A survey conducted in January 2022 revealed that 18 to 25-year-olds constituted the largest share of social media users in India, with ** percent using six to nine social media platforms at a time. Contrariwise, nearly *********** of the respondents aged 56 and above claimed to not having used social media platforms. The source noticed that people residing in urban areas were using more social media platforms than those in rural areas.

A survey conducted in 2022 revealed that a majority of children aged between 13 and 17 years old in urban India spent more than one hour per day on social media, videos, and games on the Internet, as reported by about ** percent of parents. Contrariwise, parents who reported that their teenagers hardly spent any time on online media accounted for a mere **** percent of respondents during the survey period.

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

The results might surprise you when looking at internet users that are active on social media in each country.

The social media user penetration in India was forecast to continuously increase between 2023 and 2028 by 22.4 percentage points. According to this forecast in 2028, the penetration rate will have increased for the fifth consecutive year to 83.16 percent. Notably, the social media user penetration was continuously increasing over the past years.

Teenagers are the 2nd largest group of people affected by social media addiction. Teens ages 13 to 18 years old spend a significant amount of their free time on social media with an average of 3 hours a day.

90% of people aged 18-29 use social media in some form. 15% of people aged 23-38 admit that they are addicted to social media.

According to a survey in September 2023, about ** percent of urban parents reported that their children spent ***** to *** hours each day using social media, OTT, and online games in India. Comparatively, ** percent of Indian parents stated their kids spent more than *** hours using online media every day.

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.

Growing digitalization efforts combined with low data prices enabled a significant number of people to use the internet actively across India. Of these, about *** million were active social media users. WhatsApp and Instagram accounted for the largest penetration, at over ** percent and over nearly ** percent respectively in the third quarter of 2024. The rise of Facebook in India  Hyderabad became the first Asian Facebook office registered under “Facebook India Online Services Private Limited” in 2010. The steady growth of the social network did not come without controversies. One of the most opposed collaborations that Facebook founded was internet.org, especially in India. The partnership with Reliance communications in 2015 caused controversy and was banned later that year. In recent years, the rise of fake news and its impact on politics has brought responsibility and content moderation to the forefront.   YouTube – the video-sharing social platform counterpart  YouTube was largely inspired by two events according to one of its founders – one of which was the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. The idea was the make sharing and finding videos easily available. YouTube consumption in India sky-rocketed with the Indian Premier League match streaming in 2010 with over *** billion views per day. Of course, this doubled with each season of the IPL thereafter. Furthermore, music videos were highly popular in the country. The evidence lies in the subscription growth of the music record label T-Series’ YouTube channel.

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

As of April 2024, around 16.5 percent of global active Instagram users were men between the ages of 18 and 24 years. More than half of the global Instagram population worldwide was aged 34 years or younger.

              Teens and social media

              As one of the biggest social networks worldwide, Instagram is especially popular with teenagers. As of fall 2020, the photo-sharing app ranked third in terms of preferred social network among teenagers in the United States, second to Snapchat and TikTok. Instagram was one of the most influential advertising channels among female Gen Z users when making purchasing decisions. Teens report feeling more confident, popular, and better about themselves when using social media, and less lonely, depressed and anxious.
              Social media can have negative effects on teens, which is also much more pronounced on those with low emotional well-being. It was found that 35 percent of teenagers with low social-emotional well-being reported to have experienced cyber bullying when using social media, while in comparison only five percent of teenagers with high social-emotional well-being stated the same. As such, social media can have a big impact on already fragile states of mind.

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

The statistic gives the results of a survey regarding the average time spent per day by young adults on social media in Delhi in 2015. Approximately 15 percent of young adults in the capital city spent between two and four hours on social media daily on an average.

The daily social media access of internet users in Asia Pacific as of July 2015, broken down by country can be found here.

The results of which gender uses which platforms are in.

Facebook had the largest market share among social media platforms across India, at roughly ** percent as of October 2024. The Meta-owned social network site has consistently led the country's social media market since 2019. Instagram was the second leading social media platform during that period with a market share of over ** percent, reflecting a fluctuating trend that emerged in the previous year. Commercial social media usage in India Apart from creating user-generated content, Indians have leveraged social media to grow their businesses. As consumption via online channels increased, social media began playing an important role in stimulating the Indian economy. Among the most popularly used social media platforms in India, Facebook was increasingly used for digital marketing. On the other hand, Instagram emerged as the country’s leading platform for influencer collaboration. Meta Platforms Since its launch in 2004, Facebook has quickly gone on to become the social media giant it is today. Having acquired leading social media platforms Instagram and WhatsApp, the company rebranded itself as Meta Platforms Inc. in 2021. The following year, Meta generated a revenue of nearly *** billion U.S. dollars. The company has further set its sights on bringing the metaverse to life to enhance the online experience of over ***** billion Facebook users across the world.

A large portion of young India with access to the internet constituted Facebook usage in the country. About 74 million men and over 23 million women between ages 18 and 24 were users of the social media platform.

Social media and young India 

 With over 1.3 billion people, India was estimated to be home to a population with a median age of 28.2 years in 2020. No other country has that many young people. This was also reflected in internet penetration and therefore, social media usage. Almost 71 percent of Indians between 18 and 34 years old used Facebook alone. Most young adults spent between one and two hours on social media, which means it was a significant part of their day.

  The world’s largest election and its social media impact  

In April and May 2019, India held a general election which had between 80 and 100 million first-time voters, i.e. between 18 and 21 years old, as part of the 900 million registered voters. The connection between politics and social media use has become crystal clear in the time leading up to the election. Social media campaigns aside, the impact of fake news, not just via Facebook but also with WhatsApp, were and continue to be discussed with some hope for effective solutions to combat it. The composition of the population along with the regional, socio-economic and communal or cultural challenges make this a problem incredibly vast and complex, requiring some amount of accountability on all levels.

As of February 2025, 5.56 billion individuals worldwide were internet users, which amounted to 67.9 percent of the global population. Of this total, 5.24 billion, or 63.9 percent of the world's population, were social media users. Global internet usage Connecting billions of people worldwide, the internet is a core pillar of the modern information society. Northern Europe ranked first among worldwide regions by the share of the population using the internet in 20254. In The Netherlands, Norway and Saudi Arabia, 99 percent of the population used the internet as of February 2025. North Korea was at the opposite end of the spectrum, with virtually no internet usage penetration among the general population, ranking last worldwide. Eastern Asia was home to the largest number of online users worldwide – over 1.34 billion at the latest count. Southern Asia ranked second, with around 1.2 billion internet users. China, India, and the United States rank ahead of other countries worldwide by the number of internet users. Worldwide internet user demographics As of 2024, the share of female internet users worldwide was 65 percent, five percent less than that of men. Gender disparity in internet usage was bigger in African countries, with around a ten percent difference. Worldwide regions, like the Commonwealth of Independent States and Europe, showed a smaller usage gap between these two genders. As of 2024, global internet usage was higher among individuals between 15 and 24 years old across all regions, with young people in Europe representing the most significant usage penetration, 98 percent. In comparison, the worldwide average for the age group 15–24 years was 79 percent. The income level of the countries was also an essential factor for internet access, as 93 percent of the population of the countries with high income reportedly used the internet, as opposed to only 27 percent of the low-income markets.

The teenage personal care product market, valued at $32.05 billion in 2025, is experiencing robust growth, projected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.5% from 2025 to 2033. This growth is fueled by several key factors. Increased disposable income among teenagers, coupled with heightened awareness of personal hygiene and appearance, drives demand for a wide array of products. The rise of social media influencers and beauty bloggers significantly impacts purchasing decisions, creating trends and promoting specific brands. Furthermore, the increasing availability of specialized products catering to diverse skin types and hair textures within the skincare, haircare, and color cosmetics segments contributes to market expansion. Online distribution channels are gaining traction, offering convenience and access to a broader range of products compared to traditional offline retail. Competition is intense, with leading companies employing diverse strategies like targeted marketing campaigns, product innovation, and strategic partnerships to secure market share. However, challenges remain, including fluctuating raw material prices and the potential for negative impacts from changing consumer preferences and economic downturns. The market segmentation reveals a dynamic landscape. Skincare products represent a substantial portion of the market, driven by the growing focus on skin health and acne prevention. Haircare products, encompassing shampoos, conditioners, and styling products, also contribute significantly. Color cosmetics, including makeup and nail polish, are experiencing strong growth, particularly among female teenagers. The “Other” segment encompasses diverse products like fragrances, deodorants, and oral care items. Geographically, North America and Europe currently hold significant market share, but the Asia-Pacific region is projected to experience rapid growth due to increasing urbanization, rising disposable incomes, and a growing young population in countries like China and India. The market's future trajectory will be shaped by innovations in product formulations, sustainable packaging practices, and the continued evolution of online retail and social media marketing strategies.

Over 210 million people worldwide suffer from social media addiction.