How much time do people spend on social media every day? Which country has the least screen time globally? Do users prefer TikTok or Instagram?
Table Of Content
Based on global screen usage data, some interesting findings include:
- Social media use in Taiwan is on the lower end globally, with an average of 2 hours per day.
- Japan has the lowest social media usage globally, with less than 1 hour per day.
- The top 10 countries for social media usage are mostly in Africa, Latin America, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East.
The two images created by ElectronicsHub show how "internet usage time" and "social media usage time" compare to "awake time."
On average, people in Taiwan spend 42.98% of their waking time (about 7 hours and 20 minutes) online, with 12.48% of that time (around 2 hours) spent on social media.
Japan, however, has the lowest internet usage time, with people spending only 4 hours and 4 minutes daily online, and only 55 minutes of that on social media. This could be influenced by various factors, including Japan's aging population and high work pressure, which may reduce the time spent on social media.
The data in these two charts from ElectronicsHub comes from a Datareportal report, which combines data from multiple sources like GWI, data.ai, Similarweb, and Semrush. Below is the original chart from Datareportal (I've marked Taiwan with an arrow).
Here’s the summary of insights from two reports for the first half of 2024:
- People have spent less time on media over the past year.
- The most used online services are still messaging and social media.
- TikTok has the highest average active user hours (2x more than Instagram).
- Instagram is the most loved social media platform worldwide.
＊Note: ElectronicsHub treats "screen time" as the same as "internet usage time" for convenience. However, using a screen could also mean offline activities like writing or drawing, and using the internet might include listening to music, so these times aren't exactly the same.
1. In the past year, people have spent about 2-3% less time on media
According to GWI data, over the past year, even though the total time spent online hasn't changed, people have spent less time on media like streaming video, social media, news, music, podcasts, and gaming. This might hit companies like Netflix, Disney, and Spotify hard.
The biggest drop was in news consumption, which fell by 9.3%. This aligns with a 2023 report by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (RISJ), which showed that only 48% of respondents were very or extremely interested in news, down from 63% in 2017.
While the report doesn't explain why media consumption has dropped, I personally think it could be because, after the pandemic, people are now spending more time traveling, socializing, and doing outdoor activities, which reduces their online media use. I believe this may be a temporary trend as we adjust from the pandemic-driven media consumption spike. We’ll need to keep an eye on the trend to see if it continues.
2. But the most frequently used websites/apps are still messaging and social media
According to the data, 94.7% and 94.3% of people reported using messaging and social media apps in the past month. The third most used service was search engines (80.7%), and e-commerce shopping ranked fourth (74.3%).
As expected, younger people (ages 16-24) use messaging and social media the most compared to other age groups.
The main reason people use social media is to "stay in touch with friends and family" (49.5%), far ahead of other reasons like "killing time" (38.5%), "reading the news" (34.2%), and "searching for text or video content" (30.2%).
The main reason people use the internet is to "find information" (60.9%), followed by "staying in touch with friends and family" (56.6%). The third reason is "watching videos, shows, or movies" (52.3%).
The report didn't go into much detail on this, but it could be due to people's expectations when answering the survey. When asked about the "internet," we might first think of search engines and forget that social media apps are also a form of the internet.
However, one thing is clear: "staying in touch" is still in the top two reasons. People really want to connect with others. This need for connection is much stronger than the desire to consume content. As the report points out, "content consumption is really just a way to find topics to talk about with others." Humans are truly social animals.
(Note: The data mentioned is from Q3 2023.)
3. Average Active User Time: TikTok is #1
Here’s the average time active users spend on each social media app per month:
- TikTok: 31 hours 47 minutes
- YouTube: 27 hours 43 minutes
- Facebook: 19 hours 27 minutes
- WhatsApp: 16 hours 58 minutes
- Instagram: 16 hours 28 minutes
- LINE: 8 hours 4 minutes
- X (Twitter): 5 hours 19 minutes
TikTok’s audience is almost as large as Instagram’s. TikTok has 1.56 billion users, while Instagram has 1.65 billion. However, Instagram users spend only about half the time on the platform compared to TikTok users.
By the end of 2023, the newly launched Threads had just 14 minutes of average daily use—though this may have grown since then.
Here’s the average time spent on each app per use:
- YouTube: 7 minutes 37 seconds
- TikTok: 5 minutes 52 seconds
- Facebook: 3 minutes 44 seconds
- Instagram: 2 minutes 51 seconds
- Reddit: 2 minutes 38 seconds
- X (Twitter): 2 minutes 21 seconds
- LINE: 1 minute 22 seconds
The report also notes that, compared to the previous quarter (September 2023), almost all social media usage dropped, except for X (Twitter), which saw growth.
The data is from Android users, collected between October and December 2023, due to iPhone privacy limitations.
4. the world’s favorite social media platform: Instagram
When people were asked about their favorite social media platform, Instagram got 16.6% of the votes. Coming close behind were:
- WhatsApp (16.3%)
- WeChat (13.0%)
- Facebook (12.7%)
- TikTok (7.9%, for outside of China)
- Douyin (6.7%, the Chinese version)
- Even if you combine TikTok and Douyin, they still don’t beat Instagram. So, based on the survey, people say they love Instagram, but they spend the most time using TikTok.
Of course, age plays a big role in these preferences. Instagram is the top pick for people aged 16–34, while WhatsApp is more popular with those aged 35–64, making it a favorite among older users.
Apart from what was mentioned, the report also includes insights like search engine traffic, gaming hours, and internet habits of Gen Z. It’s packed with interesting data. If you’re curious, I recommend checking it out for more details.
Two Types of Social Media Use: Active and Passive
The report says social media use can be divided into two main types: active and passive. Active use includes things like commenting, interacting, and chatting. Passive use means just scrolling and consuming content.
Spending too much time passively scrolling can increase anxiety. Social media is designed to trigger dopamine, and feeling anxious can push people to scroll more as a way to cope—creating a negative cycle.
This was one of the main reasons Clarymind was developed.
Here are some tips:
- Remove all social media apps from your home screen.
- Keep your phone out of sight while working (like in a drawer).
- Use Clarymind to limit app usage.
The result is much less anxiety caused by social media, leading to a more stable mood. You’ll get distracted less often and have more focused time to do the things you want to accomplish.
Another benefit is that it encourages intentional use of social media. Instead of mindlessly scrolling out of habit, you can set limits and use it with purpose—keeping up with news or learning something new without wasting too much time or energy.
Even if you don’t use Clarymind, the first two tips can still help. Give them a try!
If you want to see how locking apps works, check out the demo video below or download Clarymind from the App Store. If you have any questions, feel free to email us or [join our Discord(https://discord.com/invite/H6McMYzJJJ).
