Doha

As many as 80% of participants of a recent online survey, State of the Net 2014, conducted in Qatar said they spend three hours or more per day on the Internet, as compared to 78% last year.
Internet usage has grown significantly among Qatari women, with 91 % of Qatari female respondents specifying that they spend three or more hours per day on the Internet, a substantial increase from 69% in 2013.
While home computers still lead in the field of device preference, it did experience a decline in usage of 3% points from 2013, while smartphones grew 14% points, equalising home computers at 78%.
“This tendency may suggest that by the end of 2016, or perhaps even sooner, smartphones will take the lead as the preferred device to access the Internet in Qatar,” observed Hussein Fakhri, CEO of TripleTwo, the advertising and communications agency that conducted the survey.
While Facebook is still the most popular social media channel, the findings show a decline in its usage from 91% of respondents in 2013 to 82% in 2014.
“This might be due to the fact that just 38% of Qatari participants use Facebook, while Instagram and Whatsapp are their top choices, followed by Twitter and Snapchat,” Fakhri explained.
There are two surprise findings from this year’s survey. Firstly, the quick rise in the popularity of Snapchat, a relativity new video communication channel, particularly among Qataris, which has grown up to 54% in usage.
Secondly, cinema has also increased in popularity with 30% of Qatari respondents answering that they go to cinema every week, while 55% Qataris do so at least once a month.
Another key finding is the increase of Internet shopping in Qatar with almost 50% of respondents indicating that they have purchased online, which is a 12% growth from 2013.