Filipinos spend ‘most time’ on social media in the world — poll

MANILA, Philippines — A recent flagship report on the latest trends in social media revealed that the Philippines is the leading country that spends the most time on social media globally.

The latest survey of market research company Global Web Index released mid-August showed that Filipinos spend, engage with or connect to social networks for an average of four hours and five minutes during a "typical day."

This record was hours higher than 44 other countries in the world as the survey found out that digital consumers spend only an average of two hours and 23 minutes per day on social networks and messaging.

The Philippines was followed by Brazil with an average of three hours and 45 minutes of social media usage daily. Colombia and Nigeria were tied at the third spot with three hours and 36 minutes spent on social networking sites.

Argentina also ranked fifth on the list with three hours and 27 minutes of social media usage.

The global poll revealed that the Philippines has been topping the list for seven years now.

Here’s a breakdown of social media usage of Filipinos (in hours and minutes) since 2012:

• 2012 – 2:49

• 2013 – 3:06

• 2014 – 3:25

• 2015: 3:41

• 2016 – 4:07

• 2017 – 4:00

• 2018 – 4:08

The flagship report also found that in the first quarter of 2019, the time spent on social media has either decreased or stayed the same compared to the 2018 data on the majority of the 48 countries they surveyed. This was similar to the previous survey in the third quarter of 2018 when the poll showed that time spent on social media hit a plateau.

The report explained that the decrease in social media usage could be caused by the “proliferation of digital well-being tools.”

 “A look at the trended data here suggests that we might be approaching saturation in social media consumption,” Global Web Index said in its report.

“This is likely a result of many internet users having a better awareness of the time they spend looking at screens, as well as the perceived negative effects associated with social media usage, and wanting a digital detox as a result. This trend has continued,” it added.

'Younger groups more enthusiastic about social media'

Global Web Index said that “younger groups are the most enthusiastic about social media.”

Majority of the social media users across the world are aged between 16 to 24 years old.

Of which, 72% said they use social media while they are watching television.

“The importance of messaging apps to this demographic is a key reason behind this, as is the centrality of smartphones to their digital lives. Additionally, it is important to note that this consumption is simultaneous rather than sequential,” the report said.

The marketing firm added that “the internet populations of fast-growth markets tend to be younger than most mature markets.”

“This provides clear context for why the topline figures for daily time spent on social media differ so significantly between countries, from a high of 4 hours in the Philippines, to much lower figures of around 1 hour 15 minutes in some European countries,” the report said.

“But the effects aren’t down to age alone. Even among 16-24s, certain markets primarily in Asia and Latin America stand out for their occupation with social media. Particularly notable are Argentina (4:17), the Philippines (4:16) and Colombia (4:12),” it added.

In 2017, special reports from MSNBC and Bloomberg said that social media, particularly Facebook helped in handing the chief executive position to Rodrigo Duterte.

Facebook also took down several pages, accounts, groups and Instragam accounts early this year for “coordinating inauthentic behavior. These pages—a combination of authentic and fake accounts that frequently post about local and political news—were linked to a network organized by Nic Gabunada, who handled Duterte’s social media campaign.

The Palace, however, shrugged off criticisms on the suspected links between Duterte and the fake pages, citing that he would have won the election even without social media because “most of his supporters are not even online.”

READ: Palace: Duterte poll victory, popularity not due to social media

Global Web Index conducted waves of research from the fourth quarter of 2018 and the first quarter of 2019. They surveyed 278,359 respondents from across 45 countries.