How do Internet users use social networks?

How will Internet users worldwide use social networks in 2022?

The social networks have become platforms used daily by a very large number of Internet users. Places for sharing, exchanging and inspiring, social networks have become a privileged space. But how do people use these platforms? And above all, how much time do they spend on them?

The video format takes centre stage

Video has become a format that is increasingly appreciated by Internet users and consequently promoted on many networks. At the top of the list, we find of course Tik Tok which bases the very concept of its application on the broadcasting of short, fun videos on a variety of subjects. It is notably on this application that Internet users spent the most time, up to 95 minutes per day, at the global level during the second quarter of 2022 according to a study by Sensor Tower. For comparison, users spend 21 minutes on Snapchat, 29 minutes on Twitter and about 50 minutes on Facebook and Instagram per day. Only YouTube follows closely behind the Chinese giant with 74 minutes of screen time per day. It is therefore clear that it is the video-based platforms that attract the most users and on which they spend the most time.

Increasing use of screens

Beyond the importance of content, it is clear that screens are increasingly used by Internet users on a global scale. This can be seen in the rate at which applications are opened each day. Again according to the Sensor Tower study released in the second quarter of 2022, the Instagram application is opened by 39 % of users every day, followed by Tik Tok with 29 %, Facebook with 27% and finally Snapchat with a rate of 26 %. We can see here the omnipresence of Meta in terms of user engagement. Moreover, the opening rate clearly shows the desire of Internet users to return to the network several times to consult the content posted online, reply to messages, publish or otherwise. In terms of downloads, Tik Tok also dominated the ranking in the first half of 2022.

The success of Tik Tok is no longer a secret, the application seduces Internet users with its content, its format, its functionalities and its evolutions. The only downside for the Chinese group is the threat from the United States of a potential removal of the application from the App Store and Google Play. Indeed, the social network is suspected of collecting personal data on users without their knowledge. Not being present in the United States would mean a significant loss of users for the application. Despite this, Tik Tok will undoubtedly continue to develop with its innovative and captivating content.