People spend 2 hours and 27 minutes per day on the networks and 71.5 of working-age Internet users pay for digital content and 1 in 4 discover brands on the networks.

The Digital 2022 report shows a significant increase in internet and social media users over the past 12 months. We Are Social, the creative agency specialized in social, and Hootsuite, a specialist in social media management, presented their latest annual report on social networks and digital trends.

With 4.62 billion social media users worldwide, year-on-year growth of more than 10% (424 million new users) since last year, The number of network users now equals more than 58% of the world's total population.

People spend 2 hours and 27 minutes per day on the networks. Facebook remains the most used social media in the world, but YouTube is rapidly closing the gap and already has 2.56 billion active users, 88% of Facebook's latest published total. The third is Whatsapp, followed by Instagram, whose audience increased more than 6% (85 million users) in the last 90 days. TikTok is also growing fast: 7.3% (60 million users) in the same period.

In January 2022 there were 4.95 billion internet users in the world, around 62.5% of the world's population, an increase of 4% year over year: 192 million people. The average daily time spent using the Internet was almost 7 hours across all devices globally, an increase of 1% (4 minutes) year over year.

Global Internet users are not averse to paying for digital content. More than 7 in 10 of working age (71.5%) say they pay monthly for some digital content. The world's internet users spent nearly $300 billion on digital content in 2021, with more than half on video games.

The effectiveness of social media advertising has been demonstrated by a growing range of data over the past 12 months. More than 1 in 4 internet users aged 16-64 (27.6%) discover new brands, products and services through social media ads.

E-commerce continues to rise, driven in part by the recent rapid rise of social commerce. Nearly 6 in 10 working-age internet users (58.4%) now buy something online every week.

Ads on Facebook Marketplace now reach more than 560 million users each month, equal to more than a quarter of the platform's total ad reach. Advertisers can reach over 187 million users with ads on the Instagram Shop tab each month.

The number of people holding cryptocurrencies increased 37.8% since last year. More than 1 in 10 working-age internet users have some form of digital currency.

Video games and player behavior evolved. The daily time spent using a console increased to 1 hour and 12 minutes. More than 8 out of 10 internet users between 16 and 64 years old say they play video games on any device worldwide.

Executive Conclusions

"We are seeing rapid changes in culture, the economy and society as a whole. The huge changes in behavior seen over the past 12 months are now permanent and will accelerate even faster," said Nathan McDonald, co-founder and CEO of the We Are Social group. “More people than ever are spending time online: Beyond social connections, information and entertainment, the growth of social commerce, gaming and spending on cryptocurrencies and digital goods is evidence of a real cultural shift. “It has never been more important for marketers to have a deep understanding of online communities, cultures and subcultures.”

“I'm excited to see how brands evolve with social trends as they leverage their platforms to be advocates and community builders,” said Maggie Lower, CMO of Hootsuite. “At a time when social distancing regulations and non-essential business closures impact businesses everywhere, social commerce is often one of the only ways brands stay open and connected with consumers. If brands and organizations want to remain relevant, they will need to go digital and implement a social commerce strategy.”