A report detailed in a press release on Sunday said that digital media in the Arab world will continue to move forward as a result of the youth in the region. According to the Arab Media Outlook report published by the Dubai Press Club, North Africa is leading the move toward digital news and media.
“It is a great feeling to get recognized for all the efforts and good things that have come from new media in recent years and even more so in the past few months,” said Moroccan blogger Ibrahim Said. He said that digital media has made communication and free speech move in the right direction.
According to the report, across the Middle East and North Africa more than 50 percent of the population is estimated to be under 25-years-old.
It pointed to the rise of the blog as a sign of the digital age in the region. According to their statistics, the Arab world had more than 35,000 blogs in 2009, and by the end of last year that number had risen to over 40,000.
It comes as Western press continue to discuss the Twitter, or Facebook, revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt, but the report said these forums were popular even before the outbreak of street protests.
“Facebook and other social media platforms are beginning to define how people discover and share information, shape opinion and interact,” said Carrington Malin of Spot On Public Relations last year in a statement.
This is evidenced, said Said, by the constant flow of videos and information from Libya, even as the government attempts to silence the opposition forces.
“Libya is a great example of how technology can truly transcend. Without these social networks, nobody would have known what is happening on the ground,” he added.
By Jonathan Terry
