As of the third quarter of 2024, 36 percent of respondents in the Philippines stated that Facebook was their favorite social media platform. This was followed by Facebook Messenger and TikTok.

Facebook accounted for the highest share within the social media market in the Philippines in 2024. Video streaming platform, YouTube, follows at ** percent. Demographics of Facebook users Over the years, the Philippines has been dominating the Facebook landscape, ranking among markets with the largest audience size. The platform's user demographic is mainly composed of users between the ages of 18 and 34 years old, although a fair share of older people also use Facebook. Over the years, the social media channel has moved beyond simply a platform to connect with other internet users but has also established online marketplaces for small-scale entrepreneurs as well as shaping political perspectives, especially during elections. Facebook advertising As Facebook grows within this select group of users, it prompts social media marketing or social advertising to use that time and screen space to promote various products and services. In fact, the Philippines was one of the largest Facebook advertising audiences in Asia in 2024, with almost an equal share of ad audiences across genders.

The social media penetration in the Philippines was estimated at 74.72 percent in 2022, or equivalent to about 84 million people using a social network. The penetration rate of social media in the country was estimated to continue increasing in the following years.

Social media in the Philippines The Philippines is an archipelagic country, which poses logistical problems for social interaction and communication between residents from the various islands. Social networks could not only help the residents to connect with friends and family living far but also serve as a timely source for news or even purchasing products and services. Among the most well-known social networks, Facebook remains in the lead in Philippines, with a penetration rate of about 96 percent.

Digitalization and economic growth

Digital adaption in the Philippines has proven to contribute greatly to the growth of the digital economy, contributing about nine percent to the country’s GDP. Across sectors, telecommunication services, professional and business services, and e-commerce were the leading components in this industry. Since social media usage is not only limited to communication and entertainment purposes, social commerce can also be expected to continue driving the e-commerce sector.

As of the third quarter of 2024, Facebook was the most used social media platform in the Philippines, as stated by about ** percent of respondents. Facebook Messenger follows, with about ** percent of Filipinos stating they used the messaging app. Facebook as the top social media in the Philippines In the Philippines, Facebook is not only considered a social media platform, but also as a primary source of news and a platform for e-commerce companies to reach out to their potential consumers. It is perhaps unsurprising how the app dominated the social media market in the country, as seen in the growing number of Filipino Facebook users. Reasons for increasing social media usage As a country divided by over 7,000 islands, the constant need for interaction has been driving the growing number of social network users in the Philippines. This is also an important platform for families with members working overseas and those who have already emigrated abroad.

During the first quarter of 2023, internet users in Brazil spent an average of three hours and 49 minutes per day on social media. Nigeria and the Philippines also reported high usage levels. By comparison, internet users in Japan spent less than 50 minutes per day on social media. Low levels of daily usage were also recorded in South Korea and the Belgium.

As of January 2023 social network Facebook was ranked first worldwide in terms of active users with almost three billion MAU. Other popular social media include mobile messaging platforms YouTube and WhatsApp, as well as social content sharing networks such as Instagram and social video platform TikTok.

Most social networks are accessible through multiple platforms, but many popular social media started out as mobile apps, demonstrating the growing trend of mobile first development. Examples include Instagram, which initially was launched as an iOS photo editing and discovery app as well as mobile social messenger, as well as TikTok, which recorded 23.7 million downloads worldwide via the Google Play Store alone in June 2023.

Social networking does not only enable users to connect with other people but also with brands and celebrities. Social media has also become a growing source of news for internet users in many countries.

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

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

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

According to a Rakuten Insight survey conducted in the Philippines in February 2025, TikTok was the most popular social media platform for shopping during the past 12 months. Facebook followed, with 50 percent of respondents using it for online shopping.

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.

Over 210 million people worldwide suffer from social media addiction.

Facebook and YouTube are still the most used social media platforms today.

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

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.

As of the third quarter of 2024, internet users in the Philippines spent an average of **** hours accessing the internet on various devices, according to a global survey. In terms of devices, most Filipinos have used their mobile phones to surf the web. Internet usage of Filipinos Being the population with the most time spent using the internet in the region, Filipino internet users have been taking advantage of the ease of communication and access to information and entertainment that the internet offers. Aside from just browsing the web, accessing social media has been popular among a large share of the Filipino population. As of the third quarter of 2023, Meta platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, along with TikTok, were the most used social media platforms in the country. These platforms were used to connect with friends and family, and to access news and information, stream video content, and find products and services to purchase. Level of internet security in the Philippines Since most activities have been digitalized, cybersecurity threats and online fraud have been a growing concern among internet users. In the Philippines, over ** million web threats have been detected in 2022. Among those who shop on social media, product fraud was identified as the most common fraud type, along with non-delivery of products or services and payment fraud. To address this, the national government amended its cybersecurity laws to ensure better security of internet users in the Philippines.

As of June 2024, Facebook and Instagram were the leading social media applications in the Philippines. As of this date, the social media apps have been downloaded five billion times from the Google Play Store. Both Facebook and Instagram are owned by Meta, along with the messaging application Facebook Messenger. Facebook's popularity in the Philippines  The number of Facebook users in the Philippines has been gradually increasing over the years, with the platform’s popularity apparent across generations. Facebook is used more than just as a networking site; it is leveraged by businesses and news outlets to reach out to the country’s growing internet population. A 2024 survey on digital news in the Philippines revealed that among the social networking platforms, Facebook was the most trusted news source. Challenges in cybersecurity As more transactions become digital, the risk of falling prey to cybercrime also increases. In 2023, about 14,000 online scam incidents were recorded in the Philippines, which represents a significant increase from just 600 in 2019. To address this, the Philippine government passed the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, which penalizes illegal acts done online such as identity theft, child pornography, and cybersex.

The results of which gender uses which platforms are in.

As of February 2025, social media usage penetration in Singapore reached around 88 percent, followed by the Philippines at 78 percent. In contrast, Indonesia, Southeast Asia's most populous country, had a social media penetration of around 50 percent that year. What is the social media penetration rate, and what is the global average? The social media penetration rate refers to the percentage of a population that actively uses social media platforms. It is a key metric for understanding how widely social media is adopted in a specific region, country, or demographic group. Southeast Asia has a social media penetration rate of about 61.5 percent, slightly lower than the global average of nearly 64 percent. Northern Europe has the highest social media penetration rate worldwide. How much time do Southeast Asians spend on social media? Users in Southeast Asia spend, on average, more time daily on social media compared to their East Asian counterparts. Users in the Philippines spend on average more than three and a half hours daily engaging with social media platforms, the highest figure in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region. Following the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand see their users lead the APAC region in daily social media usage, spending at least two and a half hours on average each day on these platforms.

As of November 2023, ChoOxTV was the leading gamer and streamer on Facebook in the Philippines with around 13 million followers on his gaming creator page. Edgar Dumali, also known as ChoOxTV, mostly streams on the mobile multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game Mobile Legends using a voice filter.

Social media uses for online gamers

Spending time on social media platforms such as Facebook, Youtube, Instagram, and Twitter is a popular pastime across all ages and genders. For some online gamers and streamers, turning to social media platforms is their best chance of exposure, especially for someone who wants to be known in the video game arena. Recently, more and more online streamers have popped up during the COVID-19 pandemic in the country as a result of being confined at home to mitigate the spread of the virus.

Online gamers

In a recent survey conducted in the Philippines, an average online gamer spends between one to two hours on online gaming daily. As a result, a vibrant video game culture has emerged among Filipino gamers, with some of them opting to play in a bigger scope and audience. While some prefer streaming on social media platforms, others have taken it to a higher level and competed internationally. Recently, the Philippines has been recognized as one of the fiercest competitors in Esports within tournaments involving multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA), first-person shooter (FPS), fighting, card games, battle royale, and real-time strategy (RTS).

Social media usage in the Asia-Pacific region varies significantly across countries, with the Philippines leading in daily time spent at ***** hours and ** minutes in the third quarter of 2024. This was a stark contrast to Japan's ** minutes per day. Penetration rates and user bases Among Asia Pacific countries, South Korea boasts the highest social media penetration at **** percent, followed closely by Hong Kong at **** percent. However, populous countries like Indonesia, China, and India show lower penetration rates, indicating significant growth potential. Despite this, China leads in absolute numbers with more than *********** active social media users, while India and Indonesia rank second and third in this category. These figures suggest that despite lower penetration rates in some countries, the sheer population size translates to massive user numbers. Platform preferences Facebook remains the dominant social media platform across Asia; however, competitors have gained ground in some markets. For example, Chinese network WeChat is the most popular platform in China, offering integrated services beyond social media. In Thailand and Laos, X (formerly Twitter) accounts for more than ** percent of social media traffic.