There are now more than 4bn people using the internet, well over half of the world’s population.
And not only are there more people using the internet, they are spending more time online too. The average user now spends around six hours each day online, which amounts to a collective 1bn years online in 2018.
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This is according to Digital in 2018, a report published today by social media management tool Hootsuite and the global media agency, We Are Social.
Simon Kemp, global consultant at We Are Social, said 2018 will bring important changes in digital.
“Audio-visual content will take priority over text – especially in social media and messaging apps – while voice commands and cameras will replace keyboards as our primary means of input.
“Social relationships and online communities will evolve to accommodate these new ways for people to interact with each other. This will result in rich new experiences for all of us, but businesses need to start preparing for these changes today.”
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By GlobalData
Here are eight interesting statistics revealed in the Digital In 2018 report.
What we know about the internet in 2018, from Digital in 2018
1. Mobile device usage is on the up
Mobile is the major way people are getting online. According to the report, more than 200m report got their first mobile device in 2018.
As a result, now two-thirds of the world’s 6.7bn people now have a mobile phone.
2. Mobile remains the most popular way to the internet
Last year, mobile phones were crowned as the most popular way to get online. In 2017, it held 48 percent of the share of web traffic by device. This year, this has risen to 52 percent
Laptops and desktops continue to fall for web traffic, decreasing by three percent to 43. It’s worse for tablets, which saw a 14 percent decline with only a four percent share of web traffic in 2018.
3. More mobile means more social media
More than 2bn people around the world are using social media each month now. Last year, an extra 360m people began using social media through their mobile.
4. Eastern Asia has the most internet users
Eastern Asia, which includes mainland China, Japan and Korea, has the most internet users in terms of region. A total of 947bn people in Eastern Asia are online, with Southern Asia following behind with 673 people.
5. Singapore has the fastest internet
As well as who is getting online and how, the report also looked at who has the fastest fixed internet speed. Singapore came top, with an average speed of 161.2 Mbps. This was closely followed by Iceland, with 145.6 MBPS.
At the bottom of the list, Algeria had the slowest internet, with an average speed of 3.5 Mbps.
6. The Netherlands has the fastest mobile internet connection
However, Singapore isn’t always top for internet speeds. In terms of mobile internet, it just missed out to the Netherlands which has an average mobile internet connection of 53.2 Mbps. Singapore record 54.0 Mbps instead.
7. What is the top Google search query?
Facebook remains top of the Google search queries in 2017, however, it did see a 24 percent decline in volume compared to 2016.
YouTube comes second, with Google coming third.
8. Nigeria is the most digitally optimistic nation
In the Google Consumer Barometer, published this month, countries were asked whether they believe new technologies offer more opportunities than risks. Following those results, it appears Nigeria is the most digitally optimistic nation, with 80 percent saying yes.
In comparison, Germany is the most digitally negative nation, with only 37 percent saying they thought new technologies offered more opportunities than risks.
