Digital Trends 2024
Social media continues its rapid growth, with over 5 billion users worldwide according to the latest data from Simon Kemp’s Digital 2024 report. This translates to an average of 8.4 new users every second in 2023. TikTok sees particularly strong engagement, as hashtags like #fyp amass over 55 trillion views. The average TikTok user now spends 34 hours per month in the app.
Digital advertising also accelerates, capturing 70% of total ad spend across all media. Social ad spend increased 9% year-over-year, with continued growth expected. Search maintains the biggest share at 39% of digital ad investments.
TV Viewing Decline
Even with social media’s rise, TV viewing declines 8% from last year. Streaming now accounts for 44% of TV viewing time. The shifts accompany an overall increase in internet use, now over 6 hours 40 minutes per day.
Notable social media milestones include 600 million monthly active WeChat users and 400 million daily actives on Snapchat. LinkedIn surpasses 1 billion members, though only about one-third visit monthly.
Instagram overtakes WhatsApp as the global favorite social platform. 16.5% of adult social media users say Instagram is their preferred network. TikTok ranks fifth at just 7.4%, but continues steady growth.
Advertising Audience increase
TikTok’s advertising audience nearly matches Instagram’s at 1.56 billion vs 1.65 billion. However, figures aren’t directly comparable as TikTok only reports ages 18+. Quality of reach also differs between platforms.
Other key digital trends include the continued shift towards streaming over broadcast television and expanded adoption of platforms like WeChat and Discord. Discord may now have over 300 million users based on third-party data analysis.
The report forecasts another year of robust social media and digital growth. As headlines declare social media’s decline, the numbers reveal a different reality – one where digital permeates both marketing and daily life more than ever. Understanding the nuances in these trends will be key for brands in 2024 and beyond.
Read the full report by Datereportal below:
Giancarlo Viterbo is a Filipino Technology Journalist, blogger and Editor of gadgetpilipinas.net, He is also a Geek, Dad and a Husband. He knows a lot about washing the dishes, doing some errands and following instructions from his boss on his day job. Follow him on twitter: @gianviterbo and @gadgetpilipinas.
