Social media has reached half of the 7.7 billion people in the world since its inception in 1996. Social networking platforms have nearly tripled their total user base over the past decade, from 970 million in 2010 to over 4.48 billion in July 2021.
But the platform's spectacular
year-over-year adoption of new users is slowing. It now relies on the continued
growth in the number of people with access to the Internet and smartphones,
especially in developing regions.
So how
big are social networks, and how have they evolved today?
Discover the latest social media
data by the numbers and key demographics in this amazing statistical digest;
here's a summary of what you'll learn below:
Let's get started with the top 12
statistics about one of the twentieth century's fastest-growing technologies
without further ado.
Social
Media Usage Statistics (Top Pick)
• Globally, 4.48 billion people
use social media, up from 2.07 billion in 2015.
• The average social media user
uses an average of 6.6 different social media platforms
• The growth rate of social media
since 2015 is an average of 12.5% yearly. However, growth is declining, with
figures from 2019-2020 revealing a growth rate of 9.2%
• Asia is the most social media
growth in the region in 2019–2020, followed by Africa, South America, North
America, Europe, and Australia (+16.98%, +13.92%, +8.00%, and +6.96%,
respectively).
• 60.99% of the world's 7.87
billion people use social media; of the eligible audience aged 13+, 63% are active
users
• 93.33% of Internet users use
social media; however, a whopping 85% of mobile internet users are active on
networks
• Of the 4.48 billion social media
users, 99% access websites or apps. Globally, two hours and twenty-four minutes
are the typical daily amount of time spent on social media; if someone started
using them at age 16 and lived to be 70, they would do so for 5.7 years. Only
1.32% of users access platforms completely on a desktop.
• With 2.9 billion monthly active
users, Facebook is the most popular social network, followed by WeChat
(1.2 billion), FB Messenger (1.3 billion), WhatsApp (2 billion), and
YouTube (2.3 billion)
• 240 million people, or 72.3% of
the US, actively use social media.
• Compared to a global average of
45.6% for females and 54.4% for males, in the US, 46% are male, and the
remaining 54% of social media users are female.
How widespread is social media use?
Over 4.48 billion individuals will
be utilizing social media as of 2021, with each user viewing 6.6 social media
channels on average each month. More than 65.86% of monthly users of well-known
platforms like Facebook login to use social media every day.
Each social network tracks
development in the number of people who log in each month or MAUs, rather than
the number of accounts, to evaluate real use and market share.
How many individuals utilize
social media?
56.8% of the world's population is
currently active on social media. However, when we look at platform penetration
rates from people in the eligible audience, 93.33% of the 4.8 billion global
internet users and 85% of the 5.27 billion mobile phone users use social media.
Key
Stats:
·
According to the platform reports
on the current number of active users, 4.48 billion people use social media
worldwide.
·
When looking at the eligible
audience aged 13 and older, this figure increased to 82% in North America,
representing 56.8% of the global population.
·
No matter their age or level of
Internet access, social networks are used by 56.8% of the world's 7.87 billion
inhabitants.
·
Of the 4.8 billion internet users,
93.33% are active users
·
Of the 5.27 billion unique mobile
phone users, 85% are active users
·
Of the 4.48 billion social media
users, 99% access websites or apps via a mobile phone.
How
many accounts on social media does the typical person have?
The average number of social media
accounts held by millennials or members of Generation Z worldwide is 8.4, up
from 4.8 in 2014, according to the Global Web Index. According to a study of 46
nations with internet users between 16 and 64, Japan had the fewest social
media accounts on average (3.8), while India had the most (11.5 per person).
Key
Stats:
·
The average number of social media
accounts in 2020 is 8.4 per person
·
Account growth per person
increased by 75%, from 4.8 accounts per person in 2014 to 8.4 in 2020
·
First, the growth of
multi-networking is related to expanding the choice of platforms. Secondly, it
is also about the specialization of individual platforms, e.g., Instagram
(photos), YouTube (video), and LinkedIn (work)
How
many people use social media for professional purposes?
40% of all Internet users use
social media for work worldwide. Only 27% of people in the US actively use
social media at work, compared to 65% in Indonesia and 13% in Israel.
Social network
usage according to gender.
The current global gender average
of social media users is 54% male versus 46% female. However, in the US, the
main user base is women; 76% of all female Internet users have social media
accounts, compared to 72% of all males.
By region, which
gender uses social media more?
·
54% of women and 46% of males in
North America.
·
South America: 52% of women vs.
48% of men
·
Western Europe: 50% of women vs.
50% of men
·
South Africa: 52% women vs. 48% of
men
·
South Asia: 27% of women vs. 73%
of men
·
Oceania: 53% women vs. 47% of men
By platform, which
gender utilizes social media more?
From the above information, as you
can see, social network usage varies depending on geography for men and women
worldwide. The gender disparities may be the most glaring when we look at how
the site is used.