Arab Youth Social Media Addiction Reaches Crisis Levels as Gen Z, Millennial Mental Health Declines: Report
Social media addiction among Arab youth has skyrocketed to crisis levels, contributing to deteriorating mental well-being across the Middle East, the Arab Youth Survey found.
The comprehensive study of Arab youth, the Middle East and North Africa’s largest demographic, found that a staggering 74 percent of young Arabs now say they struggle to disconnect from social media networks. Shockingly, 61 percent agree that their addiction to platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok has negatively impacted their mental health.
The statistics were released as part of the 2023 ASDA’A BCW Arab Youth Survey, the largest of its kind, surveying 3,600 Arab citizens aged 18–24 across 18 countries.
“These figures point to a mental health crisis brought on by social media that is too often ignored,” said Sunil John, President of BCW MENA and founder of the Arab Youth Survey.
“A digital-savvy youth population is an asset for any nation, but their mental well-being must be given top priority by encouraging them to live a fuller social life in the real world.”
John said the region’s youth have become defined by their heavy social media use. While 77 percent are online, respondents spend an average of over 3.5 hours daily scrolling feeds and timelines. The lure of online fame overshadows careers in healthcare, science, and technology, with 13 percent of youth now aspiring to influencer status.
The findings come on World Mental Health Day amid growing international concern about social media addiction, especially among minors. Platform algorithms and peer pressures are seen by experts as major contributors to anxiety, depression, and issues of self-worth.
However, 92 percent of the survey’s respondents placed the blame squarely on big tech for spreading disinformation and lack of oversight, suggesting that social media companies should do more to stop fake news. The vast majority criticised the likes of Meta and TikTok for prioritising profits over wellbeing.
The pursuit of fame online has also overshadowed the value Arab youth place on education. Just 8 percent hoped to be renowned for starting successful businesses, showing many prioritise viral clips over career credentials.
With few coveted industries outside of oil and this aversion to vocational pathways, Arab nations may struggle to diversify their knowledge economies and plug youth joblessness.
Social platforms glorifying easy riches now compete with school and learning for mindshare, the report found.
While TV had prevailed for decades, streaming information to passive audiences, social networks have now usurped the older medium’s influence. The dramatic decline of television and print’s stature as trusted sources, supplanted by distrusted influencers despite fake news concerns, signals how participation in contrived peer dynamics online has overhauled the media diets of regional youth. This shift impacts civic awareness and, without solutions, risks democracy deficits in the long run.
