Digital Marketing gains prominence as Social Media population crosses 5 Billion

Ahead of Facebook’s 20th birthday on February 4, the count of active social media users has crossed the 5 billion mark, or about 62.3 percent of humanity, according to a report published by – We Are Social – a renowned social media agency. The report was based on figures compiled by the digital consultancy company Kepios.

As per the latest study, there are 5.04 billion active users on social media. However, the numbers may need to be more precise as there can be some automated accounts and people using different identities.

Internet users grew by 1.8 percent over the past 12 months, with 97 million new users taking the global tally to 5.35 billion at the start of 2024.

Social media is the most popular online activity, with over 97% of working-age internet users accessing social networks or messaging platforms monthly. That’s why brands are busy emphasizing digital marketing through social media to reach more consumers and indulge in meaningful social media engagement.

Digital marketing agencies in Dubai have the entire setup for brand promotion online through SEO specialists, social media management, and content development to make the company’s task easier and help it achieve its business goals at affordable costs.

Huge Social Media consumption time

According to the study, messaging and chatting apps are the slightly more popular choice, with 94.7 percent of all internet users aged 16 to 64 accepting they’ve used at least one of these platforms in the past 30 days. Social networks follow closely, with 94.3 percent usage in the same age group. Search engines rank third, with 80.7 percent of respondents saying they use services like Google and Bing monthly.

In 2023, 266 million new social media users arose, equating to an average increase of 8.4 new users every second. The number of new users accelerated in the last quarter of 2023.

Thе social nеtwork with thе most usеrs was Mеta’s Facеbook with 2.19 billion. Mеta’s Instagram was next with 1.65 billion, narrowly trailing TikTok at 1.56 billion. Facebook was launched in 2004, but the birth of social media is believed to be five decades before.

Social media users now spend more time on social media, 2 hours and 23 minutes per day, according to a report by GWI (formerly GlobalWebIndex), an audience research company. A typical internet user now spends 6 hours and 40 minutes online daily.

Highest ratio of users in the UAE and Gulf in proportion to population

Countries located on the western side of the Persian Gulf have the highest ratio of social media users in proportion to their population. However, this could be due to large expat communities in these countries, which must be accurately reflected in the official population data.

The latest data about the United Arab Emirates indicate that social media users equate to 112.3 percent of the country’s population. This anomaly is caused by artificially inflated or duplicate social media accounts. Also, according to the study, population figures may need to be reported more than the number of people living or working in the country.

Other Gulf countries, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, also see elevated levels of social media adoption. North Korea continues to have the lowest levels of social media adoption worldwide due to a total digital blockade.