A Study: Social Media Influence on Happiness and Tolerance in the UAE

This report investigates the influence of social media on happiness and tolerance within the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It begins by defining social media and its importance in modern communication, emphasizing its role in business and information dissemination. The study highlights the UAE's technological advancements and the 'Smart Dubai' initiative. The report explores the legal framework governing social media use in the UAE, including restrictions on posting content, respecting privacy, and avoiding the spread of misinformation. It compares UAE's social media laws with those of other countries, such as Qatar. The research references surveys and data from the UAE government to show the high social media penetration rates and user demographics. The report also addresses the government's efforts to promote happiness and tolerance through policies and programs, with a focus on the impact of social media on these aspects. The study concludes with an analysis of how social media impacts the happiness and tolerance of individuals in the UAE, and how these factors are influenced by media laws and government initiatives, including the National Program for Happiness and Positivity.

Influence of social media on
happiness and tolerance in UAE
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Keywords: Social media, Happiness and Tolerance in Emirate, Media law, Women in UAE,
Dubai one of the smartest cities, using social media platforms.
Abstract
Social media in UAE
Social media can be desired as the platform through which communication can flow
effectively. This is one of the crucial tool that can be use by organisation for promoting its
products and services. social media is an useful method of conveying message or though
from one place to other in creative or innovative manner. Everyone enjoys post in social
media from time to time because there are a saying happiness doubles and sadness reduces
with sharing thoughts. And it is actually a very effective way to combat mental stress in our
daily lives (Allen, 2017). I argue that, spreading media laws awareness and responsibility
among the people increase the feeling of happiness and Tolerance. The sound technological
nature of UAE is competent in terms of the capacity to adopt all the determinants of social
media. Now a day’s, social media plays important roles in business activities as it helps
increase connecting large number of people. Social media includes the use of interactive
computer-based technologies that help in the sharing of information, ideas, careers, interests
and other forms of expression. It is also known as web-based technologies that are operated
with the help of desktops, laptops, and smartphones. The emergence of this technology along
with the development of various platforms had been noticed from the last 20 years in all parts
of the world. in the disbursement of information in a very quick manner. Also, this will allow
businesses all over the world to operate functions beyond the domestic boundaries due to
having its worldwide reach without any interruptions. UAE is simply also known as Emirates
and a nation in Western Asia. The relation of technology and UAE is very significant in
nature and the same is noticed from their growth in the past years. The initiative of Smart
Dubai in March 2014 is a significant step in this regard from UAE where they focus on
building Dubai one of the smartest cities on the basis of the main six terms includes
economy, environment, people, mobility, living, and governance. The main objective behind
the carrying research is about determining the influence of social media on happiness and
power of tolerance in UAE. This is the objective which is going to be conducted in this
project which help in increasing the overall knowledge and understanding of individuals
regarding the teaching.
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Introduction
Social media can be describe as the way which is connecting number of people with each
other. It is very important for a person to use social media in effective and efficient manner as
well as correctly utilize its benefits. In modern world, communication is the essence of
cohesive and peaceful lifestyle at micro level and macro level. It is the practice of
information flow and understanding between persons in family, workplace, between nations,
between two individuals. Social media is a powerful platform to connect with the world as
well as its people. There are different types of social media platform which is supportive in
communicating as well as transferring of information for one area to other. In this, data or
information is transferred through text message, video, audio, image post or so on. For
correct utilization of social media and minimize its misuse government has developed certain
laws and polices. In this modern life, one cannot turn back from social media completely.
Social media is becoming an essential tool for communication in the present world and as a
social creature humans cannot live in isolation. This can be considered as a very useful and
cost effective technique in order to communicate with larger number of people at same time.
The number of social media websites and platforms which are common to use in the current
period of time includes Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, etc. The importance of these is
gathered in the form that it Through social media a person is able to convey thought to
other place is respect to the geographical bounders in less time and cost.
Nowadays, this is taken as a fist to water from the side of the Emirate population.
The average amount of time spent on social media is around 2.56 hours daily. This depicts
the similar importance of social media in the UAE as it presents in other nations. All social
media platforms are an essential part of their life which help in the performance of their day
to day activities (Chen, Ma and Zhao, 2017). The same is ascertained from the data published
from the side of UAE government which depicts that a total population of the nation is
around 9.61 million out which aActive sSocial mMedia users are around 9.52 million. The
annual growth which is noticed in the Active Social Media Users of UAE is around 1.5%.
This means in each consecutive year new 140000 users joinare add on social media
platforms. Each social media network has a different number of users on the basis of their
features and usage. The different networks which are commonly used in UAE include
Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Linked In, Pinterest and Tumblr. The number of
active users that have by these networks around in million includes 7.88, 7.88, 5.86, 4.61,
4.13, 2.40 and 1.54. Along with these networks, there are a large number of messenger apps
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are used in UAE includes WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Skype, Snapchat, and WeChat.
The number of active users of these is also around in million includes 7.88, 6.05, 4.32, 3.08,
2.21. Through social media a person is able to convey thought to other place is respect to
the geographical bounders in less time and cost. Social media includes the use of interactive
computer-based technologies that help in the sharing of information, ideas, careers, interests
and other forms of expression. It is also known as web-based technologies that are operated
with the help of desktops, laptops, and smartphones. The emergence of this technology along
with the development of various platforms had been noticed from the last 20 years in all parts
of the world.
A high amount of usage of social media platforms and networks in UAE is successful
due to the application of some rules. These rules are required to follow by all the active users
while accessing their accounts on social media platforms (Hassan, Bin Nadeem and Akhter,
2016). These rules limit the users individual with respect to the performance of some
important aspects along with adherence of specified conditions. The first and the most
important rule which is had by UAE with respect to adherence to social media sites is that no
individual can post the picture of others without their permission. Article 21 of Federal law
No. 5 of 2015 states that photography of others without their permission is punished with the
imprisonment of the period of at least 6 months and a fine which is not less than AED
150000. This will also restricts the individuals in respect to the action of taking pictures in
public spherespark. Second rule which is applied over the individuals of UAE while using
social media platforms includes respect of the people's privacy and confidentiality. Article 4
states that individual is not allowed to share the private details about some other person
without their permission. Also, the disclosure of confidential information in respect to the
some organisation or employer is serious offence. According to this article violation of any
regulation from the individual resulted into temporary imprisonment and a fine which is not
less than AED 250000 and not in excess of AED 1.5 million. Third rule which restricts the
individuals of UAE is about do not gossip or spread rumours. In accordance to this rule
people of UAE is not allowed to share hate posts because this will leads to serious
punishment (J Ted Dibene and Hockanson, 2019). If someone violate this rule and use the
social media to defame the image of some other person then imprisonment of six months is
given along with the fine of AED 250000. Fourth rule which is applied on the individuals of
the social media platforms of UAE is about do not the use of illegal online channels. Article
34 states that the one who uses communication services, audio or video broadcasting channel
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without any legal right then shall face the imprisonment of at least 1 year and a fine which is
not less than AED 250000. The fifth rule which restricts the individuals of UAE with respect
to the use of social media is about not allowed to post the content which is offensive in nature
to Islamic morals and values. Article 17 states that if such pots are posted than punished by
imprisonment and a fine which is not less than the amount of AED 250000 and not in excess
of AED 500000. This rule restricts with respect to the posting of the aspects related to
pictures of nudity, pornography, and drunkenness as all these are considered a serious offense
in UAE (UAE regulations regarding social media use, 2019).
Comparing social media law of UAE with other country
There are various laws in UAE that is especially developed with the concern of social
media and its used. The government of UAE has created different laws which includes that
no one can post a picture or video without permission. This law is developed according to
Article 21 of federal law number 5 of 2015 which state the photographing other without their
permission is a 6 month punishable crime. As per Article 34, it is crime to use social media as
a illegal online channel and its punishment is for one year. Whereas other country such as
Qatar, spreading of false news with the support of any social media is a crime. This crime
includes 3 years of prison for up to the fine of 500,000 Riyals. Qatar social media law
includes fine of 100,000 or 3 years of prison punishment on cyber bullying activates via
social media. Qatar law of social media is developed for punishing people for hurting
religious sentiments online with the use of social media platforms.
It has been identified that with the help of safer social media environment help in
contributing to the development and happiness of the people living within the country. It is
said that because of safer social media platform people indulge more in the functionality
which leads towards their happiness and growth of individuals living within UAE. They also
focus on the happiness in both manners i.e. feasible as well as fully justified and at the
respective places the happiness of a person is measured through evaluating their
achievements as well as development (Jerjes, Hamoudi and Hopper, 2018). On the other
hand, the government of the UAE also develop guidelines related to tolerance in December
2018 which is based on major five pillars. On March 7, 2016, Vice-President and Prime
Minister of UAE who is H. H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, revise the
National Program for Happiness and Positivity which sets government policies, services, and
programs which help in promoting happy and positive lifestyle (Happiness, 2020). It has also
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been said that if government develop such policies and strategies related to social media than
it will assist in increasing the happiness of each and every person in a positive manner.
According to a survey conducted in the year 2018 which have the main motive of
examining the happiness of people. On the basis of this survey it has been concluded that
around 82% of the females are either happy or very happy whereas the percentage of males is
about 76%. Furthermore, it has also been identified that with the help of survey conducted it
is said that people falling from the age group of 56-64 are happier than the young generation
and the reason behind this is that people in the present generation use digital media, online
platforms in order to seek happiness whereas old generation focuses on face to face
communication which leads towards their happiness. Also, happiness has been measured
from the aspect of income and this income falls between UAE$100,000 – 150,000. It even
appointed an Ohood Al Roumi as Happiness Minister to take care of the people in order to
bring happiness in their lives. It has been analysed that government jobs are one of the main
reasons which can bring happiness for the citizens living in the UAE (Levin and Greenwood,
2016).
It is connected with the safety, security, income, fulfilment of family and other needs,
recognition at the workplace, status, and whatnot. When the minister was appointed, he
designed a plan for the happiness of the individuals and to promote it. This comprises of
different agendas for which different directions and guidelines have been planned in order to
implement them. The well-being of the family plays an important role in keeping every
happy. Therefore, the government has also considered the health issues and related needs for
making the lifestyles and standard of living good. In this way, it can increase the level of
happiness (Mayer, 2016).
Also, the UAE takes care of the women and made them happy. Freedom is significant
in bringing joy and happiness. The government understood the requirement of giving some
amount of freedom and authority to females so that they can make their decisions. In this
way, it has made the females happier and they feel satisfied with their lifestyles and living.
Furthermore, there are various courses that have been introduced for supporting the health
issues in the country. The government is trying to focus on the psychology of the people as
the factor of happiness is directly connected with the mind (McWilliam, 2017).
Also, health issues like illness can lower down happiness. This has to be dealt with in
a positive manner in order to understand the actual reasons for the illness. Furthermore,
different strategies and policies have been developed for making the emotions of people
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strong and positive enough to handle the situations. Therefore, it can be said that health
should be made good (Meskell, 2018).
But, social media has been termed as a major reason for turning the happiness of the
people. There should be laws and restrictions in order to lower down the negative aspects of
social media platforms. Furthermore, there should be good data protection control on the
usage of social media as this can lead to issues like addiction and depression. Also, there can
be a number of other illnesses that can contribute to low health (Osler and Starkey, 2017).
The UAE has also made history by launching the new ministries, that are considered as part
of its cabinet reshuffle. It includes the ministries for happiness, tolerance, and youth, which
reflect the effective vision of leadership for promoting tolerance and cultural diversity within
a nation country. Along with this, it also depicts commitment to supporting youth as well as
enhancing the happiness of all citizens. As a result of which social media is promoting
several different practices in order to entertain as well as keeping the people happy and share
their happiness with the world (Role of social media in the UAE government’s happiness and
tolerance projects, 2019). This is so because the social media platform has provided a
medium or platform to; people so that they can remain connected with the loved ones and
closed ones by communicating with them without physically visiting them and sharing with
them their feeling, special moments, etc. But at the same time the students of UAE also
presented some kind of negative impact of social media over the mental health of people. As
a result of which people get more engaged in one another's life that they started stocking
them which increases a feeling of comparison or copying them in order to stay happier as
they (Ratzinger, 2016). But at the same time, it ends up with more sadness, anger or
dissatisfaction that directly result in the unhappiness among them that influence the mental
health of social media users. This study is mainly conducted to determine the influence that
people mainly faced with the increasing use of social media as its use is getting more
enhanced among the people as it becomes their basic necessity of remaining connected with
people and performing several operations. Additionally, there is a number of things that are
involved over social media such as bullying, hacking the identity, etc. that also affect the
mental health of an individual and influence their happiness. But from this study, it has also
been identified that social media is not much mature and the only reason for the mental health
of the people as it provides several other ways to remain happier (Robinson, 2016).
This can be said that where the social media plays a part in affecting the mental health of the
people, at the same time it also provides several factors that lead to happiness among people.
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It involves keeping the friends connected over the platform where they can interact anytime
and from any place. On the other hand, the social media platform also improve or make
access to several other things more easier such as online shopping, communicating with
people, having business meetings, gaining information on a regular basis, online lectures or
online learning among the students in term of their education, skills, etc. These all contribute
toward generating awareness among the people by making things easier for them by
developing a network of happiness that links people throughout the world over a single
platform. Therefore, it can be said that social media is more a part of happiness for people
lives in the UAE (Rothaermel, 2016).
There are several programs that are covered in these three areas i.e. happiness policy,
programs and services are for all work as well as government bodies at UAE. Along with
this, it will also include the promotion of positive and happy activities as a lifestyle at a
respective country community as well as it will also include the development of benchmarks
as well as techniques in order to measure the happiness of peoples. In March 2017, UAE
University conducts collaboration with The National Programme for Happiness and Positivity
and they successfully launch Emirates Center for Happiness Research which is a Happiness
Research Institute. UAE also conducts research year in order to develop the World happiness
report (Shirley, 2016). On the other hand, the UAE government also develops various
initiatives related to tolerance in order to build a tolerant nation before structural changes.
Furthermore, on December 15, 2018, H. H. Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed announced 2019 as The
Year of Tolerance. The main aim of announcing this is to develop a bridge of communication
or interaction among the people of diverse culture in a respectful surrounding which rejects or
avoid extremism as well as emphasize on acceptance to each other (Tolerance initiatives,
2020). Along with this, there is the main five-pillar on which The year of Tolerance is based,
from which first is to intensify the value of tolerance as well as co-existence between cultures
by aware youth about the value of tolerance. This second pillar is to solidify UAE as the
global capital related to tolerance by a series of projects, dialogues, and initiatives among
various cultures as well as civilizations. The third pillar on which The Year of Tolerance is
related to the implementation of multiple culture practices and conduct contribution in order
to build or develop tolerant communities, as well as forth pillar, include focusing on
legislative and policy directed objectives which contributes to the development of culture as
well as religious tolerance through dialogue. The fifth pillar include the promotion of
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tolerance by targeting media project as well as initiatives which lead to awareness of the Year
of Tolerance project (Singh, 2017).
Tolerance is mentioned to being patient, realize and acceptance of different things. In
simple words, it is the process where individuals remain calm, patience and understanding
towards the situation. In addition, it is a virtue as well as an intrinsic part of various countries'
cultures. It allows individuals of distinct religions, races along with background for practicing
and living together so to foster unity. In the present era, people recognize tolerance is a
strength of creativity, renewal of societies and many more. Some say tolerance is a
permissive attitude and objective towards the one whose practices, opinions, preferences,
beliefs, ethnic origins and way of workings are different than that of one's own. In the
country of UAE, political systems made huge efforts for the aim to build a tolerant nation
prior to changes in the structure of Cabinet. One of its measures was Year of Tolerance,
which was initiated on December 15, 2018, so to highlight UAE as an international capital
for approaches of tolerance. In addition, it also aims to reduce gaps of communication among
people residing in distinct nations in respectful ways that eliminate extremism addition to
emphasis towards acceptance of viewpoints of others. The main pillars on which it focuses
are to deepen tolerance values, to solidify tolerance in UAE with series of projects and
dialogues among cultures with civilizations, to build price-oriented objectives which
contributes on mandating religions as well as cultural tolerance through dialogues, to apply
diverse cultural programs for building tolerant societies, to foster tolerance via targeted media
initiates as well as projects.
The next measure was Tolerance Bridge that was initiated in November 2017. the
name of Tolerance Bridge reflects tolerance as a central value within communities and
societies of UAE within which individuals from 200 nationals live in a harmonised manner
despite any discrimination, racisms addition to tolerance (Wadell, 2016). The other measure
was Minister of Tolerance that was introduced in the year 2016 at the time of announcement
of structural changes that reinforce the commitment of UAE ministers towards eradicating
any type of ideological, religious bigotry and cultural disparities among society people.
Tolerance is no catchphrase but termed as a quality that cherishes and practices harmony
among people. It should be woven in society fabric in order to safeguard suture as well as
maintaining progress results.
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Conclusion
With the assistance of above mentioned report, it has been concluded that the UAE
government make it possible for each and every individuals to reside as well as work
peacefully which as a result made a fair society among which all lead their livings according
to their own wishes. It has been said that, in the present era of competitive marketplace where
technologies are changing on a fastest manner, requires each and every person to be
competitive and have complete knowledge about the tools and techniques. Moreover, it has
emerged as an essential concept in the societies of UAE as people start accepting different
traditions along with customs. The majority of the population in this nation became open
along with a tolerance for the individual belonging to different countries and other cultures.
They also began to stick on their own words and accepting the values and feelings of others.
It made an open society where in people lives in peaceful ways by respecting and accepting
others. That leads to no tolerance alternatives.
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