Arab Youth Survey 2008

The Arab Millenials - Understanding the Aspirations and Attitudes of Middle East Youth First Annual ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller Arab Youth Survey 2008 Young people in the Middle East and West do similar things, enjoy the same technologies, and share many identical lifestyle habits. Both spend most of their money on going out or shoes and clothing, and constantly worry about their appearance. Both use mobile phones as their main technology and are always texting their friends and family. When online, the purpose is the same - emails, downloads, social networking. Young people in the Middle East and West are worried about the economy and rising living costs. In the West concerns are greater with respect to the global economic downturn, climate change and rising crime. In the Middle East, corruption and the erosion of traditional values are bigger issues. Concerns about human rights and gender equality are higher in the Middle East than in the West. Though there are important differences, global brands resonate with Middle East youth just as they do with their Western peers. Top draws for Middle East youth are Nokia, Sony, Toyota and Toshiba, and these brands enjoy similarly high levels of popularity in the West. Despite having less experience of international travel, young people in the MiddleEast are just as interested in the idea of traveling the world as those in the West. Europe is the top destination for both sets of young people, but after that Western youth prefer Australia and the US whereas young people in the Middle East favourthe Gulf and Levant countries.