Social networking worldwide: time spent by country in 2024

ElectronicsHub has published the results of its latest study on screen time in different countries around the world in 2024. Let's decipher the part that particularly interests us: time spent on social networks.

Electronics Hub 's data analysts have re-examined how the world spends time in front of its screens in 2024, following the wave of 2023. Using data from DataReportal's Digital Report 2024, they were able to calculate the amount of time an inhabitant of each country spends in front of their screens (computer, social networks, TV...) compared to the average time they spend awake.

Episto's social networking survey methodology is based on this time spent by consumers on social networking platforms. The worldwide average is 2h15 per day. And there are significant differences between different markets.

🌎 A strong appetite for social networks on the American continent

South America boasts some of the highest levels of screen time in the world. In particular, Brazil (21.48%) and Chile (20.20%) have the highest proportion of time spent on social networks in relation to waking time. Colombia (19.96%) and Argentina (18.30%) are not far behind.

In Central America, we find a very similar trend with Mexico (19.36%). But the percentages drop further north, with the US spending an average of 14.02% of their waking hours on social networks, and Canada falling to 11.51%.

🇪🇺 European habits: measured and homogeneous

In Europe, the trend is both weaker than on the American continent (except for Canada) and remarkably uniform. Time spent on social networks ranges from 9.31% in the Netherlands to 12.82% in Romania. All are close to 11%. The only exception to the rule is Portugal, where time spent on social networks is higher (14.54%).

🌍 Africa: between world champion and lack of data

Despite a large lack of data on the African continent, it has the highest percentage of time spent on the planet: South Africa is in first place with a percentage of 22.26%.

In the Middle East, time spent on social networks is also well above average. This is particularly true of Saudi Arabia (18.09%) and the United Arab Emirates (17.80%).

🌏 Disparities in Asia & Oceania for time spent in front of social networks

In Asia and Oceania, the percentages fluctuate more widely. In Oceania, the Philippines dominate the chart with 21.03% of waking time spent on social networks.

They are followed by Malaysia (16.36%), Thailand (15.09%) and India (14.33%), as well as Russia (14.19%). The Far East, meanwhile, has the world's lowest time spent on social networks, with South Korea (6.37%) and Japan (5.11%) at the bottom of the table. ElectronicsHub rightly points out the correlation with the average age of the population, noting that 29.9% of Japanese are over 65.

‍

With averages - in emerging economies with young populations - that can sometimes exceed 20% of waking time, time spent on social networks now represents a significant proportion of consumers' occupations in different markets.

Oscillating between the 22.26% of time spent by the South Africans and the timid, albeit significant, 5.11% of time spent by the Japanese, these ratios clearly demonstrate the ease with which social sampling can reach all types of consumer across the globe.

‍

Source: ElectronicsHub, The Average Time and Usage by Country in 2024April 15th 2024