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.

Social media usage in the Asia-Pacific region varies significantly across countries, with the Philippines leading in daily time spent at three hours and 32 minutes in the third quarter of 2024. This was a stark contrast to Japan's 46 minutes per day. Penetration rates and user bases Among Asia Pacific countries, South Korea boasts the highest social media penetration at 93.4 percent, followed closely by Hong Kong at 86.2 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 one billion 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 70 percent of social media traffic.

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.

During the first half of 2021, Android users in **** spent approximately *** billion hours engaging with mobile social apps, up by ** percent from the correspondent period in 2019. Between 2019 and the first half of 2021, **** has consistently remained the world region with the highest number of hours spent on social media apps by Android users. In comparison, android users in South America spent **** billion hours on social media apps in the first half of 2021.

In 2019, social media users in the Latin American region ranked in terms of daily social network usage, spending an average of * hours and ** minutes per day on social networks. Users in North America accessed social media for approximately *** hour and ** minutes per day.

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Social Networking Market Size 2025-2029

The social networking market size is forecast to increase by USD 312.3 billion, at a CAGR of 21.6% between 2024 and 2029.

Major Market Trends & Insights

North America dominated the market and accounted for a 41% growth during the forecast period.
By the Type - Advertising segment was valued at USD 80.70 billion in 2023
By the Distribution Channel - Google segment accounted for the largest market revenue share in 2023

Market Size & Forecast

Market Opportunities: USD 318.56 billion
Market Future Opportunities: USD 312.30 billion 
CAGR : 21.6%
North America: Largest market in 2023

Market Summary

The market continues to expand its reach and influence across various industries, with businesses recognizing its potential for customer engagement and brand awareness. According to recent studies, there are approximately 4.66 billion active social media users worldwide, representing a 13% increase from 2020. This growth is driven by the increased internet penetration and the popularity of social media platforms for personal and professional use. Social media advertisements have become a significant revenue source, with businesses investing heavily in targeted campaigns to reach their audiences.
However, privacy concerns remain a challenge, with users increasingly cautious about sharing personal information online. Despite this, the market's continuous evolution and the emergence of new trends, such as live streaming and virtual events, ensure its ongoing relevance and importance for businesses.

What will be the Size of the Social Networking Market during the forecast period?

Explore market size, adoption trends, and growth potential for social networking market Request Free Sample

The market exhibits consistent growth, with current usage accounting for approximately 3.6 billion users worldwide, representing a significant 4.5% increase year-over-year. Looking ahead, industry experts anticipate a continued expansion, with projections indicating a 5.2% annual growth rate. Notably, mobile devices account for over 90% of social media usage, underscoring the importance of optimizing platforms for this medium. Furthermore, businesses increasingly leverage social networking for marketing purposes, with advertising revenue reaching an estimated USD 84.3 billion in 2021. In comparison, the time spent on social media platforms per day has risen by 45 minutes since 2019, highlighting the growing influence of these channels on consumer behavior.
This trend is further accentuated by the integration of advanced features, such as live streaming, video content, and AI-driven recommendations, which enhance user engagement and monetization opportunities.

How is this Social Networking Industry segmented?

The social networking industry research report provides comprehensive data (region-wise segment analysis), with forecasts and estimates in 'USD billion' for the period 2025-2029, as well as historical data from 2019-2023 for the following segments.

Type

  Advertising
  In-app purchase
  Paid apps


Distribution Channel

  Google
  Apple
  App Store Distribution


Service

  Communication
  Entertainment
  Socialization
  Marketing
  Customer service


Platform

  Website-based
  Mobile apps
  Hybrid platforms


Geography

  North America

    US
    Canada


  Europe

    France
    Germany
    Italy
    Spain
    UK


  Middle East and Africa

    UAE


  APAC

    China
    India
    Japan
    South Korea


  South America

    Brazil


  Rest of World (ROW)

By Type Insights

The advertising segment is estimated to witness significant growth during the forecast period.

In the dynamic and evolving landscape of digital communication, the market continues to expand, driven by innovative technologies and user engagement. According to recent data, social networking platforms accounted for approximately 30% of the total time spent online in 2021, reflecting a significant 15% increase from the previous year. Furthermore, industry experts anticipate that social media usage will continue to grow, with an estimated 25% of the global population expected to use social media by 2025. Content moderation systems play a crucial role in ensuring a safe and inclusive online environment. These systems employ advanced techniques, such as natural language processing, conversational AI, and machine learning models, to filter out inappropriate content and maintain platform governance.

User engagement metrics, including time spent on platforms, user-generated content, and social interaction dynamics, are closely monitored to optimize user experience and foster community building strategies. Platform scalability and network security protocols are essential for accommodating the increasing user base and data privacy regulations. Spam filtering techniques and link pred

These TikTok user statistics tell the whole story of the new social media giant and give you some insights into the app's future.

Facebook’s efforts to monetize its users have vastly differing results across global regions. In the fourth quarter of 2023, Facebook's average revenue per user (ARPU) in the Asia Pacific region was 5.52 U.S. dollars. This result pales in comparison to the combined U.S. and Canada market, where Facebook’s APRU amounted to 68.44 U.S. dollars.

Facebook revenue Facebook accumulated an impressive 69.66 billion U.S. dollars in annual ad revenues in 2019. The social network generates the majority of its revenues via social media marketing and advertising. Almost all of Facebook's ad revenue is generated via mobile – a staggering 92 percent in 2018.

Facebook is the biggest social media platform worldwide and the platform’s annual revenue in 2019 amounted to 70.7 billion U.S. dollars. Despite Facebook’s impressive growth, the company still lags behind other online companies in terms of total revenue. The company stated in its 2018 10K filing that it was dependent on the retention and engagement of its users, which has become increasingly difficult in the North American market.

Facebook usage concerns in North America With various user data controversies such as the Cambridge Analytics scandal in early spring, Facebook had a tumultuous 2018. A significant portion of U.S. Facebook users have come to rethink their Facebook usage. An April 2018 survey of adults in the United States that almost a third of respondents planned on using Facebook much less in the future. It is estimated that the average daily time spent on Facebook will stagnate at around 38 to 37 minutes per day. In comparison, Facebook-owned photo sharing app Instagram is projected to increase daily user engagement to 29 daily minutes in 2021.

As of the third quarter of 2024, internet users in South Africa spent more than **** hours and ** minutes online per day, ranking first among the regions worldwide. Brazil followed, with roughly **** hours of daily online usage. As of the examined period, Japan registered the lowest number of daily hours spent online, with users in the country spending an average of over **** hours per day using the internet. The data includes the daily time spent online on any device. Social media usage In recent years, social media has become integral to internet users' daily lives, with users spending an average of *** minutes daily on social media activities. In April 2024, global social network penetration reached **** percent, highlighting its widespread adoption. Among the various platforms, YouTube stands out, with over *** billion monthly active users, making it one of the most popular social media platforms. YouTube’s global popularity In 2023, the keyword "YouTube" ranked among the most popular search queries on Google, highlighting the platform's immense popularity. YouTube generated most of its traffic through mobile devices, with about 98 billion visits. This popularity was particularly evident in the United Arab Emirates, where YouTube penetration reached approximately **** percent, the highest in the world.

Based on an online survey, Nigerians spent the most time on social media on the African continent. As of the first quarter of 2023, they spent, on average, three hours and 44 minutes on different social media platforms. South Africans and Kenyans followed, spending three hours and 34 minutes and three hours and 32 minutes on social media, respectively.

In 2020, it was estimated that there will be around 149.7 million users of Meta's Instagram in Western Europe by 2024, accounting for 41.5 percent of the population in this region. Between 2019 and 2020, Instagram saw a large increase in the share of users in Western Europe, from 32.9 percent to 38.1 percent. Although the platform will continue to gain new users, growth is predicted to slow down in the coming years.

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.

Which county has the most Facebook users? There are more than 383 million Facebook users in India alone, making it the leading country in terms of Facebook audience size. To put this into context, if India’s Facebook audience were a country, then it would be ranked third in terms of largest population worldwide. Apart from India, there are several other markets with more than 100 million Facebook users each: The United States, Indonesia, and Brazil with 196.9 million, 122.3 million, and 111.65 million Facebook users respectively. Facebook – the most used social media Meta, the company that was previously called Facebook, owns four of the most popular social media platforms worldwide, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Facebook, and Instagram. As of the third quarter of 2021, there were around 3.5 billion cumulative monthly users of the company’s products worldwide. With around 2.9 billion monthly active users, Facebook is the most popular social media worldwide. With an audience of this scale, it is no surprise that the vast majority of Facebook’s revenue is generated through advertising. Facebook usage by device As of July 2021, it was found that 98.5 percent of active users accessed their Facebook account from mobile devices. In fact, almost 81.8 percent of Facebook audiences worldwide access the platform only via mobile phone. Facebook is not only available through mobile browser as the company has published several mobile apps for users to access their products and services. As of the third quarter 2021, the four core Meta products were leading the ranking of most downloaded mobile apps worldwide, with WhatsApp amassing approximately six billion downloads.

As of February 2025, China ranked first among the countries with the most internet users worldwide. The world's most populated country had 1.11 billion internet users, more than triple the third-ranked United States, with just around 322 million internet users. Overall, all BRIC markets had over two billion internet users, accounting for four of the ten countries with more than 100 million internet users. Worldwide internet usage As of October 2024, there were more than five billion internet users worldwide. There are, however, stark differences in user distribution according to region. Eastern Asia is home to 1.34 billion internet users, while African and Middle Eastern regions had lower user figures. Moreover, the urban areas showed a higher percentage of internet access than rural areas. Internet use in China China ranks first in the list of countries with the most internet users. Due to its ongoing and fast-paced economic development and a cultural inclination towards technology, more than a billion of the estimated 1.4 billion population in China are online. As of the third quarter of 2023, around 87 percent of Chinese internet users stated using WeChat, the most popular social network in the country. On average, Chinese internet users spent five hours and 33 minutes online daily.

In 2024, mobile internet user penetration in the Asia-Pacific region (excluding Greater China) reached ** percent, marking an increase from ** percent in 2018. The user penetration of mobile internet is projected to reach ** percent by 2030. Mobile internet usage in the APAC region Mobile internet usage in the Asia-Pacific region saw a significant increase in recent years, transforming the way people access and interact with the online world. The number of mobile internet subscribers in APAC reached approximately *** billion in 2023, marking a substantial growth compared to 2015, when there were slightly over *** million mobile internet users in the region. This growth can be attributed to several factors, including the increasing adoption of smartphones in APAC. According to a 2024 survey, mobile internet usage in the Philippines averaged *** hours per day, while in Japan, the average time spent on mobile internet was nearly *** hours. The increase in the number of mobile internet users has important consequences for businesses, as it influences how consumers behave, stimulates the growth of e-commerce, and accelerates digital transformation across different industries in APAC. 5G deployment in Asia-Pacific The rollout of 5G technology has accelerated in APAC region, with 5G's share in total mobile connections forecasted to reach ** percent by 2030. Yet, its adoption and coverage remain uneven across its countries. In 2024, Singapore and South Korea led the region in 5G coverage, with a score of * and**** out of ten, respectively, reflecting their high urban density and strong digital infrastructure. In contrast, countries like Sri Lanka and Indonesia still experience limited 5G coverage, with scores of only *** out of ten. These disparities highlight persistent gaps in digital infrastructure, economic capacity, as well as geographical accessibility across the region. Nevertheless, digital engagement remains strong across the Asia-Pacific. Social media usage, e-commerce activity, and digital media consumption continue to grow rapidly, even in countries with limited 5G access.

During the second quarter of 2025, Snapchat had 98 million daily active users (DAU) in North America and 100 million DAU in Europe. Snapchat's largest audience increase came from users outside of North America and Europe, amounting to 271 million daily active users.Snapchat usageSnapchat is one of the most popular social networks worldwide. In 2024, there were almost 513.2 million monthly Snapchat users worldwide. Snapchat’s user penetration in the United States started experiencing a slow decrease in 2022, passing from 40 percent in 2021 to 39.6 percent in 2024. Snapchat companyWhile Snapchat’s annual company revenue grew to 4.61 billion U.S. dollars in 2023, the company has yet to report a positive net income. In the most recently reported fiscal year, Snapchat’s net loss amounted to 1332 million U.S. dollars, highlighting the company’s struggle to monetize their predominantly young user base. As stated in their latest annual report, Snapchat’s user base may be less brand loyal and more likely to follow trends than other demographics, including switching to another product. The company is also fully dependent on advertising revenues and relies on third-party services for application infrastructure services. Subsequently, Snapchat’s research and development spending focuses on product development, advertising technology and large-scale infrastructure. In 2023, the company’s R&D expenditure amounted to 1.9 billion U.S. dollars.

As of February 2025, India was the country with the largest offline population worldwide. The South Asian country had over 651 million people without internet connection. China ranked second, with around 311.9 million people not connected to the internet. Despite these large shares of the disconnected population in these countries, China and India ranked first and second, respectively, as countries with the highest number of internet users worldwide. Internet access in Africa In 2023, Africa lagged behind other global regions regarding internet penetration rate, as only 37 percent of the continent’s population accessed the web. In contrast, around 91 percent of Europe’s population were internet users. This is heavily influenced by the infrastructure development in the region. However, some improvements are forecasted, as by 2028, the internet penetration rate in Africa will be at an estimated 48.15 percent. Global internet access challenges: disruptions and restrictions Government internet shutdowns around the world are another challenge for internet access. Between 2015 and the first half of 2023, 172 local internet connection disruptions occurred due to protests globally. Moreover, according to a 2023report on internet freedom, almost four out of ten global internet users were deprived of essential freedoms on online platforms. In 2023, 76 new restrictions on internet usage were implemented worldwide. Asia led in imposing these restrictions, accounting for approximately 55 cases across various countries in the region.

In the third quarter of 2024, the share of internet users who visited social media platforms to research brands and products they considered buying in the Asia-Pacific region was highest in Vietnam, at about 84 percent. Contrastingly, about 44 percent of the internet users in Japan visited social media platforms for the same purpose during that period.

The percentage of households with internet access in Africa was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2029 by in total 14.5 percentage points. After the twenty-eighth consecutive increasing year, the internet penetration is estimated to reach 68.81 percent and therefore a new peak in 2029. Notably, the percentage of households with internet access of was continuously increasing over the past years.Depicted is the share of housholds with internet access in the country or region at hand.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).Find more key insights for the percentage of households with internet access in countries like Caribbean and Asia.