Appropriation of traditional and digital media by non-Arab migrants in the United Arab Emirates: A quantitative analysis on consumption and identity

This article discusses digital media practices of the non-Arab migrants in the United Arab Emirates using a survey questionnaire covering 323 responses. It describes their platform preferences, primary motivations and engagement in online groups, while testing theoretically driven hypotheses derived from the uses and gratifications approach, the technology appropriation framework and digital diaspora studies. Descriptively, home-country media are still important (TV, radio, press), but social media are widely used for communication with family and friends, following news from home-country, and entertainment. WhatsApp, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram are the most used, with Instagram reported as the most prominent platform among respondents. Inferentially, significant associations were observed between platform use and perceived importance of social media groups for identity, media purposes and home-country media consumption and differences in use across levels of education. Positive correlations were also found between information, education and entertainment uses. Overall, the findings contribute to UAE-specific scholarship and illustrate how migrants negotiate identity in a highly regulated media system.