We Are Social presented “Digital 2023”, the annual report that explores data on the digital and social scenario. Not only that, but also the changes in the use of the Internet, in Italy and around the world, created in collaboration with Meltwater.
“Digital 2023”: this is how long Italians scroll through social media
According to the data recorded in our country, Internet use drops, returning to pre-pandemic levels. The Italians almost pass 6 hours a day online, down 4% (minus 15 minutes). Opposite scenario instead as regards the use of social channelspeople spend in fact almost 2 hours on a daily basis on the various platforms. That’s a third of total time spent online, up from the previous year.
And what are the main reasons why people access social networks and participate in online conversations? Mainly to keep informed (48%), to entertain oneself (46%) and to keep in touch with others (45%), but not only. 30% of Italians use them to find inspiration on things to do and 22% to find products to buy. And when it comes to looking for information on brands of interest, social networks are the preferred channel for 59% of people to do so.
“Digital 2023”, some Italian evidence
- Most used platforms: Meta ecosystem platforms continue to be the most used: the first is Whatsapp, used by 89% of people every month, followed by Facebook (77%), Instagram (73%) and Facebook Messenger (51%), after of them also Telegram (46%) and TikTok (37%);
- Use of video content: Nearly all 16-65 year olds watch online video every week (91%), up 3% from the previous year. This growth is mainly driven by entertainment content (+2%) and influencer videos (+5%).
- Gaming: Every week 8 out of 10 people play video games, for a total of about an hour a day. About 1 out of 10 Italians buy games usable from mobile phones;
- Audio: Podcasts also continue their growth trend, the time spent by people listening to them is in fact increasing by 10%, reaching more than half an hour a day;
- Ecommerce: As far as ecommerce is concerned, 37 million people make purchases online and 47% of people buy a product or service online a week;
- Digital advertising spend: Digital advertising spend grows by 9%, bringing the total to 59% of total advertising spend, an increase of 5% compared to last year, also driven by the activities carried out in collaboration with influencers (+15%).
What happens in the rest of the world?
- Internet access: 5.16 billion people access the internet, an increase of 1.9% (or 98 million) compared to 2022;
- Access to social networks: 4.76 billion users of social platforms, an increase of 3% (or 137 million), equal to just under 60% of the world’s population;
- Most active platforms: the average time spent using social media is equal to 2 hours and 31 minutes, the most active ones are Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp and Instagram.