Social media is taking a considerable amount of time, especially among youths. It’s not surprising to find one checking Facebook while in a grocery store line. One can post photos and update the status on the social media channel of choice. Social media channels have become essential in our daily lives. So, how much time do people spend on social media?Read through this post for answers.
How Much Time do you spend on your Social Media Accounts?
Globally, people spend 2 hours and 22 minutes on social media on average daily. Networking and messaging sites are the most commonly used social media sites. One-third of the time, people spend online is spent on social media platforms.
How Much Time do the People spend on social media around the World?
In more than 200 countries, people are already using social media sites and spending considerable time on the platforms.
The usage of social media sites is unevenly distributed with some countries having many users than others. Africa has the least number of people using social media. Middle East countries are leading to the highest number of social media users. Specifically, United Arab Emirates and Qatar top in the list.
From statistics, most of the countries show positive growth in the numbers of people using social media sites. However, after some time, the numbers tend to remain the same or start to decrease. The decrease in the figures may imply some people finding something else to spend their most time in. Mostly, when the hype of a new thing dies, many people tend to become dormant and even move to other sites.
However, despite this observation, some countries show positive growth all through. For instance, in the Philippines, social media users are spending 11 minutes extra each day on the internet. The increase is constant.
Based on the above observation, there could be different reasons to account for that. For instance; many people can access the internet today than it was the case before. With the internet and free time, people prefer to spend their time on screens.
Above 50% of the world population, today have access to the internet with more people in terms of millions joining the internet for the first-time every day. The invention of smartphones is a game-changer too. Today many people can access the internet through an affordable smartphone. This implies that even shorter, more and more people will be using social media sites.
Most of Africa countries are still developing countries. Their population using social media sites is below 30 percent with some of the countries registering less than 10 percent of their whole community. That means most people spend little time online on social media with most of their time is spent doing other things.
Least usage of social media in these countries can be due to a few people owning a smartphone and able to access the internet. High poverty levels make people prioritize the most basic needs. Some even lack information about the existence of social media sites.
Since 2014 the social media sites’ usage has almost doubled. Internet is penetrating even in the most remote areas, and it’s becoming affordable. Also, the smartphone which is mostly used are becoming more affordable, and at least everyone can afford. On average, those that spend a lot of time on social media are around age 30.
Notably, older people are not left behind. Today, they are spending considering time on social media than before. There are older adults on social media than there are the young aged below 18years.
This observation can be explained by the under 18s spending more time in school with only a few hours for leisure. On the other hand, the old have time in their hands, and they can afford to spend a few hours of their days online.
Mostly, men spend more time on social media platforms than women, especially in developing countries.
Regulation
The social media sites’ usage is not without rules. In most of the sites, children below the age of 13 years are not allowed to own social media accounts. That means the of hours people spend online and on social media sites, in particular, is based on people aged 13 and above.
Social media site developers need to consider the number of people using the sites in different ages/groups, regions, gender, education, and financial classes.
Importance of Social Media Usage Statistics.
The data about who spends more time on social media platform is crucial as it comes in handy when the developers are making decisions to improve their sites.
The above factors should be an eye-opener on what should be down to enhance and encourage more people to spend more hours on social — media platforms.
The social media owners should focus on bridging the gap between men and women, developed and developing countries, and the time they spend online. To ensure this gap is closed, the resources reaching them must be improved. Women should be able to access equal opportunities as men. Education, financial empowerment, and employment opportunities are critical.
With more and more people spending more time online, it to the advantage of the social media investors since they will make many. But, on the downside, many people find social Media irresistible because they are already addicts. They cannot spend a day without checking in at least one social media site either to update status, post, or follow on specific updates.
Spending a lot of time on social media platforms has its downside- but, the benefits out way the disadvantages. There are many people making money by working on social media platforms. The positive impact of social media on our daily lives cannot be ignored.
When you realize the harmful effects of spending a lot of time on social media site resolve to spend your time doing other things instead of being on the screen.
As you spend more time online, ensure you are safe from cyberbullying and other vices.
