Technology & IT | Monday 9 January, 2017 2:31 pm |

The results of a statistical study conducted by Virgin Mobile Saudi Arabia revealed that 20% of women in the Kingdom spend more than eight hours a day on social media, while the percentage of men in the same time frame amounted to 12%.

The research conducted in collaboration with Virgin Mobile Saudi Arabia and the internationally-recognised research firm YouGov, focused primarily on social media habits in Saudi Arabia.

The study also revealed that women accounted for 60% of total Instagram users in Saudi Arabia, while their share on snapchat amounted to 55%.

Moreover, figures indicate that men use LinkedIn at a rate of seven times more than women in the Kingdom, mainly due to men’s reliance on social media to build networks as well as knowledge on a professional level.

In spite of women heading the percentage of Social Media users locally, the final results of the study verified that women’s interests on Social Media platforms do not include the establishment of professional networks mainly due to their personal preference to limit their experience to social platforms.

Fouad Halawi, CEO of Virgin Mobile Saudi Arabia, commented saying: " We in Virgin Mobile recognise the importance of identifying and classifying groups that spend long hours on social media platforms and the internet; from this study we conclude that Saudi Arabia has a wide technology literate society where Saudi men and women spend long hours on social media platforms as well as website browsing in general. This reflects the development and progress of the Kingdom as well as the speed of adoption of advanced technology in all its forms. Through this report, we intend to shed light on this subject and help entrepreneurs choose their work platforms and develop their electronic stores accordingly to fit current trends in the market"

YouGov is an international internet-based market research firm that is widely known for conducting modern studies on various society scales to reach a general result from the majority of the community participating in the survey.

Virgin Mobile Saudi Arabia is continuously working on various social initiatives to enable Saudi women to engage in the labour market and contribute to the provision of the local economy.