Pinoys spend longest hours on internet, social media

MANILA, Philippines — Filipinos continue to lead the world in time spent using social media and the internet, and more are embracing online shopping.

The latest Digital 2021 report of We Are Social and Hootsuite listed the Philippines as the global leader in time spent using social media, as well as in daily time spent using the internet.

For social media, the report showed that Filipinos spend an average of four hours and 15 minutes daily on social media.

This represents a 22-minute jump from the country’s Digital 2020 average of three hours and 53 minutes.

Next to the Philippines is Colombia with an average of three hours and 45 minutes, and then Brazil and Kenya with three hours and 42 minutes each. Japan spends the least time on social media with an average of only 51 minutes daily.

The global average for social media usage was two hours and 25 minutes.

Topping the list of the world’s most-used social media platforms is Facebook, followed by YouTube, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Instagram.

In terms of time using the internet, the report showed that Filipinos spend 10 hours and 56 minutes, which is a jump from last year’s average of nine hours and 45 minutes.

This measures the average amount of time that users aged 16 to 64 spend using the internet each day on any device.

Behind the Philippines are Brazil and Colombia, with 10 hours and eight minutes and 10 hours and seven minutes, respectively. Ranking last is Japan, with an average of four hours and 25 minutes.

Digital 2021’s global average for internet usage was six hours and 54 minutes.

Meanwhile, the report also showed that Philippine e-commerce adoption has risen from 76 percent last year to 80.2 percent.

This is the second consecutive year that the country’s figure was above the global average. Last year’s global average was 74 percent and was at 76.8 percent this year.

E-commerce adoption refers to the percentage of internet users aged 16 to 64 who bought something online via any device in the past month.

Leading this category was Indonesia, followed by UK, Thailand, Malaysia, and Poland.