend less time with their friends, while approximately one in five Arab respondents between the ages of 33 and 40 (19%) reports that they spend less time with his or her friends since they began to use the Internet.

We continue to believe that what the data depicts is an emerging pattern of change with respect to family relationships that is articulated to Internet use. Fam-ily life is particularly important in the Arab world, both culturally and religiously. Amongst Arab cul-tures this is no truer than it is in the GCC countries that, despite their obviously successful efforts at the modernization of their infrastructures and economies, live within what may be described as the most “tra-ditional” cultures in the Arab world; cultures that emphasize the sanctity and centrality of the family in everyday life. This may be best seen, for instance, in the prevalence of the construction of family com-pounds amongst those who can afford this; the gath-ering of family members on Fridays, which are often entirely reserved for family activities; and the decid-edly strong influence of the family upon life decisions such as marriage and the pursuit of careers.

Impact of the Internet on Time Spent with Friends by Nationality and Age

Figure 30: Impact of the Internet on Time Spent with Friends by Nationality and Age

40

The fact that significant percentages of Arabs under the age of 50 report that the time they spend with their friends has somewhat or greatly increased since they began to use the Internet continues to be, in our opin-ion, indicative of a generational shift in patterns of cultural behavior in the UAE. To be sure, the Internet is not the sole cause of this shift, and one can point to a variety of factors that may be driving this process, not the least of which would be the overwhelming pre-dominance of Western mass media across the country and the omnipresent consumerism found amongst the majority of residents in the UAE, regardless of age or national origin. We do want to argue, however, that what we are seeing is an effect of the rearticulation of relationships amongst the relatively determinant forces within the structure of a complex cultural con-juncture. With this caveat, however, we note that the Internet’s relationship to a shift in what has been a deeply ingrained cultural behavior should be seen as a bellwether indicator of a shift towards Western cul-ture forms, practices and, inevitably, values, on the part of Emiratis and Arabs of other nationalities under the age of 35.

Language Used Most Often When Using the Internet

As in EIP II and I, respondents overwhelmingly re-port that the language they most often use while ac-cessing the Internet is English. Approximately seven in ten respondents (70.4%) report that the language that they most often use when composing email or in-stant messages is English. Approximately one in six-teen respondents (7%) reports that the language they most often use when composing email or instant mes-sages is Arabic, while very slightly less than one five respondents (19%) reports that they use both English and Arabic equally for emails and messaging.

What is true for email and messaging is also true for web surfing. Almost three in four respondents (73%) report that the language of the websites that they most often visit is English. Approximately one in seven respondents (14%) reports that the language of the websites that they most often visit is Arabic, while one in twelve respondents reports that they visit both English and Arabic websites equally.

Figure 31: Language Most Often Used for Email and Instant Messaging

41

The predominance of English on the Internet is even more evident when examining the frequency of web-sites visited when screened for language. English lan-guage websites are the most frequently visited and the least likely to never be visited. In contrast, a greater percentage of respondents (32%) report never visit-ing Arabic websites than do those who report visiting English websites on a daily basis (31%).

Given the degree of Internet penetration in the Arab world this result may not be too surprising. The great-er the Internet penetration within a given linguistic milieu, the more likely the presence of World Wide Web content in that milieu’s dominant language, and thus the likelihood that one will use that particular language while surfing the web.

However, this means that we should neither not take heed of the potential sociocultural effects, nor that we should see these results as some “natural” state of af-fairs. Rather, we see continue to view the predomi-nance of the English language amongst users of the World Wide Web in the UAE to be a function of the following factors:

●● The●predominance●of●English●language●cultural●content● in●the●UAE—satellite television, mov-ies, music, video games, etc.—and its articula-tion to content found on the web. In this respect these cultural products function as drivers that send consumers of the content to ancillary sites on the web

●● The●importance●of●Western●expatriates●as●con-sumers● to● the●UAE’s● consumer●economy - the majority of who come from the English speak-ing world—and thus the prevalence of English content on local websites.

●● The● sheer● amount● of● web● content● in● English: Again, we point to the relationship between Internet penetration rates and the language of content found on the web.

●● The●popularity●of●ESL●language●instruction●in●primary●and●secondary●educational●institutions●in●the●UAE.

●● English● as● the● Lingua● Franca● of● the● UAE: The UAE may very well contain a polyglot of spoken languages, but the one common thread amongst the majority of residents of this coun-try who have both the means and the capabil-

Figure 32: Frequency of Websites Visited by Language

42

ity to access the Internet is the ability to speak English, which exists as a de facto lingua franca in the UAE.

●● The●predominance●of●Western●hubs●within● the●World●Wide●Web. Despite its global reach and the massive number of nodes that it possesses, it cannot be said that the hubs, nodes and centres of the Web are normally distributed in a ran-dom fashion. If we consider the fact that these hubs include Google, MSN, CNN, AOL, Yahoo and Facebook, amongst others, then we can begin to understand the profound effects that a Western-dominated network topology can have upon the linguistic and cultural constitution of cyberspace. We travel virtually through cyber-space. We imagine in cyberspace. We learn, in-teract symbolically, form communities and live in cyberspace via these hubs. It would be naïve to think that our existence in cyberspace is not deeply informed by Western cultural impera-tives, for at present all of these hubs are West-ern. Inherent to their role as hubs are the influ-ential roles they play in the constitution of the imaginations, knowledges, symbols, communi-ties, languages, values, ideals and goals that we both learn and articulate within cyberspace.

Figure 33: Frequency of Language of Websites Visited by Age

and Nationality

The predominance of English as the language of the Web can be seen in the distribution of languages of websites visited when broken out by age and national heritage. What is interesting is not the fact that the websites that Westerners in the UAE visit are primar-ily in languages other than English. European lan-guages were the first to colonize the Web, and they are well represented in the Web’s universe. Rather, what is interesting is the consistency with which non-Western residents of the UAE frequently visit Eng-lish language websites. This is most evident amongst Arab respondents for whom a clear pattern is evident: The younger an Arab respondent is, the more likely is that respondent to navigate to the English language Web universe, and then to remain within that linguis-tic universe while online. Indeed, Arab respondents younger than the age of 18 do not report visiting web-sites in any other language than English. 

43

Importance of Media as Sources of Infor-mation

Figure 34: Importance of Media as Sources of Information

The results of EIP III continue to indicate that the In-ternet has clearly supplanted all other mass media as the most important source of information in the UAE. More than four in five respondents (82%) report that the Internet is either an important or very important source of information. This is significantly greater (18%) than the percentage of respondents who rank television as either important or very important (64%), the second highest rated medium in terms of importance. This is also more than 50% greater than the percentage of respondents (53%) who rank news-papers as either an important or very important source of information.

We continue to postulate the following reasons for this result:

● The predominance of expatriates in the UAE: The fact that more than four in five residents (81%) of the UAE are from other countries

means that a large percentage of the population turns to the Internet in order to receive news of their home directly from their home.

● A lack of local media sources in the native lan-guages spoken by expatriates: This further in-tensifies the importance of the Internet, as the Internet becomes the key source of information in one’s native tongue. This may also account for the continuing degree of importance (59%) that respondents place upon interpersonal com-munication.

● The dearth of investigative print and/or elec-tronic media in the UAE: Individuals seeking investigate reports on a variety of political and economic issues may be using the web because they see this as the most accurate and in-depth source of such information. Taken with the lack of local media sources, these two factors may also account for the continuing degree of im-portance that almost three in five respondents (59%) place upon interpersonal communica-tion.

44

Importance of Media as Sources of Enter-tainment

Figure 35: Importance of Media as Sources of Entertainment

The Internet has also supplanted all other media as a source of entertainment, although its dominance in this regard is not as pronounced as it is as a source of information. Equal percentages of respondents re-port that the Internet (67%) and the television (67%) is either an important or very important source of en-tertainment. No other medium comes close to these levels. Less than half of all respondents (46%) report that newspapers are either an important or very im-portant source of entertainment. Slightly more than two in five respondents (41%) report that the radio is either an important or very important source of enter-tainment. 

45

VI. The Internet and the Public Sphere in the UAE

Freedom of Political Speech Online

Slightly more than one in three respondents (36%) report that they either agree or strongly agree with the statement, “In general I feel comfortable saying whatever I think about politics.” A similar percentage of respondents (32%) reports that they either disagree or strongly disagree with this statement. These results are similar to those from EIP II when three in ten re-spondents (30%) reported that they either agreed or strongly agreed with this statement, while a similar percentage (31%) reported that they either disagreed or strongly disagreed with this statement. Almost one in three respondents (31%) reports that they either agree or strongly agree with the statement, “On the Internet, it is safe to say whatever you think about politics.” A similar percentage of respondents (35%) reports that they either disagree or strongly disagree with this statement. These results are similar to those from EIP II when one in four respondents (25%) re-ported that they either agreed or strongly agreed with this statement, while almost two in five respondents

(38%) reported that they either disagreed or strongly disagreed with this statement.

Online Criticism of the Government and the Online Expression of Extreme Ideas

Two in five respondents (40%) report that they either agree or strongly agree with the statement, “People should feel free to criticize their government on the Internet.” This is precisely the same percentage of re-spondents (40%) that either agreed or strongly agreed with this statement in EIP II. Three in ten respondents (31%) report that they either disagree or strongly dis-agree with this statement, very similar to the percent-age of respondents (29%) who reported this in EIP II. More than two in three respondents (35%) report that they either agree or strongly agree with the state-ment, “It is okay for people to express their ideas on the Internet, even if they are extreme,” while a similar percentage (37%) either disagree or strongly disagree with this statement. In EIP II a similar percentage of respondents (38%) either agreed or strongly agreed

A. The Internet and Perceptions of Governance

Figure 36: Perceptions of Online Governance in the UAE

46

with this statement, while almost three in ten respon-dents (28%) either disagreed or strongly disagreed with this statement.

B. Regulation and Policing of the Internet

Government Regulation of the Internet

Two in five respondents (40%) report that they ei-ther agree or strongly agree with the statement, “The government should regulate the Internet more than it does now.” Three in ten respondents (30%) report that they either disagree or strongly disagree with this statement. This is a somewhat significant departure from our results in EIP II, when less than three in ten respondents (29%) either agreed or strongly agreed with this statement, and almost two in five respon-dents (38%) either disagreed or strongly disagreed with this statement.

Surveillance of Online Activities

More than one in three respondents (36%) reports that they either agree or strongly agree with the statement, “I am worried about the government checking what I do online.” Almost two in five respondents (39%) report that they disagree or strongly disagree with this statement. In EIP II slightly more than three in ten respondents (31%) reported that they either agreed or strongly agreed with this statement, while almost two in five (38%) reported that they either disagreed or strongly disagreed with this statement. Similarly, slightly more than three in ten respondents (31%) re-port that they either agree or strongly agree with the statement, “I am worried about companies checking what I do online.” The same percentage of respon-dents (31%) agreed or strongly agreed with this state-ment in EIP II. More than two in five respondents

(44%) report that they either disagree or strongly dis-agree with this statement, while in EIP II almost two in five respondents (38%) either disagreed or strongly disagreed with this statement.

47

Residents in the UAE believe that the Internet can have a positive effect on the country’s political pro-cess. More than half of all respondents (51%) re-port that they either agree or strongly agree with the statement, “By using the Internet one can better understand politics,” almost three times the percent-age of respondents (18%) who report that they either disagree or strongly disagree with this statement. More than two in five respondents (43%) report that they either agree or strongly agree with the state-ment, “By using the Internet government will care more about one thinks,” while half the percentage of respondents (22%) report that they either disagree or strongly disagree with this statement. Half of all respondents (50%) report that they agree with the statement, “By using the Internet one can have more say in what government does,” while less than half the percentage of respondents (21%) report that they either disagree or strongly disagree with this state-ment. More than two in five respondents (41%) re-port that they either agree or strongly agree with the

statement, “By using the Internet one can have more political power,” while less than one in four respon-dents report that they either disagree or strongly dis-agree with this statement. 

C. Political Participation Online

Figure 37: Online Political Participation in the UAE

48

The Role of the Internet in the Preserva-tion of National Identity

Our results show that the Internet is playing a mixed role in the production and preservation of national identity. Although significant percentages of respon-dents report that they either agreed or strongly agreed with the statements, “The Internet helps me in pre-serving my national heritage/culture,” (47%), and “The Internet helps me in learning about my home country,” (64%), significant percentage of respon-dents were neutral in their response to the role that the Internet plays in either preserving one’s national heritage and culture (28%), or learning about one’s home country (22%). Indeed, the statement that the largest majority of respondents (80%) either agreed or strongly agreed with was, “The Internet helps me to stay in touch with friends/family in my home coun-try.”

One explanation for these results lies in the popular-ity of the Internet in the UAE for the purposes of P2P communication. The proliferation, availability, and very low cost of instant messaging software, VoIP te-lephony and, of course email—on desktops, laptops and smartphones whether through an Ethernet, WiFi, or 3G network—has virtually ensured that expatriates who have both the financial resources and the requi-site software and equipment can stay in touch with family, friends and loved ones, wherever they are in the world. 

D. The Use of the Internet in the Preservation of National Identity

Figure 38: Internet Use in the Preservation of National Identity

49

Expatriate Consumption of News from the Home Country

Figure 39: Frequency of Expatriate Consumption of News

from the Home County

One likely reason for the limited role that the In-ternet is playing in the preservation of expatriates’ national heritage and culture in the UAE may lie in the limited frequency of access of online news about expatriates’ home countries. Although more than half of all respondents (56%) report reading news from their home countries online on at least a daily basis, a significant percentage of respondents (37%) report that they do so somewhat infrequently, on between a monthly and weekly basis, or never at all. 

50

51

52

54

VII. Conclusions From the Third Year of the EIP

Although some of our results vary with respect to those of EIP II and I, and although we have decreased the oversampling of respondents from Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah in favour of a sample that is more representative of all seven Emirates, we believe that, in general, EIP III broadly confirms the results and insights derived from EIP II and I.

Universal access to the Internet in the UAE does not exist. Although the UAE sports a high degree of broadband penetration, and it is certainly true that anyone in the UAE may make use of the Internet, the ability to access the Internet in the UAE is highly de-termined by location, education, income, and exper-tise.

Those in the UAE who access the Internet do so primarily for P2P communication and browsing the web, where they inform and entertain themselves, and research information about products and services that they intend to purchase or use. The Internet as a participatory medium, one where people create con-tent as well as consume it, is still in its infancy in the UAE: The creation of websites or blogs, for example, is undertaken by small minorities of individuals in the UAE. Although consumer research on the web is a well-established activity, ecommerce in the UAE is still in its infancy, and concerns about ecommerce se-curity remain very high.

We continue to see an effect of Internet usage upon the heretofore-traditional social patterns of Emirati and other Arab youth, with respect to family and friends, although this effect was somewhat decreased in EIP III, perhaps as a result of our new sampling proce-dures. Although not the sole factor, Internet usage is clearly articulated to a complex conjuncture within which the central role of the family is diminishing in importance as the propensity for social interaction with those outside of the family grows.

The digital public sphere in the UAE may also be said to be in its earliest stages of development. Any effects from the recent political events popularly known as the Arab Spring are largely unseen in this report, as the differences in our results in this survey concern-ing a series of questions on online political behaviour are statistically insignificant in differences from the same questions when surveyed in EIP III.

55

56

For further information please contact the EIP’s lead investigator:Dr. Ilhem AllaguiDepartment of Mass Communication,American University of Sharjah,P.O. Box 26666Sharjah,United Arab EmiratesO: +971 6 515 2763E: [email protected]