🤔Social Media: What/Who is the Problem?
Intersection 1 — the intersection of social media & [mental] health
There is a widespread belief that #SocialMedia is unhealthy and can have adverse side effects on our mental health, which I totally understand and sometimes agree with.
However, there’s another argument against that, which can be pretty difficult to ignore: what if the problem isn’t social media? What if we are the problem, and social media is merely a tool or a reflection of our reality?
Here, I wrote about both sides of the argument: https://perspectiveix.substack.com/p/social-media-mental-health
Let me know what you think please.
Thanks for reading,
🦅@perspectiveix
Shopping via Social Media on the Rise
Consumers are gaining confidence in the idea that they could do nearly all of their shopping online. In a new report, GfK found that more than half (52%) of US consumers believe they can shop online for almost 100% of the products or services they need, up from 48% feeling that way last year.
As online shopping continues to grow, particularly during the current pandemic, shopping via #SocialMedia appears to be picking up steam. GfK’s survey shows that close to one-fifth of US consumers have shopped online either by using the “buy” button on social media (18%) or by clicking a shoppable post or story on a social network (16%). This is up from 13% and 12% of shoppers, respectively, who said the same in 2019.
🦅@perspectiveix via MarketingCharts.
🤳Too Much Branded Influencer Content on Social Media
Influencer marketing and branded content on #SocialMedia is quickly catching up to traditional advertising — but how do consumers feel about this development?
According to new data from Kantar, a third of consumers like branded content less than ads. The number is almost 60% in @perspectiveix Telegram community, according to the poll in the previous post [after 169 votes].
The amount of these branded and promotional content is another attitude determining factor. Kantar data shows 42% of the respondents say that they see too much branded content on social media, while 22% claimed that they don't notice it.
❓ How do you feel about that? Do you think you're seeing too much of them? Or you don't even notice them? Or they don't bother you?
🦅@perspectiveix via MarketingCharts.
📰Social media as a Source of News
The world of news media – whose very purpose is to bring truth to the masses – has been plagued by distrust for a number of years.
Terms like “fake news” are now part of our lexicon, and for a while now, #SocialMedia has been firmly under the spotlight for its distribution of inaccurate information.
We saw consumers lose some of their trust in social media in the aftermath of data privacy scandals and Russian bots. But with the growing public health crisis, social media as a news source has made a resurgence.
Nearly half of internet users in the U.S. and UK are now reading more news stories on social media.
This is more than the number who are increasingly keeping in touch with family and friends, watching entertainment content, and sharing photos and videos – making news consumption the fastest growing behavior on social platforms.
🦅@PerspectiveIX via GWI.
📊 Time Spent on Social Media
On average global internet users spent 2 hours and 23 minutes on social media per day, though trends differed widely by country. In around half of the markets that Global Web Index surveyed, #SocialMedia use had shrunk or plateaued in Q1 2019 when compared with 2018 figures.
Emerging markets continue to spend the most time on social networks during a typical day. This could be driven by the younger demographics of these markets, with the 16 to 24-year-old segment driving growth globally. The Philippines spent the most time connected to social networks, devoting just over four hours a day to the digital sphere. Nigeria, Mexico, and Turkey all typically spent over three hours a day on social media sites.
Some of the more developed markets show signs of plateau which, in part, could be driven by the older demographics of these countries. During a typical day in Japan, people spend less than an hour staying connected digitally. Consequently, Japan also has one of the lowest birth rates in the world. Germany posts only slightly higher numbers, with users going on social media for just over an hour every day, while the UK and the US both spent closer to two hours per day engaging with social media.
As digital habits evolve, marketers and advertisers need to stay abreast of industry and demographic trends as the social media markets mature and become saturated in certain regions and countries.
🦅@PerspectiveIX via Statista.
📈Social Media Users Pass 3.5 Billion
The number of people around the world using #SocialMedia grew by more than a quarter of a billion over the past 12 months, to reach the 3.5 billion milestone by July 2019.
More than 46% of the world’s total population now uses social media, but if we focus on ‘eligible audiences’ – people aged 13 and above – the penetration rate increases to 59%, with the latest trends suggesting that it will pass 60% within the next few months.
🔗 Read more on DataReportal.
🦅@PerspectiveIX
🤔Internet, social media use and device ownership in U.S. have plateaued after years of growth
The use of digital technology has had a long stretch of rapid growth in the United States, but the share of Americans who go online, use #SocialMedia or own key devices has remained stable the past two years, according to a new analysis of Pew Research Center data.
🚀@PerspectiveIX via Pew Research Center.
👥Q4 2018 Social Media Report
Around 3.4 billion people use #SocialMedia every month with over 42% of them accessing it on their mobile devices.
Here are the most active platfroms:
🚀@PerspectiveIX via SlideShare.
🔑The Key to a Great Ad Campaign
Having a strategy for your #SocialMedia ad campaign is key. According to Sprout Social, the top three most engaging ad content include:
1. being entertaining,
2. offering a discount, and
3. teaching something.
🚀@PerspectiveIX via Nate Baldwin.
🚥The Future of Social Media
The change in user behavior is a natural one and doesn’t signify the demise of #SocialMedia. The social media activities and purposes are not disappearing, but rather becoming more sophisticated and diverse.
In both US🇺🇸 & UK🇬🇧 markets, 61% are comfortable using social media for entertainment. 52% are comfortable using social media to follow news, opinions and current affairs, and 44% are comfortable using it for reviews on brands/products in the future.
These are closely followed by motivations like buying/selling products (43%) and researching product ideas.
🚀@PerspectiveIX via GWI.
📝Texting is Now Teens’ Favorite Way to Communicate With Friends
It’s no surprise that teens today are heavier #SocialMedia users than they used to be: 70% report using social media multiple times a day, about twice the proportion (34%) from 2012.
However that doesn’t mean that social media is their preferred way of communicating with friends. Asked to choose between texting, in-person, social media, video-chatting, and talking on the phone, a leading 35% of the more than 1,000 13-17-year-olds surveyed said that texting is their favorite way to communicate with friends. That’s up slightly from 33% who felt that way in 2012.
🚀@PerspectiveIX via MarketingCharts.
🏖Digital Detox & Diet
In a special study, GWI surveyed 4,438 internet users aged 16-64 in 🇺🇸 & 🇬🇧 and categorised them into three categories:
1. Digital Detoxers (19%): been on a full digital detox, either while travelling or for any other extended time;
2. Digital Dieters (51%): taken steps to cut down their time spent online, such as restricting usage around bedtime;
3. Digitally Comfortable (30%): haven’t felt the need to cut down/out their online activities.
Digital detoxers and people who take more moderate means to limit their usage have the same priorities:
To spend more time with their families, take part in offline activities, and focus on their health.
#SocialMedia
🚀@PerspectiveIX via GWI.
❓Which category are you in?