DOHA: Use of English language in Qatar has dropped on the Internet and for watching TV but younger Qataris are using it for traditional and digital media, according to a survey by Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q).
The latest edition of ‘Media Use in the Middle East’ survey released yesterday provides a window on the changing political and social climate in six countries — Egypt, Lebanon, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and the UAE.
As per the survey, 43 percent of Qatari respondents in 18-34 age group use English to access the Internet, 37 percent to watch TV, 16 percent for radio and 15 percent for newspapers.
And 29 percent of respondents above 35 use English to access the Internet, 24 percent to watch TV, 10 percent for radio and 6 percent for newspapers.
Around 56 percent of Qataris used English to access the Internet and 47 percent to watch TV in 2013. However, in 2015, around 38 percent of respondents used English to access the Internet and 32 percent to watch TV.
The survey also found that only seven percent of respondents in Qatar thought international news was biased against their country.
The survey, the largest annual study of its kind in the region, was conducted in collaboration with Harris Poll.
Fieldwork took place between this February 3 and March 9 and involved 6,093 interviews constituting nationally representative samples of adults aged 18 or over in each country.
NU-Q’s 2014 study focused on entertainment media and cultural attitudes.
“This study is a systematic means of understanding the region, beyond news headlines and subjective commentary. The knowledge of how people use media — and what they think about them — offers insights about the social and political climate and vital societal issues like freedom of expression,” said Everette E Dennis, Dean and CEO, NU-Q.
Among young Qataris, support for free speech online decreases with age but comfort expressing personal political opinions increases, said the survey.
In addition those in the 18-24 age group support free speech online but are less comfortable expressing personal views.
According to the survey, Saudis are twice as likely to say international news is biased against their country versus towards it (38 percent see bias against, 17 percent towards), with similar views in Lebanon (48 percent see bias against, 26 percent towards).
In the Gulf, Qatar and the UAE, respondents said their countries are recipients of favourable bias than negative bias (in Qatar, 19 percent see bias against versus 7 percent towards, in the UAE, 48 percent versus 3 percent, respectively).
The study said the perceived credibility of national news media rose five percentage points since 2013 (39 percent to 44 percent), and the belief that media in their country can operate independently without interference from officials rose seven percentage points (35 percent to 42 percent).
At the same time, 6 percentage points fewer saw improvements in the quality of reporting in the Arab world (56 percent to 50 percent).
The Peninsula
