Staff Reporters
Feb 2, 2024

Global social media users surpass 5 billion, SEA most active

TOP OF THE CHARTS: A new report by We Are Social finds the global total of social media users has increased by 266 million over the past year—with Southeast Asians among the most likely to visit social media in order to learn about brands and see their content.

Global social media users surpass 5 billion, SEA most active
 
Key findings:
  • Singapore ranks 10th globally for social media adoption versus total population. The total number of social media identities as a percentage of Singapore’s population is 85%.
  • The average time spent on social media in the Philippines (3 hours, 34 minutes), Indonesia (3 hours, 11 minutes), Malaysia (2 hours, 48 minutes), Thailand (2 hours, 31 minutes) and Vietnam (2 hours, 25 minutes) is above the global average of 2 hours, 23 minutes. Singapore spends 2 hours, 14 minutes on social media.
  • The average number of social media platforms used in the Philippines (8.0), Malaysia (7.9) and Indonesia (7.8) see these nations rank second, third and fourth respectively worldwide. The average in Singapore (6.9) also ranks higher than the worldwide average (6.7).
  • The Philippines topped the list globally for the highest percentage of social media users (43.9%) who say they follow influencers or other experts on social media.
  • Indonesia (62.8%), Malaysia (61.5%) and the Philippines (60.0%) ranked second, third and fourth respectively up against other nations globally for the percentage of social media users who visit social media in order to learn about brands and see their content. Thailand (53.7%) and Vietnam (52.5%) were also above the global average (48.9%).
  • The percentage of internet users from Vietnam (81.2%), Indonesia (80.9%), the Philippines (79.2%) and Malaysia (76.8%) who use social media to research brands and products they’re considering buying is also above the worldwide average (73.9%).
  • Southeast Asians are among the top gamers. Indonesia (96.5%) and the Philippines (95.5%) top the list globally of internet users in playing video games on any device. Thailand and Vietnam follow closely behind in the fourth spot globally with 93.2% of internet users playing video games.
 
Other findings:
  • The typical internet user now spends 6 hours and 40 minutes online each day—up by 3 minutes per day, or 1 per cent, year-on-year. 
  • Facebook—which celebrates its 20th birthday on 4th February—grew its global ad reach by more than 200 million over the past 12 months, delivering year-on-year growth of 10.5%.
  • LinkedIn, Snapchat, WeChat and Pinterest all reported strong user growth year-on-year. 
  • Digital ad spend grew by 10% year-on-year, with almost US$720 billion spent on digital ads in 2023. Social ad spend increased by 9.3% to USD $207 billion, and investment in influencer activities increased by 17%. 
  • The typical internet user now spends 17 minutes per day less watching TV content than they did this time last year  a decline of 8.2% year-on-year.
  • In a rich analysis of TikTok hashtags, Digital 2024 reports that TikToks tagged with #fyp (for your page) have amassed a total of 55½ trillion views—making it the platform’s top hashtag.
  • Finally, in the ultimate battle for the internet—Dogs vs. Cats—canines reign supreme, with dog-tagged content outstripping felines across both Instagram (376 million posts vs. 290 million) and TikTok (575 billion views vs. 502 billion). 

 

Source:
Campaign Asia

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