In the past two decades, social media have evolved from being a means to communicate with your friends to a channel of information and increasingly online shopping via social commerce.
Global Overview Report states that 4.2 billion people (or half of the global population) use social media for business, entertainment, news, or marketing. Despite being more accessible than ever, certain countries and regions use some platforms more often than others.
We must recognize COVID-19 when reviewing online behavior over the last 18 months. The pandemic changed consumer behavior, with consumers flocking to social networks to find information, entertain themselves, and shop. Moreover, specific sectors saw a massive drop in traffic and revenue, while others experienced an enormous increase. We’ll look at this in detail later.
What countries use social media the most?
Have you ever wondered which country dominates social media? In Manila, social media has become an enormous thing. In 2021, the Philippines will have the highest rate of social media use in the world. Their internet usage is 60% more than the average at 11 hours per day! This is a staggering amount of time spent online. It’s been the same for several years.
Filipinos spend, on average, 4 hours and 15 minutes daily on social media. Colombia is the second most popular country in the world. YouTube is the most popular platform in the Philippines, followed closely by Facebook Messenger and Facebook.
Asia loves social media, and many Asian countries are ranked higher than the global average of 2 hours and 25 minutes. According to the report, the highest time spent on social media channels by Asian countries is:
- Indonesia – 3h14m, 9th place
- Malaysia – 3 Hours and 1 Minute, ranked 13th
- Thailand – 2h48m, ranked 16th
Interestingly, there are also users at the opposite end of the spectrum. Japan is last 51 minutes per day on social media, and South Korea comes in at just under an hour.
South America is also very well-ranked. Colombia comes in second place in social media usage with 3 hours 45 minutes; Brazil is just 3 minutes back in third. In Colombia, this represents an increase of 11% year-on-year, or 4,000,000 extra users. Brazil has seen a 7% increase yearly with 10,000,000 new users.
Most social media users in Colombia are aged between 18 and 34. They use YouTube, Facebook, and Whatsapp, with 99% watching videos online. Brazil’s largest market, between 18-44 years old, prefers the same platforms as Colombians.
Learn more about Marketing on WhatsApp and how your brand can engage users on this platform. We’ll look at social media usage in the U.S. and Canada, the birthplaces of the forum.
The Social Media Use in the U.S. and Canada
North America is home to the most popular social media channels. So, you’d expect it to be a leader in social media usage. As Asia’s social media and internet usage numbers show, North America is far from the top.
Regarding average time spent on social media, the United States is ranked 25th worldwide with 2 hours and 7 minutes. Canada, its neighbor, is ranked 38th at 1 hour 46 minutes. According to the Global Digital Report, both nations have a few new users. Social media usage in the U.S. increased by only 4% between 2020 and 2021 and 8% in Canada. According to Pew Research Center 7 out of 10 Americans are on social media, and this trend has been stable for the last 5 years. YouTube and Facebook, which are used by 81% of adults and 69% respectively, are the most popular platforms. YouTube and Reddit are the only two channels to have seen a recent increase in usage. Instagram (71%), Snapchat (65%), and TikTok (50%), are all growing significantly with younger users. Nextdoor can be a good platform for targeting an American audience, particularly in rural and suburban areas.
According to a Canadian Internet Registration Authority study, Facebook is Canada’s most popular social media platform. Facebook Messenger was the most popular app for seven out of ten people. YouTube (55%) is also included, while WhatsApp has seen a rise in usage of 5% between 2019 and 2020. Instagram’s use increased by 2% during the same time period. It is interesting to note that the top social channels in Canada all belong to Facebook. In Canada, social media is the second most popular activity online. It accounts for 47% of all internet usage.
