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.

The study, which looked at the lifestyles of teenagers across 23 countries worldwide, included three Arab countries – the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

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.