Social media in the Arab world has allowed for more freedom of expression, and has had an impact on communication, knowledge and entertainment in the region, according to a report.

The Arab Social Media report, which surveyed more than 7,000 users from 18 countries and was launched at the Arab Social Media Influencers Summit recently, found that freedom of expression was more noticeable in Levant countries than in the remaining regions, said the Gulf News report.

In the Arabian peninsula, social media is also believed to have been used in certain Arab countries as an enabling tool for political purposes, swaying the behaviour of the youth in favour of political gains, for example, the Arab spring in Tunisia and Egypt.

Social media also had an impact on career opportunities as it allows one to find professional contacts and career opportunities through networking, it said.

The Arab users from North African countries such as Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria were the most keen among other regions on career networking through the use of social media platforms such as LinkedIn.

It has also opened opportunities for just about anyone in the Arab world to start up their own business.

Although youth believe social media can inject much into their lives, many across all regions believe social media has also had a rather negative impact on youth, said the report.

The users said the most worrying consequences of the excessive use of social media are on family relationships and communications.

These worrying signals are mostly felt in the North African region, with some mention in the Levant region as well.

Some of the other negative consequences among youth are believed to be: acting older than their age, limited contact with parents, adopting Western culture and degradation in the level of education.

Impact of social media on businesses

Organisations throughout the Arab regions have adopted social media in their business at a different pace, believing it has a great power in impacting business growth.

The Arabian Peninsula businesses have been early adopters of social media as opposed to the remaining Arab markets, across all the surveyed Arab regions, said the report.

The level of adoption is somewhat lower in the Levant region, followed closely by North Africa.

The most-used social media platforms in businesses were Facebook (for advertising and sharing information), WhatsApp, Viber, Skype (all three are used as a communication channel within businesses), Twitter (sharing quick, short information).

Social media’s negative consequences on businesses including creating inaccuracy in information for planning and strategies by companies, it added.