Most time spent on social media: Phl ranks 1st

MANILA, Philippines – Filipinos lead the world in surfing the internet by spending the most time on social media, according to a recent report called Digital in 2017.

Social media management platform Hootsuite and global social media agency We are Social released yesterday the report, which said internet users from the Philippines spent an average of over four hours a day on social media such as Facebook.

Brazil follows with an average time spent of three hours and 43 minutes a day. Argentina and Mexico trail closely, both with three hours and 32 minutes a day. The United Arab Emirates comes fourth with three hours and 24 minutes, followed by Malaysia with three hours and 19 minutes a day.

Japan, meanwhile, was the bottom-dweller, with users spending an average of only 40 minutes.

The report was based on a survey of internet users aged 16 to 64 years.

It showed global social media use has risen by 21 percent in the last 12 months, with 2.8 billion users globally.

It said mobile social media use also grew by 30 percent year-on-year to surpass 2.5 billion users globally, with 91 percent of users accessing social media from mobile devices.

Facebook was the most used social network platform in the world with over 1.8 million users as of Jan.23.

As for chat apps, FB messenger and Whatsapp were the most preferred with one million users.

Commenting on the report, PLDT and Smart Communications spokesman Ramon Isberto said the results should not come as a surprise, as the Philippines has been tagged as the text capital of the world.

“It’s probably due to the same cultural dynamics that made us the text capital of the world. Filipinos like to keep in touch,” Isberto said.

For his part, Roger Graham, senior director for growth and marketing at Hootsuite Asia Pacific, said the results of the report show opportunities available for organizations to push their brands.

“Social media not only enables organizations to amplify its brand, but also build trust, credibility and human relationships at scale. It is now as much the responsibility of the top executive as the social media manager,” Graham said.