RCN Media Study shows social media dominates across Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba

BONAIRE--The Rijksdienst Caribisch Nederland (RCN) has presented the main results of a new independent media study into how residents of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba use media and how they experience communication from RCN.

The study was commissioned by RCN as part of its ongoing effort to better understand the changing media landscape in the Caribbean Netherlands. The results will help RCN better tailor its communication and media use to residents on the three islands.

The research was conducted through online and offline surveys in Dutch, Papiamentu and English. A total of 984 residents participated, including 886 respondents on Bonaire, 58 on St. Eustatius and 40 on Saba. The study has a margin of error of four percent at a 95 percent confidence level.

RCN Communication presented the main findings this week during a meeting with media representatives on Bonaire.

The study shows that social media has the broadest reach across all three islands. On Bonaire, social media reaches 91.6 percent of respondents, with Facebook used by 94.8 percent and WhatsApp by 87.2 percent. Facebook is used most often by 45.4 percent of respondents, followed by WhatsApp at 37.3 percent.

On St. Eustatius, social media reaches 92.7 percent of respondents. WhatsApp is used most often, at 55.1 percent, followed by Facebook at 20.4 percent. On Saba, social media reaches 94.3 percent, with Facebook and WhatsApp equally popular at 93.9 percent each. WhatsApp is used most often by 36.4 percent of respondents, followed by Facebook at 33.3 percent.

The study also outlines the continued role of traditional and online media. On Bonaire, radio reaches 70.1 percent of respondents, with Live99 FM leading among radio listeners. Television reaches 69.9 percent, with NOS TV most watched. News websites reach 61.4 percent, led by Bonaire.nu and Breakingnews.live99fm.com, while newspapers reach 40.1 percent, with De Bonairiano and Extra most read.

On St. Eustatius, news websites reach 69.6 percent, with BES-reporter.com dominating among website visitors. Television reaches 66.7 percent, although the island does not have a local television station and residents mainly follow international channels and streaming services. Radio reaches 37.5 percent, with Radio Statia identified as the only relevant station among respondents. Newspapers reach 32.8 percent, with The Daily Herald most read.

On Saba, news websites reach 72.2 percent, with Saba-news.com and BES-reporter.com the most visited. Television reaches 54.5 percent, again without a local television station, while newspapers reach 32.4 percent, with The Daily Herald most read. Radio has the lowest reach on Saba at 22.2 percent, with Voice of Saba identified as the only relevant station.

The study also looked at media use from other parts of the Kingdom. On Bonaire, 48.0 percent of respondents follow media from Curaçao and 41.0 percent follow media from the European Netherlands. NOS Nederland and 24ora are the most popular sources. Most respondents who follow these sources do so several times per day.

On St. Eustatius, residents mainly look toward St. Maarten, with 40.4 percent following media from St. Maarten. The Daily Herald plays a major role in this media consumption. NOS Nederland follows with 40.5 percent.

On Saba, 38.2 percent of respondents follow media from St. Maarten through The Daily Herald, while 35.3 percent follow media from the European Netherlands. Most do so several times per week.

RCN said the findings provide important insight into which media channels are most effective for reaching residents and ensuring that public information is distributed through the platforms people actually use.

By combining social media, radio, television, news websites, newspapers and cross-island media consumption patterns, the study gives RCN a clearer picture of how to communicate with residents in a changing information environment.

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