Picture a world where more than half of humanity—5.07 billion people—is connected through a handful of apps, shaping everything from how we shop to how we think.
Key Takeaways
- As of January 2024, there are 5.07 billion social media users worldwide, representing 62.6% of the global population
- In 2023, India had the largest social media audience with 462.0 million users aged 18+
- China follows with 1.07 billion social media users aged 18+ as of early 2024
- Facebook has 3.07 billion monthly active users (MAUs) globally as of Q1 2024
- YouTube reaches 2.53 billion MAUs worldwide in early 2024
- WhatsApp has 2.00 billion MAUs as of Q1 2024
- Global average time spent on social media per day is 2 hours 23 minutes in 2023
- Users aged 16-24 spend 3 hours 4 minutes daily on social media in 2023
- 54.3% of global internet users post images weekly on social media in 2023
- Global social media ad spend reached $207 billion in 2023
- Social media advertising accounts for 25.4% of total digital ad spend in 2023
- Meta Platforms generated $132 billion in ad revenue from social media in 2023
- Global social media users watch 16 hours of video weekly on average in 2023
- Short-form videos account for 55% of all social media content views in 2023
- User-generated content influences 79% of consumers' purchases in 2023
Over five billion people worldwide connect daily through widely used social media platforms.
Economics
- Global social media ad spend reached $207 billion in 2023
- Social media advertising accounts for 25.4% of total digital ad spend in 2023
- Meta Platforms generated $132 billion in ad revenue from social media in 2023
- TikTok ad revenue hit $18 billion globally in 2023
- YouTube ad revenue was $31.5 billion in 2023
- Snapchat ad revenue reached $4.6 billion in 2023
- Pinterest ad revenue was $3.06 billion in 2023
- LinkedIn ad revenue estimated at $15 billion in 2023 via Microsoft
- Global influencer marketing spend is $21.1 billion in 2023
- E-commerce sales via social media totaled $992 billion in 2023
- 45.8% of global internet users made purchases via social media in 2023
- ROI on social media ads averages 5.78x in 2023 benchmarks
- Cost per click (CPC) on Facebook ads averaged $0.97 globally in 2023
- Instagram CPC averaged $1.41 worldwide in 2023
- TikTok CPC was $1.00 on average in 2023
- 80% of businesses use social media for marketing in 2023
- Social commerce market projected to reach $2.9 trillion by 2026
- Brand awareness campaigns see 86% higher engagement on social in 2023
- 74% of consumers use social media to influence purchases in 2023
- Average CPM on Twitter/X is $6.46 in 2023
- LinkedIn CPC averages $5.26 globally in 2023
Economics Interpretation
Behind the veneer of our endless scrolling lies a ruthlessly efficient, trillion-dollar engine of influence, where businesses are gambling billions on our attention because, frankly, the odds of us clicking "buy" are spectacularly in their favor.
Engagement
- Global average time spent on social media per day is 2 hours 23 minutes in 2023
- Users aged 16-24 spend 3 hours 4 minutes daily on social media in 2023
- 54.3% of global internet users post images weekly on social media in 2023
- 44.3% share personal achievements online weekly in 2023
- Daily social media posting occurs by 30.6% of users worldwide in 2023
- 61.8% of users follow or contact brands on social media in 2023
- Average daily posts and uploads per internet user is 4.3 in 2023
- 82.5% of internet users use social media monthly, spending time daily
- Gen Z spends 4 hours daily on social media on average in 2023
- 70% of users experience FOMO from social media in 2023 surveys
- Average session length on social media apps is 30 minutes globally in 2023
- 3.7 billion people use social media for messaging daily in 2024
- Peak social media usage is between 9-10 PM globally in 2023
- 48% of users check social media within 5 minutes of waking up in 2023
- Social media drives 31% of all referral traffic to websites in 2023
- 56% of users participate in online communities weekly in 2023
- Live video views on social platforms total 100 billion monthly in 2023
- Stories format reaches 1 billion users daily across platforms in 2023
- Short-form video engagement grew 30% YoY in 2023
- 65% of users prefer video content on social media in 2023
- Average likes per post on Instagram is 200 for average accounts in 2023
- TikTok average video views per post is 1,482 in 2023 benchmarks
Engagement Interpretation
The world is now a digital campfire where humanity gathers for over two hours daily, feeding the flames with 4.3 personal artifacts, chasing the warmth of 200 likes while nervously watching the clock tick toward peak FOMO at 9 PM.
Platforms
- Facebook has 3.07 billion monthly active users (MAUs) globally as of Q1 2024
- YouTube reaches 2.53 billion MAUs worldwide in early 2024
- WhatsApp has 2.00 billion MAUs as of Q1 2024
- Instagram boasts 2.00 billion MAUs globally in 2024
- TikTok has 1.59 billion MAUs worldwide as of early 2024
- WeChat has 1.37 billion MAUs primarily in China in 2023
- Facebook Messenger has 1.00 billion MAUs globally in 2024
- Snapchat has 850 million MAUs worldwide as of Q1 2024
- Telegram reaches 800 million MAUs in early 2024
- Douyin (Chinese TikTok) has 748 million MAUs in 2023
- Kuaishou has 386 million MAUs in China as of 2023
- Sina Weibo has 591 million MAUs in 2023
- Pinterest has 498 million MAUs globally in Q1 2024
- Reddit has 73.1 million daily active users in Q1 2024
- LinkedIn has 310 million weekly active users in 2023
- Twitter/X has 368 million MAUs under 25 and 541 million total MAUs in 2023
- Discord has 150 million MAUs globally in 2023
- Twitch has 140 million MAUs in 2023
- Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book) has 300 million MAUs in 2023
- Bilibili has 326 million monthly active users in Q3 2023
- Line has 203 million MAUs primarily in Japan in 2023
- Viber has 260 million MAUs worldwide in 2023
- QQ has 554 million MAUs in China as of 2023
Platforms Interpretation
Given that the combined monthly user base of just the top four platforms could hypothetically assign every single person on Earth not just one, but several parallel digital identities—each broadcasting our every thought, snack, and dance move—we've either perfected global connection or become hopelessly addicted to our own audience.
Trends
- Global social media users watch 16 hours of video weekly on average in 2023
- Short-form videos account for 55% of all social media content views in 2023
- User-generated content influences 79% of consumers' purchases in 2023
- Livestreaming e-commerce sales reached $500 billion globally in 2023
- AI-generated content on social media grew 300% YoY in 2023
- 60% of Gen Z discovers music via TikTok in 2023 surveys
- Memes are shared 2 million times daily on social platforms in 2023
- Hashtag usage totals 500 million per day across platforms in 2023
- AR filters used in 1.2 billion Instagram Stories in 2023
- NFT mentions on Twitter peaked at 100k daily in 2023
- Metaverse engagement on social media up 40% in 2023
- 41% of users worry about misinformation on social media in 2023
- Cancel culture impacts 19% of influencers' careers in 2023 surveys
- Social audio usage (Clubhouse-like) declined 50% post-2021 peak in 2023
- Reels and Shorts drive 20% of time spent on Instagram/TikTok/YouTube in 2023
- 68% of users want more authentic content from brands in 2023
- Ephemeral content views up 25% YoY in 2023
- Social media challenges participate in by 35% of users monthly in 2023
- Voice messaging used by 52% of WhatsApp users daily in 2023
- Polls and quizzes engagement 3x higher than static posts in 2023
Trends Interpretation
We’ve become a civilization that would rather scroll through 16 hours of weekly video, be sold to by strangers via livestream, and trust memes over facts, all while desperately begging brands to just be “authentic” for once.
User Base
- As of January 2024, there are 5.07 billion social media users worldwide, representing 62.6% of the global population
- In 2023, India had the largest social media audience with 462.0 million users aged 18+
- China follows with 1.07 billion social media users aged 18+ as of early 2024
- The United States has 308.2 million social media users aged 18+ in early 2024
- Brazil recorded 176.8 million social media users aged 18+ in early 2024
- Indonesia has 167.0 million social media users aged 18+ as of January 2024
- Globally, 93.8% of internet users aged 16-64 use social media in 2023
- Women represent 50.4% of social media users worldwide in 2024
- The median age of social media users globally is 29 years in 2023
- 66.4% of the world's population has access to the internet, enabling social media use, as of 2024
- Africa has the lowest social media penetration at 43.8% of the population in 2023
- Northern Europe leads with 81.4% social media penetration in 2023
- 4.95 billion people use social media via mobile phones in 2024
- Social media ad reach exceeds 60% of the global population over 18 in 2024
- Gen Z (born 1997-2012) makes up 25% of global social media users in 2023
- Millennials represent 32% of social media users worldwide in 2023
- 174.7 million new social media users joined since early 2023
- Social media users increased by 3.6% year-over-year in 2023-2024
- 53.7% of social media users are male globally in 2024
- Urban areas account for 56% of social media users worldwide in 2023
- In 2023, 68% of social media users are under 35 years old
- Latin America has 462 million social media users in 2024
- Middle East has 120 million social media users aged 18+ in 2024
- Oceania has 25.5 million social media users in early 2024
- Western Europe has 384 million social media users aged 18+ in 2024
- Eastern Asia has 1.13 billion social media users in 2024
- South-eastern Asia has 427 million social media users aged 18+ in 2024
- Southern Asia has 659 million social media users in 2024
- Eastern Africa has 45 million social media users aged 18+ in 2024
- Northern Africa has 84.4 million social media users in 2024
User Base Interpretation
It seems we are living in a global square where, statistically speaking, nearly two-thirds of humanity is now perpetually online, with India leading the morning scroll, China setting the evening trends, and nearly everyone under 35 holding the megaphone.
Sources & References
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