Emirati Teens

It may come as no surprise that Emirati teenagers are spoiled:

"A report released in May by the Dubai-based market research firm AMRB and its international counterpart TRU found that UAE teenagers spent more than triple the global average.

"On average, 12- to 19-year-olds here spent US$71 (Dh260) a week compared with an international average of $21. The only teenagers in the world who spent as much were Norwegians...

"It found that UAE teenagers were much like those anywhere else – they spent a lot of time online visiting websites such as Facebook and blogs. Celebrity culture and music were also a major pastime. But spending set them apart from teenagers elsewhere in the world...

"Clothing was one of the highest expenditures...

"'Although they have to follow their culture by wearing abayas and ensuring that there is not much exposure, beneath those abayas, however, they are wearing the latest brands, Mr Choudhury said.

"Emirati teenagers were also less likely to earn their spending money themselves and were less likely to save. While Egyptian teenagers spent all of their $6 allowance, teenagers in India saved a third of the $3 that their parents gave them.

"'What we saw from our study is that parents are the key source of income for the teenagers here,' Mr Choudhury said. 'About 90 per cent here get their money from their family compared to 79 per cent globally.'"