Migrant minorities make up a significant part of Qatar’s population, yet their media consumption and the media landscape targeting these minorities are underexplored in the literature. Guided by the Uses and Gratifications Approach, this study investigates the media consumption habits of migrant minorities in the State of Qatar. This study employs a quantitative approach, utilizing survey design as a primary data collection instrument. Drawing on a large sample size of migrant minorities residing in Qatar, across various educational, occupational and demographic backgrounds, this study explored the extent to which these migrant minorities depend on home-country and host-country media sources for information and entertainment purposes as well as the gratifications satisfied in this regard. Results suggest that a significant percentage of the migrant minorities primarily depended on home-country media as key sources of information, education and entertainment. A significant association was observed between social media gratification and the perceived importance of home-country social media platforms in strengthening national identity among minority groups. Dissatisfaction with the local media, perceptions of difficult integration, and feelings of the absence of programmes directed at the migrant minorities are likely to be associated with the inclination to adopt social media platforms. This is to compensate for the host society’s barriers. Furthermore, this study identified several factors that predict the perceived importance of home-country social media in strengthening national identity. These factors include Discussion with like-minded individuals, voluntary social withdrawal from the host society, dissatisfaction with the host-country media and the use of social media platforms.
Ahmed et al. (Wed,) studied this question.