U A E - Levels of Trust and Concern about Social Media.

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Participants expressed both a level of trust and distrust in the social media that they used frequently
regardless. They were well aware of its pros and cons.

As mentioned earlier, the relatively young and well-educated sample expressed much
confidence in their own ability to work with social networking sites. However, there approximately one quarter (26%) stated they were "Not Confident" with this medium. Even confident participants conveyed knowledge about the potential drawbacks of social media. Interestingly, the largest hindrance noted to the adoption of social media was a significant feeling of "lack of control" (42%). Reservations regarding skill level (32%) roughly matched with Not Confident levels, and about a third of those surveyed mentioned a of credibility and ethical problems as reasons for questioning social media.

The potential dangers of social media for teenagers in the UAE come out in focus group
discussion. Participants noted threats to teenagers and even children under ten years of age who are
using Blackberries and chatting with older adults who are complete strangers. They mentioned their
use of inappropriate pictures. Aside from morality, they mentioned the waste of time as children used these technologies during school time, against school policy. Participants suggested new legislation to prohibit access to these technologies by children: "Money is not more important than humanity. The USA doesn't allow children under 18 purchase cigarettes, so we hope to likewise pass laws restricting access to new technologies like social media. YouTube videos, etc." In describing their caution about social media, they said "It is like Wikipedia. Any person can create his/her own story and distribute it in the society. Uneducated people are victims of fake news when they cannot distinguish between lies and facts."

However, all participants agreed that social media is a vital source of news. They recognized
their new day-to-day reliance to get fast news updates and acquire new friends. They also noted how people submitted videos and information to outlets like Al-Jazeera after major media channels were blocked during the uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. They recognized the limitations of Arab media in the past, and said that new media has "opened a new world" for them.