The Internet Crosses 4 Billion-User Mark

The 2018 key findings include:

• Internet user numbers increased 7 percent in the last 12 months to hit 4.021 billion, or 53 percent of the world's population
• Global social media usage has increased by 13 percent in the last 12 months, reaching 3.196 billion users
• Mobile social media usage has increased by 14 percent year over year to 2.958 billion users, with 93 percent of social media users accessing social from mobile
• Internet users are projected to spend a combined total of 1 billion years online in 2018, of which 325 million years will be spent on social media

In the past year, 16 million people started using social media platforms in the US - an increase of 7 percent. Now, more than 70 percent of Americans use social media and spend two hours a day on social platforms. Overall, Americans spend 6.5 hours a day using the Internet, 60 percent more time than they spend watching television.

The report also found that global growth of the Internet is propelling ecommerce forward, with 1.77 billion Internet users purchasing consumer goods online in 2017, an increase of 8 percent compared to a year ago. Collectively, consumers spent a total of USD $1.474 trillion on ecommerce platforms in the past 12 months, 16 percent more than in 2016.

"With four billion people now online, connectivity is already a way of life for most of us. However, as Internet companies strive to serve the next billion users, we'll see important changes in digital over the coming months. 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," said Simon Kemp, Global Consultant, We Are Social.

"The Digital in 2018 report highlights the continuing growth of the Internet and social media to individuals and businesses around the world. This dynamic has forever altered the customer journey as consumers and B2B professionals increasingly conduct research, make buying decisions, seek support, and recommend brands online. To achieve competitive advantage, all executives must dive deep into digital now, meeting their customers where they are to best market, sell, and serve them," said Penny Wilson, CMO, Hootsuite. 

More Information

• Slideshare Report:
  https://www.slideshare.net/wearesocial/digital-in-2018-global-overview-86860338 
• Hootsuite Media Kit
  https://hootsuite.com/about/media-kit

About We Are Social
We Are Social. We are a global agency. We deliver world-class creative ideas for forward-thinking brands. We believe in people before platforms and the power of social insight to drive business value.  We call this social thinking. With an international team of more than 700 and offices in New York, London, Paris, Milan, Munich, Berlin, Singapore, Shanghai, Beijing and Sydney, our mission is to put social thinking at the center of marketing. We're already helping many of the world's top brands, including Adidas, Netflix, Samsung, Lavazza and Google. If you'd like to learn more about how we can help you too, visit www.wearesocial.com

About Hootsuite
Hootsuite is the most widely used social media management platform, trusted by more than 16 million people and employees at 80% of the Fortune 1000. Hootsuite's unparalleled expertise, customer insights at scale, and collaborative ecosystem, uniquely help people and organizations to succeed with social. To learn more, visit www.hootsuite.com.   

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SOURCE We Are Social

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