According to a survey conducted in the second quarter of 2022, global internet users aged between 16 and 24 spent *** hours and ** minutes with social media per day. At the same time they also spent *** hour and ** minutes with games consoles. Social media was the most time consuming media pastime for age groups 16 to 44, while internet user older than that spent more of their time watching linear TV.

According to data collected during the first quarter of 2020, adults aged 18 to 34 spent more time browsing the web via smartphone than any other age group in the United States. Overall media consumption was highest among adults aged 50 to 64 during that period. Traditional media Traditional media is gradually losing its appeal to younger, more tech-savvy generations. While television consumption is ******* among adults who have not grown up with the internet or other digital channels, young Millennials and Gen Z tend to prefer non-linear forms of news and entertainment. Data on the median age of media users in the U.S. showed that the average age of TV viewers and print magazine readers was higher than that of internet users in 2020, and similar generational trends can be observed in many digitally developed markets globally. Impact of COVID-19 on media usage The onset of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic boosted media consumption across the United States and worldwide in 2020. While the average time spent with traditional media ********* for the first time in over a decade, digital media consumption saw a particularly impressive spike that year due to remote working and schooling setups. In the following years, the gap between traditional and digital media consumption is expected to widen even further.

Survey data collected in Canada, 2019. n = 1539. Using, Age, Facebook use and meme understanding to determine differences between demographics in relation to Instagram use

Gen Z and Millennials are the biggest social media users of all age groups.

According to a survey conducted in South Korea in 2024, around **** percent of respondents in their forties stated that they used online media. The usage rates of online media were very high across all age groups, with the lowest rate being **** percent among children and teenagers.

How much time do people spend on social media? As of 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 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.

Which countries spent the most and least time on social media?

Social media was by far the most popular news platform among 18 to 34-year-olds in the United States, with 47 percent of respondents to a survey held in August 2022 saying that they used social networks for news on a daily basis. By comparison, adults over 65 years old mostly used network news to keep up to date.

The decline of newspapers In the past, the reasons to regularly go out and purchase a print newspaper were many. Used not only for news but also apartment hunting, entertainment, and job searches (among other things), newspapers once served multiple purposes. This is no longer the case, with first television and then the internet taking care of consumer needs once covered by printed papers. Indeed, the paid circulation of daily weekday newspapers in the United States has fallen dramatically since the 1980s with no sign of future improvement.

News consumption habits

A survey on news consumption by gender found that 50 percent of women use either online-only news sites or social media for news each day, and 51 percent of male respondents said the same. Social media was by far the most used daily news platform among U.S. Millennials, and the same was true of Gen Z. One appeal of online news is that it often comes at no cost to the consumer. Paying for news found via digital outlets is not yet commonplace in the United States, with only 21 percent of U.S. consumers responding to a study held in early 2021 reporting having paid for online news content in the last year.

56.8% of the world’s total population is active on social media.

Global ad spend were expected to reach over $134 billion in 2022. This means that it has increased by over 17% yearly.

Regional use of social media has a significant effect on the male and female social media statistics.

In 2024, younger people dedicated considerably more time to social media than their older counterparts. Among 18 to 24-year-olds, nearly half spent between * and ** hours per week on social media, and roughly ** percent exceeded ** hours. In contrast, ** percent of individuals aged 45 to 54 limited their social media usage to less than **** hours per week. Generally, social media usage declines with age. This is likely because older generations are not digital natives and did not grow up immersed in the world of social media. Safe and social German internet users went on social media for a variety of reasons, whether for interactive purposes or not. ** percent used it to stay in touch with friends and family. This can happen via a built-in private messaging function that many social media apps have, as well as sharing or commenting on each other's content. Around ** percent also used social media for reading news stories, as this may offer quicker access and sometimes the desired shorter consumption format. As time has passed and social media has become firmly entrenched in the daily lives of younger generations, concerns are raised around the world about the long-term impact on mental health. International discussions on both government and user level were further fueled after Australia passed a social media ban for users aged under 16 years. This ban will take effect later in 2025. In the future Considering how widespread social media is and how easily accessible, especially from mobile devices, user numbers will likely only grow. This raises additional challenges, such as ensuring safe use among various age groups and preventing addictive behavior. Germany was actually further down on the list compared to other countries around the world in terms of the number of social network users. As of 2025, almost **** million social media users were active in the country, with close to 72 million predicted for 2030. This would be a significant development for a population of currently around ** million. Among European countries, social network penetration was highest in *****.

In this post, I'll give you all the social media addiction statistics you need to be aware of to moderate your social media use.

TikTok comes in 6th position in a list of the world’s most-used social media sites today.

The average person has 8-9 social media accounts. This has doubled since 2013, when the average person just had 4-5 accounts.

Social media presence plays an important role in Australia, with more than ** percent of Australians between the ages of 12 to 55 years old claiming to have an account on a social networking site. This high figure applies to senior citizens as well: more than **** the people above the age of 55 years have an account on a social networking platform. Most used social media platform   Australia has one the highest active social media penetration rates internationally, with most of the population holding an account on a social network platform. This is partially due to the country’s high internet penetration rate and heavy influence from the western world with regard to internet and social media trends. For a country of slightly more than 24 million people, it is estimated that more than ** million citizens have an account on a social media. Furthermore, Facebook dominates the market with more than double the number of users compared to the second-placed platform Instagram. Reasons for using social networking sites   There are various reasons that Australians use social networking sites with the main reason being to catch up/keep in touch with family and friends. While this applies to all age groups, the younger generation have more reasons to stay engaged on social media while the elderly mainly uses social media solely for friends and family.

Today the average time spent on social media is 2 hours and 24 minutes today for people aged 16 to 64.

In the United States, Gen Z are the most likely to search for product information through social media platforms. According to a survey conducted in 2023, over ******************** of U.S. shoppers between 18 and 26 years old start the purchasing process through this shopping channel.

The most significant cohorts of users on Instagram are aged 18 – 24.

This statistic shows data on the share of consumers who have increased their media consumption worldwide over the past two years as of October 2017, broken down by age group. During the survey, ** percent of Millennials stated that they increased their consumption of content from subscription streaming video services.