The latest report from DataReportal reveals that over the past year, hundreds of millions of people have started using the internet and social media for the first time.
The report also shows and explores what people are actually doing online.
From 7.98 billion people on Earth, 4.7 billion, or 59% of the world’s population, are active users of social networks.
During the year, the number of active users of social networks increased by 227 million people.
If we take the world average data, then a modern person uses the Internet 6 hours 49 minutes a day, and more than a third of this time – 2 hours 29 minutes – spends in social networks.
Among the main reasons for accessing the Internet, 60% of users name the search for information, 52% go online just to keep abreast of news and latest events.
The researchers also analyzed what sources users now prefer to receive news content from.
82% choose various online channels for this, 61% – television, 57% consume news content from social networks, 23% – from print media, 26% – listen to news on the radio.
80% of the world’s population has gambled at least once, if you count bingo and the lottery. About 46% of UK residents have gambled in the last four weeks, according to a behavioral survey conducted by the Gambling Commission. Except for lotteries, the majority of players in the UK are in the 25 to 34 age group.
About 1.6 billion people play throughout the year. At the same time, the ratio of men and women in online casinos and live casinos is gradually leveling off.
Young women are increasingly coming to online gambling.
The main gadget with which users receive news from online channels is a smartphone. Only 42% of respondents use a computer for this purpose, 16% use a tablet.
Social networks serve as a source of news for 64% of the population aged 18-24, and 63% for those aged 25-34. For the age of 35-44 years, this figure is only slightly lower – 61%.
For the next age groups, 45–54 and 55–64, social networks are the news channel for 57% and 49%, respectively. The most popular social network as a news platform is Facebook.
It is chosen as a source of up-to-date information by 44% of users who participated in the DataReportal survey. The next most popular is YouTube – 30%, WhatsApp – 22%, Instagram – 17%. TikTok as a source of news is used by 7% of respondents, Telegram – by 6%.