"Double-digit annual growth has taken the global social media user figure to 4.62 billion, and current trends indicate that it will equal 60 percent of the world’s total population within the next few months. COVID-19 continues to hamper research into internet adoption though, resulting in reporti ... ng delays that have kept overall growth in internet user figures down for the second year in a row. Despite these challenges, however, the latest data reveal that the number of people who don’t use the internet has now fallen below 3 billion, marking another important milestone on our journey towards equal digital access for all. Meanwhile, at 4.95 billion, we’re also tantalisingly close to reaching a global total of 5 billion internet users, and I’m looking forward to celebrating that particular milestone with you in one of our upcoming Statshot reports. As always, the data in this year’s reports goes well beyond user numbers though, and our latest collection offers some especially interesting insights into the world’s evolving online behaviours. For example, TikTok users spent an average of 48 percent more time using the platform’s mobile app over the past 12 months compared with the previous year, while YouTube users now spend almost a full day each month watching videos in the platform’s app." (Page 3) more

"Many people connected to the internet for the first time as they adapted to the challenges of COVID-19, while existing users embraced new digital tools and rediscovered old favourites. As a result, many of the indicators in our Global Digital Reports have seen remarkable levels of growth over the p ... ast 12 months. Social media delivered some of the most impressive numbers, with users increasing by more than 13 percent since our 2020 reports. Almost half a billion users joined social media in the past year, taking the global total to 4.2 billion in early 2021. Growth hasn’t just been about user numbers, though. The world’s mobile users now spend more time on their phones than they do watching television, clearly positioning the smartphone as today’s ‘first screen’. Ecommerce is another area that saw rapid growth in 2020, with many people moving their shopping online to mitigate the health risks associated with COVID-19. However, research suggests that the new ecommerce habits people adopted during lockdown will last well beyond the pandemic." (Page 3) more

"The big story in this year’s data is the accelerating growth in internet users. More than 360 million people came online for the first time during 2018, at an average rate of more than 1 million new users each day. 57 percent of the world’s population is now connected to the internet, with tren ... ds indicating that all of the original ‘Next Billion Users’ are now online. We’re spending significant amounts of time online, too. The average internet user now spends more than 6½ hours online each day, meaning that the world’s digital community will spend a combined total of more than 1.2 billion years using the internet in 2019. Social media continues to account for the greatest share of that time, and the average user spends more time on social today than they did this time last year. The number of social media users around the world has increased by more than 280 million since January 2018, but there have also been some user declines across some of the world’s top social platforms. To help you make sense of this changing social landscape, we’ve included detailed data by platform across all of our reports." (Page 3) more

"Perhaps the most exciting headline in this year’s reports is that global internet users have now passed the 4 billion mark. Well over half of the world’s population now uses the internet, and a quarter of a billion new users came online for the first time during the past 12 months. People are s ... pending more time online too: the average user now spends around 6 hours each day using the internet. If we add this together for all 4 billion of the world’s internet users, people will spend a massive 1 billion years online in 2018. Much of this growth in internet users has been driven by more affordable smartphones and mobile data plans. More than 200 million people got their first mobile device in 2017, and two-thirds of the world’s 7.6 billion inhabitants now have a mobile phone." (Page 3) more