Netcafe culture

Time was when people drank coffee, chatted with friends and watched the world go by. Hours passed... hours happily spent in the warm and comforting presence of aromatic coffee and like-minded company.

In the 21st century, people still drink coffee and still chat with friends and still watch the world go by. But this time for most people it is the virtual world and online friends. Only the coffee, fresh and hot, remains real.

Dubai – modern, bustling, always-on-the-go – is linked to the rest of the world. Not just through trade and cultural exchanges sponsored by big business and supported by international organisations, but through regular people.

People who do what everyone else does throughout the world – people who travel the information superhighway.
Dubai is fast becoming a hub of Netcafe culture. Everywhere I go, shopping malls or apartment blocks, hotels or office-service stores, I find browsers glued to computers, clicking a mouse with the right hand and drinking coffee with the left. They seldom look up and they certainly do not talk to each other. Instead, they communicate with virtual friends and distant relatives.

We do an informal survey of some of Dubai's Internet cafes and draw some conclusions:
* That both men and women go on the Net.
* That both tourists and residents frequent Netcafes.
* That resident users are usually regulars and live close by.
* That majority of the users are younger than 40.
* That most game players are boys and young men.
* That nearly all users chat and e-mail.
* That little serious research is done at Netcafes.
* That most users order coffee/tea or a cool drink.
* That users rarely eat while on the Net.

Presenting a brief sketch of eight Dubai Netcafes