Pinoys still top consumers of online video content

MANILA, Philippines — Internet users in the Philippines are among the top consumers of various forms of online video content, including music videos and vlogs, according to a new report.

The Digital 2024 report released by DataReportal, published in partnership with Meltwater and We Are Social, found that 97.2 percent of online users in the Philippines watched any kind of video online at least once a week in the third quarter of 2023.

It was the highest rate among the countries included in the report, with Mexico and South Africa following closely at 97 percent. The global average was 92 percent.

The survey also found that 72.7 percent of Filipino online users watched online music videos each week, higher than the global average of 49.7 percent.

Some 58.3 percent of Filipino online users also watched online videos as a source of learning, ranking second after South Africa with 60.8 percent and above the global average of 39.9 percent.

Online videos considered as sources of learning included how-to videos, tutorials and others that have educational content.

In terms of watching vlogs or influencer videos each week, Filipinos also ranked the highest with 50.7 percent, followed by Morocco with 32.7 percent and India with 31.9 percent. The global average was at 23.8 percent.

At 95.9 percent, the Philippines also ranked second in terms of internet users playing video games using any device, after Indonesia with 96.5 percent.

Meanwhile, the country has lower percentage of internet users who listened to streaming music (42.9 percent) and podcasts (19.8 percent).

The data were based on the broad survey of internet users aged 16 to 64 conducted by London-based GWI in the third quarter of last year.

Internet use

Using various sources, the report found that internet adoption in the Philippines was at 73.6 percent, slightly up from previous year’s 73.1 percent. The global average was 66.2 percent.

Filipino internet users aged 16 to 64 spent an average of eight hours and 52 minutes per day using the internet, the third longest globally.

South Africans still spent the most time online at nine hours and 24 minutes, followed by Brazil with nine hours and 13 minutes.

Some 98.9 percent of Filipino internet users said they used mobile phones to access the internet, the second highest after Indonesia with 98.9 percent.

Filipinos who used mobile phones spent the most time online, with an estimated five hours and 20 minutes per day.

It was closely followed by Brazil with five hours and 19 minutes and South Africa with five hours and 15 minutes.

Only 61 percent of internet users in the Philippines used computers, laptops or tablets to go online, similar to the global average. The highest percentage of computer use was that of online users from Czechia at 86 percent.

Internet users in the Philippines who used computers to go online spent an average of three hours and 32 seconds per day, above the global average of two hours and 50 seconds, according to the report.

In terms of “active identities” on social media, the Philippines logged 99.7 percent of total internet users.

The report, however, noted that user identities may not necessarily reflect unique individuals, such in the case of United Arab Emirates, where “active identities” surpassed the total number of internet users (113 percent).

The Philippines now ranked fourth in terms of spending time on social media, with an average user spending three hours and 34 minutes. Leading the list was Kenya with three hours and 43 minutes, followed by South Africa with three hours and 41 minutes and Brazil with three hours and 37 minutes.