During the third quarter of 2024, internet users in the United Kingdom (UK) spent an average over five and a half hours per day accessing the internet via any device. UK online audiences spent approximately * hour and ** minutes per day on social media, while an additional ** minutes were devoted to using a gaming console daily. Traditional media - is usage declining? Some forms of traditional media in the country are in decline more than others when it comes to usage, which is especially visible in the case of TV. In recent years the number of TV households in the UK has remained fairly unchanged; however, the time spent watching television has been constantly decreasing. Interestingly, radio listenership has not followed this trend. Digital radio format usage is growing as per some studies. Yet, live radio dominates the time spent with any audio in the UK by a large margin.British radio is a showcase for the loyalty of its fans. In mid-2023, after 30 years of employment at BBC, Ken Bruce, one of the highest-earning presenters of the company, left to work at a rival radio station. He took both of his signature programs to his new employer. Even though BBC Radio 2 remains the leading radio station in the UK by audience numbers, Bruce’s departure meant a loss of * million listeners for the BBC between the first and second quarters of 2023.

As of February 2025, the average daily social media usage of internet users worldwide amounted to 141 minutes per day, down from 143 minutes in the previous year. Currently, the country with the most time spent on social media per day is Brazil, with online users spending an average of 3 hours and 49 minutes on social media each day. In comparison, the daily time spent with social media in the U.S. was just 2 hours and 16 minutes. Global social media usage Currently, the global social network penetration rate is 62.3 percent. Northern Europe had an 81.7 percent social media penetration rate, topping the ranking of global social media usage by region. Eastern and Middle Africa closed the ranking with 10.1 and 9.6 percent usage reach, respectively. People access social media for a variety of reasons. Users like to find funny or entertaining content and enjoy sharing photos and videos with friends, but mainly use social media to stay in touch with current events and friends. Global impact of social media Social media has a wide-reaching and significant impact on not only online activities but also offline behavior and life in general. During a global online user survey in February 2019, a significant share of respondents stated that social media had increased their access to information, ease of communication, and freedom of expression. On the flip side, respondents also felt that social media had worsened their personal privacy, increased polarization in politics, and heightened everyday distractions.

It starts with a familiar flick of the thumb. A notification pops up during breakfast, a reel plays in the background while brushing teeth, and before we know it, half the morning has disappeared into a scroll. This isn’t just anecdotal, it’s a digital behavior woven into the daily routine...

In November 2024, ****** was the social media app in the United Kingdom with the highest average user engagement, seeing over ** monthly hours on average per user. YouTube followed, with ** hours being spent on the app on average per month.

In 2024, children in the United Kingdom spent an average of *** minutes per day on TikTok. This was followed by Instagram, as children in the UK reported using the app for an average of ** minutes daily. Children in the UK aged between four and 18 years also used Facebook for ** minutes a day on average in the measured period. Mobile ownership and usage among UK children In 2021, around ** percent of kids aged between eight and 11 years in the UK owned a smartphone, while children aged between five and seven having access to their own device were approximately ** percent. Mobile phones were also the second most popular devices used to access the web by children aged between eight and 11 years, as tablet computers were still the most popular option for users aged between three and 11 years. Children were not immune to the popularity acquired by short video format content in 2020 and 2021, spending an average of ** minutes per day engaging with TikTok, as well as over ** minutes on the YouTube app in 2021. Children data protection In 2021, ** percent of U.S. parents and ** percent of UK parents reported being slightly concerned with their children’s device usage habits. While the share of parents reporting to be very or extremely concerned was considerably smaller, children are considered among the most vulnerable digital audiences and need additional attention when it comes to data and privacy protection. According to a study conducted during the first quarter of 2022, ** percent of children’s apps hosted in the Google Play Store and ** percent of apps hosted in the Apple App Store transmitted users’ locations to advertisers. Additionally, ** percent of kids’ apps were found to collect persistent identifiers, such as users’ IP addresses, which could potentially lead to Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) violations in the United States. In the United Kingdom, companies have to take into account several obligations when considering online environments for children, including an age-appropriate design and avoiding sharing children’s data.

How much time do people spend on social media?

              As of 2024, the average daily social media usage of internet users worldwide amounted to 143 minutes per day, down from 151 minutes in the previous year. Currently, the country with the most time spent on social media per day is Brazil, with online users spending an average of three hours and 49 minutes on social media each day. In comparison, the daily time spent with social media in
              the U.S. was just two hours and 16 minutes. Global social media usageCurrently, the global social network penetration rate is 62.3 percent. Northern Europe had an 81.7 percent social media penetration rate, topping the ranking of global social media usage by region. Eastern and Middle Africa closed the ranking with 10.1 and 9.6 percent usage reach, respectively.
              People access social media for a variety of reasons. Users like to find funny or entertaining content and enjoy sharing photos and videos with friends, but mainly use social media to stay in touch with current events friends. Global impact of social mediaSocial media has a wide-reaching and significant impact on not only online activities but also offline behavior and life in general.
              During a global online user survey in February 2019, a significant share of respondents stated that social media had increased their access to information, ease of communication, and freedom of expression. On the flip side, respondents also felt that social media had worsened their personal privacy, increased a polarization in politics and heightened everyday distractions.

According to a survey of users in aged between 15 and 24 conducted in the United Kingdom in August 2023, respondents spent approximately *** minutes daily engaging with TikTok. The most popular social media platforms was Instagram, with a reach of approximately ** percent across the examined demographic, despite users engaging with the platform for less than ** minutes per day on average.

In 2008, the average human attention span was 12 seconds. Fast forward to 2025, and many studies suggest it's now hovering around 8 seconds, shorter than that of a goldfish. It’s no coincidence that during this same period, social media platforms surged to dominate how we consume content. Whether you're...

How many people use social media?

              Social media usage is one of the most popular online activities. In 2024, over five billion people were using social media worldwide, a number projected to increase to over six billion in 2028.

              Who uses social media?
              Social networking is one of the most popular digital activities worldwide and it is no surprise that social networking penetration across all regions is constantly increasing. As of January 2023, the global social media usage rate stood at 59 percent. This figure is anticipated to grow as lesser developed digital markets catch up with other regions
              when it comes to infrastructure development and the availability of cheap mobile devices. In fact, most of social media’s global growth is driven by the increasing usage of mobile devices. Mobile-first market Eastern Asia topped the global ranking of mobile social networking penetration, followed by established digital powerhouses such as the Americas and Northern Europe.

              How much time do people spend on social media?
              Social media is an integral part of daily internet usage. On average, internet users spend 151 minutes per day on social media and messaging apps, an increase of 40 minutes since 2015. On average, internet users in Latin America had the highest average time spent per day on social media.

              What are the most popular social media platforms?
              Market leader Facebook was the first social network to surpass one billion registered accounts and currently boasts approximately 2.9 billion monthly active users, making it the most popular social network worldwide. In June 2023, the top social media apps in the Apple App Store included mobile messaging apps WhatsApp and Telegram Messenger, as well as the ever-popular app version of Facebook.

Picture a high school hallway during lunch break. Heads down, thumbs scrolling, earbuds in. This isn’t boredom, it’s engagement. For Generation Z, social media isn’t just a way to stay connected; it’s how they navigate identity, find entertainment, and even make purchasing decisions. Born between 1997 and 2012, Gen Z...

According to a study conducted in March 2023, social video users aged between 15 to 24 in the United Kingdom (UK) spent ** minutes per day on ****** and ** minutes per day on ********. Overall, ******** was the most used social platform, with users over 15 years spending ** minutes per day on the network. ****************************** was used for just **** minutes per day by UK users over 15 years of age.

The shift in media consumption habits in the United Kingdom is evident, with digital platforms gaining ground over traditional formats. By 2026, consumers in the country are projected to spend over *** hours daily on digital media, while traditional media usage is expected to decline to just over ***** hours. This trend reflects a broader transformation in how people engage with content and information in the digital age. Digital dominance reshapes the entertainment landscape The entertainment and media market in the UK is poised for significant growth, with projections indicating a ****-percent compound annual growth rate between 2024 and 2028, potentially reaching *** billion British pounds. This expansion is driven by changing consumer preferences, particularly in digital media consumption. This is evident, when it comes to video viewing time – traditional sources such as broadcaster TV are losing popularity in favor of YouTube and VOD. And so, digital platforms continue to lead the way in capturing audience attention and market share. Video at the helm of consumers'entertainment time Social media and video streaming platforms are neck-and-neck in capturing user engagement in the UK. As of May 2023, both TikTok and Netflix users spent an average of ** minutes daily on their respective platforms. This parity highlights the presence of many forms of digital video in the daily lives of UK consumers. However, while subscription-based video services maintain a strong presence, there's a growing trend towards free, ad-supported options. Broadcaster video-on-demand (BVOD) providers, particularly BBC iPlayer, are gaining traction among all online TV platforms, indicating a shift in viewer preferences and potentially reshaping the streaming landscape.

According to a survey of social media users aged between 16 and 24 years in the United Kingdom, ** percent of respondents reported spending between one and two hours per day using TikTok, while ** percent reported spending between three and four hours per day on the social video app. Video platform ******* commanded the second highest engagement in terms of time spent, with ** percent of respondents reporting spending between one and two hours on the platform, and ** percent of respondents reporting spending five or more hours on YouTube daily. Approximately *** in ** respondents reported spending ** minutes or less daily engaging with the social and photo app BeReal.

Social media's influence in the United Kingdom continues to grow, with **** million active users as of February 2025, representing ** percent of the population. This penetration rate surpasses the global average of **** percent, positioning the UK as a leader in social media adoption. The country's high usage reflects a broader trend of increasing social media engagement worldwide, particularly in Northern and Western Europe. Global social media landscape The social media landscape is rapidly evolving, with China currently hosting over one billion users and India projected to become the largest social media audience by 2029. Notably, Nigeria is expected to see a staggering *** percent increase in its online networking audience between 2023 and 2029. In 2024, global social media users spent an average of *** minutes per day on social networks. Facebook is still the market leader Facebook is the most widely utilized social media platform globally, and India boasts *** million Facebook users, making it the leading country in terms of Facebook audience size. As of April 2024, it was found that men between the ages of ** and ** were the largest audience for Facebook, accounting for **** percent of global users. Furthermore, Facebooks second-largest audience base could be found with men aged 18 to 24 years.

The United Kingdom digital marketing market was valued at USD 30.14 Billion in 2024. Growth in retail media networks, led by grocers like Tesco and Sainsbury’s, has opened lucrative new digital ad inventory, giving marketers unique first-party data access within contextually relevant shopper ecosystems. In turn, the market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 11.10% during the forecast period of 2025-2034 to reach a value of USD 86.35 Billion by 2034.

Growth in the market is fuelled by a hybrid shift in consumer behaviour and government-backed digital priorities. In 2024, the United Kingdom government allocated EUR 150 million via the Digital Entitlement to upskill small and mid-sized enterprises in digital capabilities, reflecting the nation’s push to make marketing technology a competitive edge. This policy directly nurtures the expansion of intelligent marketing platforms, predictive analytics tools, and personalised content strategies.

Furthermore, the emergence of location-based ad targeting combined with real-time intent analysis is attracting investment from logistics, education, and financial institutions, adding to the United Kingdom digital marketing market growth. Additionally, short videos have experienced rapid surge in demand and have become successful in engaging consumers and clients for promotional purposes with the rise of Instagram reels, TikTok and YouTube shorts. Moreover, interactive content like quizzes, polls, and AR experiences are becoming increasingly popular in the digital marketing landscape.

Notably, as per Ofcom's 2023 data, United Kingdom adults spend an average of 4 hours and 20 minutes daily online, with 79% of that time on mobile. These numbers have accelerated the demand for cross-platform marketing solutions. Moreover, the advertising expenditure in the United Kingdom recorded a massive hit of EUR 36.6 billion, demonstrating deep-rooted reliance across industries. Key players are increasingly adopting AI-led automation, precision targeting via geolocation APIs, and ethical data mining standards set by GDPR to gain traction in the market.

The number of Instagram users in the United Kingdom was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2028 by in total 2.1 million users (+7.02 percent). After the ninth consecutive increasing year, the Instagram user base is estimated to reach 32 million users and therefore a new peak in 2028. Notably, the number of Instagram users of was continuously increasing over the past years.User figures, shown here with regards to the platform instagram, have been estimated by taking into account company filings or press material, secondary research, app downloads and traffic data. They refer to the average monthly active users over the period and count multiple accounts by persons only once.The shown data are an excerpt of Statista's Key Market Indicators (KMI). The KMI are a collection of primary and secondary indicators on the macro-economic, demographic and technological environment in up to 150 countries and regions worldwide. All indicators are sourced from international and national statistical offices, trade associations and the trade press and they are processed to generate comparable data sets (see supplementary notes under details for more information).

In 2022, daily time spent on TikTok in the United Kingdom (UK) reached approximately ** minutes, up by over *** percent compared to 2019. In comparison, Facebook usage between 2020 to 2022 went down to approximately ** minutes on a daily basis. In the examined time, Instagram engagement remained at around ** minutes per day among UK users in the examined period.

The US has historically been the target country for Twitter since its launch in 2006. This is the full breakdown of Twitter users by country.

It was found that adults in the United Kingdom engage with social media equally as much as with video streaming platforms. For example as of May 2023, UK TikTok users spent ** minutes per day with the social network while Netflix users in the country also spent the same amount of time using the video streaming service daily. Video viewing - ad-supported options are driving consumption Since 2021, the reach of video-on-demand subscriptions in the United Kingdom has been oscillating around ** million households. The viewership boom that started during the coronavirus outbreak has now transitioned into steady audience numbers. Video streaming in the UK remains strong, however, the market is pivoting from premium models to free ad-supported ones such as broadcaster video-on-demand (BVOD). The data shows that the viewership of BVOD services surpassed the SVOD viewer-base. Among many BVOD platforms, BBC iPlayer is by far the most popular ad-supported service in the UK, followed by ITV and All 4, showing the prevalence of local players. However, international services, such as Pluto TV, are slowly entering the market as well. In fact, while Netflix and Amazon Prime Video are losing viewer interest, Pluto TV is one of the platforms that experienced an increase in total content viewing hours between 2022 and 2023, indicating its growth potential.

During a 2024 survey, 77 percent of respondents from Nigeria stated that they used social media as a source of news. In comparison, just 23 percent of Japanese respondents said the same. Large portions of social media users around the world admit that they do not trust social platforms either as media sources or as a way to get news, and yet they continue to access such networks on a daily basis.

              Social media: trust and consumption

              Despite the majority of adults surveyed in each country reporting that they used social networks to keep up to date with news and current affairs, a 2018 study showed that social media is the least trusted news source in the world. Less than 35 percent of adults in Europe considered social networks to be trustworthy in this respect, yet more than 50 percent of adults in Portugal, Poland, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Slovakia and Croatia said that they got their news on social media.

              What is clear is that we live in an era where social media is such an enormous part of daily life that consumers will still use it in spite of their doubts or reservations. Concerns about fake news and propaganda on social media have not stopped billions of users accessing their favorite networks on a daily basis.
              Most Millennials in the United States use social media for news every day, and younger consumers in European countries are much more likely to use social networks for national political news than their older peers.
              Like it or not, reading news on social is fast becoming the norm for younger generations, and this form of news consumption will likely increase further regardless of whether consumers fully trust their chosen network or not.