Relevanceresearch topic is due to the increasing diversity of social networks, which attracts modern teenagers. Recently, one of the main forms of leisure activities for young people has become a pastime in social networks.
Hypothesis:it is possible to develop a set of preventive measures for young people's Internet addiction to social networks.
Objective of the project: develop preventive measures for Internet addiction to social networks.
Tasks:
- find out what Internet addiction is;
- determine the most popular social networks in Russia and the age of the audience of use;
- conduct a sociological survey on the topic "Internet addiction";
- find out what is dangerous Internet addiction;
- develop some preventive recommendations.
Working process: 1) work with various sources of information;
Over the past decade, the Internet has become an integral part of life for the majority of the population. Today, any modern person visits the World Wide Web at least once a day to communicate, work or simply search for the necessary information. Undoubtedly, the Internet is of great importance in the modern world and is of great benefit to mankind: as an inexhaustible source of information, an affordable way to acquire skills and knowledge, as an indispensable assistant in work and business, as a means of spending and planning leisure, as a place for dating and a way to keep in touch . The Internet facilitates the choice and purchase of the necessary goods and services, and also allows you to save on their purchase ... However, along with all the advantages, there is also a negative consequence of the spread of the Internet around the world - this is Internet addiction.
internet addiction- conduct disorder resulting from the use of the Internet and a computer that has a detrimental effect on the domestic, educational, social, work, family, financial or psychological spheres of human activity.
Internet addiction is mental disorder accompanied by a large number of behavioral problems and, in general, consisting in the inability of a person to leave the network in time, as well as in the constant presence of an obsessive desire to enter there.
Under internet addiction we will understand the obsessive desire to enter the Internet while off-line, and the inability to exit the Internet while on-line.
According to the results of the survey, we see that today's youth is an active user of social networks: Internet pages are visited daily, young people spend most of their free time on social networks; most of the respondents are often online more than expected, there were also unsuccessful attempts to limit the use of social networks; however, they do not consider themselves Internet addicts; among the respondents there are those who feel annoyed if someone or something interferes with their use of the Internet; those who had to lie to hide the time spent on the Web; who can refuse to go somewhere because of the Internet, who experience a sense of anxiety, being offline. Therefore, we offer some preventive recommendations to prevent the emergence of Internet addiction or reduce its impact on today's youth.
1. What methods of communication via the Internet do you use most often?
a) none
e) MSN Messenger
f) vKontakte.ru
g) Odnoklassniki.ru
h) MyWorld
j) Your own version of _________
2. Have you ever met through the Internet
a) Yes. And more than once!
b) Yes, it happened once
c) No, but I would like to
d) No, I'm not going to!
Determine the goals that guide students when meeting through social networks
3. If you get acquainted through the Internet, then for what purposes do you do it?
a) I don't know. It just comes out...
b) Nothing to do. Chat to kill time.
c) For business contacts
d) Looking for friends, like-minded people
e) Expanding the social circle that I lack
f) Looking for sexual partners
g) Start a virtual romance
h) For a serious relationship with her (him) in the future
i) With other intentions
4. Do you believe that you can fall in love in absentia through the Web?
b) More likely than not
c) Rather no than yes
d) hard to say
5. What do you value most in your loved one?
a) Appearance
b) Mind, education
c) no bad habits
d) Responsibility, reliability
e) tenderness and affection
g) Strength, "hardness" of character
h) Care, the ability to create comfort
i) Loyalty, decency
j) physical strength
k) Unity of interests
m) Money
m) Other qualities
o) Difficult to answer
6. Are you ready for a real meeting with a virtual acquaintance?
b) Rather no than yes
d) Rather no than yes
d) hard to say
7. If you have ever made a romantic acquaintance through the Net, what did it lead to? (If there were many such acquaintances, then choose the maximum of what you have achieved)
a) Just exchanged verbal self-portraits
c) Conducted (conduct) correspondence within the bounds of decency
d) They even met. But he (she) disappointed me (a)
e) There was a stormy, but only a virtual romance
e) came (went). Saw (la). Defeated (la). An unforgettable adventure...
g) We still meet. I skip the details...
h) It must be love!
j) Own version _________________________________________________________________
8. Do you use virtual dating services?
a) No, and I'm not going to
b) No, but I would like to try
c) Filled out questionnaires there several times
d) Yes, I often leave information about myself there
e) I limit myself to viewing the databases of these services
9. The number of communities (groups) you created:
a) none
m) Difficult to answer
c) From time to time
a) I will most likely
b) I probably won't.
c) Difficult to answer
d) I will become its participant in any case
e) No, under no circumstances
a) Private messaging with friends
c) Placement of a page with personal information
d) Search for information on the given parameters
e) Posting photos and images
f) Exchange of files of various types, formats
g) Providing information about yourself to authorized users
h) Getting Answers to Questions
i) Commenting on diaries, records, photos of other users
j) Obtaining personal information about other users
k) Creating and maintaining your own communities
l) Publication of audio or video materials
n) Difficult to answer
13. The number of communities (groups) in which you are a member:
b) I am not a member of any
d) Difficult to answer
f) More than 50
14. Personal data that you have provided in your profile:
a) First name, last name
b) Age
c) Place of study or work
d) Internet coordinates (website, e-mail, ICQ)
f) List of friends
g) Interests
h) Address of residence
a) Rather no than yes
c) More likely than not
e) Difficult to answer
a) Odnoklassniki (http://odnoklassniki.ru/)
b) My world (http://my.mail.ru/)
c) Vkontakte (http://vkontakte.ru/)
d) My circle (http://moikrug.ru/)
e) Rambler Planet (http://planeta.rambler.ru/)
f) LovePlanet (http://loveplanet.ru/)
h) Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/)
i) Own option ______________________
17. Approximately how much time (hours per day) do you spend on social networking sites on weekends (non-working) days?
c) 0 hours
e) Difficult to answer
f) More than 5 hours
h) 5 hours
18. Approximately how much time (hours per day) do you spend on social networking sites on work (school) days of the week
c) 0 hours
e) Difficult to answer
f) More than 5 hours
h) 5 hours
19. I am an active creator and moderator of online communities (groups)
c) hard to answer
20. I strive to earn a reputation, a special status in online communities.
a) Rather no than yes
c) More likely than not
21. Do you know anything about the existence of virtual social networks?
22. In real life, I communicate with people whom I met on a social network
c) Difficult to answer
a) Private messages
b) Search for people by a given profile
c) Adding new friends
d) Filling out and editing the page with personal information
e) Placement of images in a photo album
f) Adding comments to any posted information
g) Publication of audio and video materials
h) Difficult to answer
i) Creation and moderation of online communities (groups)
25. Number of people in your friends list:
a) Less than 10 people
b) 11-20 people
c) 21-30 people
d) 31-40 people
e) More than 100 people
f) 41-50 people
g) Difficult to answer
h) 61-70 people
i) 51-60 people
j) 71-80 people
k) 81-90 people
a) A tool for finding old friends and acquaintances
b) A convenient way to communicate with friends and acquaintances
c) A way to find out the opinions of various people on any issue
d) A tool to find people with similar interests
e) A tool for finding colleagues and business partners
f) A way to tell the world about yourself
g) A tool for self-expression
h) Difficult to answer
27. What course are you in
28. Your gender
a) male
b) female
29. Your age
a) 17-18 years old
b) 19-20 years old
c) 21-22 years old
- 208.00 KbMinistry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation
Federal Agency for Education
GOU VPO Moscow State Open University
Cheboksary Polytechnic Institute (branch)
Department of Philosophy
Speciality
080507
RESEARCH WORK
by discipline: Sociology
on the topic: "Attitude towards social networks"
Date of verification: Completed by: student gr. M-31-07
Faculty of E&P, full-time otd.
Check result: Ivanova I.A.
Training code: 150720
Notes: Checked: art. teacher
Terentyeva G.G.
Cheboksary 2009
INTRODUCTION …………………………………………………………………. 3
- Poll …………………………………………………………………….. 7
- Survey results and data analysis …………………….. 9
CONCLUSION ……………………………………………………………. 17
LIST OF USED LITERATURE ………………………. eighteen
Introduction
Attitude towards social networks is hot topic , since recently social networks have become increasingly popular among Internet users. This is because various social networks have several advantages, compared to the already "obsolete" blogs, chats and forums, which are less popular today:
- First, in social networks, we will never feel the presence of a moderator. In some cases, the management of the social network reserves the right to review user photos before approving them. But, statements and any other forms of self-expression of participants in such a service are always uncensored. This is very important for understanding the essence of the social network, as well as the opportunities that it opens up. The Internet, which was originally a zone of informational freedom, is now far less lenient towards disloyal statements. A social network is a kind of island of publicity for users, with all its positive and negative features.
- Secondly, in a system like My Circle, Vkontakte, Odnoklassniki, MySpace, Facebook and the like, people do not just communicate, but, as a rule, are connected by some real contacts (for example, a former classmate, friend friend, etc.), one way or another related to "live", and not just virtual communications.
- Thirdly, only a social network allows a person to build his Internet image in its entirety. The user fills out a detailed questionnaire, where he indicates, if desired, interests, contact details, place of study, profession, marital status and much more. It is even possible to place a portfolio with a subsequent job search (as, for example, in "My Circle" on Yandex). Some services allow you to indicate on a virtual map the exact location of the apartment, university, school or favorite vacation spot of the participant. Thus, each user gets at his disposal a convenient platform for posting real information about himself and he himself determines the measure of frankness in relation to those who will view his profile.
- Another important feature of a social network is groups and communities. Any of the participants can create a new association with just a few clicks. It could be a hobby club, a meeting place for old friends, a closed small group that includes only a select few, or a huge open community that attracts a lot of curious people every day.
- Quite often, a social network user account allows you to place files - music, movies, videos, photos - in the public domain. Thus, participants can exchange interesting cultural objects with each other, as well as their impressions about them.
The purpose of this study is the analysis of the attitude of Internet users to social networks and the degree of their involvement.
Research objectives:
- Conduct a survey among active Internet users on knowledge and attitude towards social networks. Build the dynamics of the most popular networks. Find out which social networks are the most recognizable and visited among male and female users of different ages.
- Find out what features of social networks are most interesting to users (communication with friends, new acquaintances, etc.).
- Investigate the degree of involvement of active Internet users in social networks (how often a person visits a social network and how much time he spends on one visit).
- It is also necessary to find out how many users today will be able to refuse to use social networks.
- Draw conclusions about the attitude, knowledge, degree of involvement of users in social networks and give some recommendations to the objects of study regarding the use of social networks (say about the dangers that may arise during the use of social networks).
This sociological study is meaningful, informational, measuring(the count of persons who answered in one way or another is carried out).
Research method questionnaire was chosen. In this case, it is one of the most effective research methods, since it allows you to obtain some objective data, including those that are not the main purpose of the study - data on the age and sex structure, occupation. The study is non-continuous (selective), which was conducted using a simple random selection. The pilot survey involved 60 respondents of different age groups: up to 17 years old (schoolchildren), from 17 to 21 years old (students), from 22 years old. Combining the questionnaire survey with the results of the Romir Research Holding survey conducted in 2009 will allow collecting sufficient information to describe the actual attitude of Internet users to social networks.
Object of study – active Internet users of social networks of different age and gender structure. Subject of research are social networks themselves.
The study put forward the following hypothesis: “The most popular social network is Vkontakte (especially among schoolchildren), users consider communication with friends and search for people to be the most interesting functions. It is also assumed that the majority of active Internet users visit their page every day and spend an average of 30 minutes per visit to the social network. The predominant number of users will not be able to refuse to use social networks.”
The main concepts used in the study:
- Social network- a site aimed at building communities on the Internet from people with similar interests and / or activities.
- Account(account) - a record containing information that the user reports about himself to some computer system.
- Internet user- a person who is part of an Internet community, i.e. a group of people with similar interests who communicate with each other mainly through the Internet (mainly through social networks).
- Interview
Rice. 1 Questionnaire used for sociological survey
|
The questionnaire consists of 6 questions related to the topic of the study, and 3 questions that allow obtaining data on the age-sex structure and occupation of the respondents. Closed questions are 4, 5 and 6. They include a list of possible answers and require the choice of one of them. Questions 1, 2 and 3 require the choice of several answers or an indication of your own option.
The first question will allow you to find out which networks are the most recognizable among Internet users. The question involves the choice of several answers and an indication of your own option. This will allow to detect the variety of social networks specified by the user (i.e., what other networks users know, in addition to those listed in the questionnaire). The second question will show which social networks are the most popular and visited. This question will also allow you to find out the networks that are not indicated in the questionnaire, in which the respondents are registered. In the first and second questions, the most recognizable and popular networks identified by the Romir Research Holding were used as answer options: Vkontakte, Odnoklassniki, My World, My Circle, LiveJournal, MySpace, Facebook. The third question also involves the choice of several answers and an indication of your choice. This question will allow you to find out what social network users are most often doing (what functions they are most interested in), as well as to identify the variety of functions that social networks offer us. The fourth and fifth questions are closed. They will allow you to find out how often users visit social networks and how much time they spend on one visit. The fifth closed question will answer the question about the possibility of opting out of using social networks. This topic is relevant today, since the number of network users is growing every day, and it is becoming increasingly difficult for active Internet users to refuse to use social networks, they become addicted to social networks.
2. Survey results and data analysis
The study involved 60 respondents. Of these, 30 are female and 30 are male. By age categories, the respondents were distributed as follows: 20 people under the age of 17 (schoolchildren), 20 people aged 17 to 21 (students of a higher educational institution) and 20 people over the age of 22 years.
The most famous social network is Vkontakte, this site was indicated by all respondents (100%), Odnoklassniki (98%) was in second place, and the mail.ru portal project My World was unexpectedly in third place, 80 people know about its existence % of respondents. Moy Krug turned out to be the most little-known project - 32% of respondents are aware of its existence.
Description
The purpose of this study is to analyze the attitude of Internet users to social networks and the degree of their involvement.
Research objectives:
Conduct a survey among active Internet users on knowledge and attitude towards social networks. Build the dynamics of the most popular networks. Find out which social networks are the most recognizable and visited among male and female users of different ages.
Find out what features of social networks are most interesting to users (communication with friends, new acquaintances, etc.).
Investigate the degree of involvement of active Internet users in social networks (how often a person visits a social network and how much time he spends on one visit).
It is also necessary to find out how many users today will be able to refuse to use social networks.
Draw conclusions about the attitude, knowledge, degree of involvement of users in social networks and give some recommendations to the objects of study regarding the use of social networks (say about the dangers that may arise during the use of social networks).
CONCLUSION ……………………………………………………………. 17
LIST OF USED LITERATURE ………………………. eighteen
Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation
Federal Agency for Education
GOU VPO Moscow State Open University
Cheboksary Polytechnic Institute (branch)
Department of Philosophy
Speciality
080507
RESEARCH WORK
by discipline: Sociology
on the topic: "Attitude towards social networks"
Date of verification: Completed by: student gr. M-31-07
Faculty of E&P, full-time otd.
Check result: Ivanova I.A.
Training code: 150720
Notes: Checked: art. teacher
Terentyeva G.G.
Cheboksary 2009
Introduction
Attitude towards social networks is hot topic
, since recently social networks have become increasingly popular among Internet users. This is because various social networks have several advantages, compared to the already "obsolete" blogs, chats and forums, which are less popular today:
- First, in social networks, we will never feel the presence of a moderator. In some cases, the management of the social network reserves the right to review user photos before approving them. But, statements and any other forms of self-expression of participants in such a service are always uncensored. This is very important for understanding the essence of the social network, as well as the opportunities that it opens up. The Internet, which was originally a zone of informational freedom, is now far less lenient towards disloyal statements. A social network is a kind of island of publicity for users, with all its positive and negative features.
Secondly, in a system like My Circle, Vkontakte, Odnoklassniki, MySpace, Facebook and the like, people do not just communicate, but, as a rule, are connected by some real contacts (for example, a former classmate, friend friend, etc.), one way or another related to "live", and not just virtual communications.
Thirdly, only a social network allows a person to build his Internet image in its entirety. The user fills out a detailed questionnaire, where he indicates, if desired, interests, contact details, place of study, profession, marital status and much more. It is even possible to place a portfolio with a subsequent job search (as, for example, in "My Circle" on Yandex). Some services allow you to indicate on a virtual map the exact location of the apartment, university, school or favorite vacation spot of the participant. Thus, each user gets at his disposal a convenient platform for posting real information about himself and he himself determines the measure of frankness in relation to those who will view his profile.
Another important feature of a social network is groups and communities. Any of the participants can create a new association with just a few clicks. It could be a hobby club, a meeting place for old friends, a closed small group that includes only a select few, or a huge open community that attracts a lot of curious people every day.
Quite often, a social network user account allows you to place files - music, movies, videos, photos - in the public domain. Thus, participants can exchange interesting cultural objects with each other, as well as their impressions about them.
Research objectives:
- Conduct a survey among active Internet users on knowledge and attitude towards social networks. Build the dynamics of the most popular networks. Find out which social networks are the most recognizable and visited among male and female users of different ages.
Find out what features of social networks are most interesting to users (communication with friends, new acquaintances, etc.).
Investigate the degree of involvement of active Internet users in social networks (how often a person visits a social network and how much time he spends on one visit).
It is also necessary to find out how many users today will be able to refuse to use social networks.
Draw conclusions about the attitude, knowledge, degree of involvement of users in social networks and give some recommendations to the objects of study regarding the use of social networks (say about the dangers that may arise during the use of social networks).
Research method questionnaire was chosen. In this case, it is one of the most effective research methods, since it allows you to obtain some objective data, including those that are not the main purpose of the study - data on the age and sex structure, occupation. The study is non-continuous (selective), which was conducted using a simple random selection. The pilot survey involved 60 respondents of different age groups: up to 17 years old (schoolchildren), from 17 to 21 years old (students), from 22 years old. Combining the questionnaire survey with the results of the Romir Research Holding survey conducted in 2009 will allow collecting sufficient information to describe the actual attitude of Internet users to social networks.
Object of study – active Internet users of social networks of different age and gender structure. Subject of research are social networks themselves.
The study put forward the following hypothesis: “The most popular social network is Vkontakte (especially among schoolchildren), users consider communication with friends and search for people to be the most interesting functions. It is also assumed that the majority of active Internet users visit their page every day and spend an average of 30 minutes per visit to the social network. The predominant number of users will not be able to refuse to use social networks.”
The main concepts used in the study:
- Social network- a site aimed at building communities on the Internet from people with similar interests and / or activities.
Account(account) - a record containing information that the user reports about himself to some computer system.
Internet user- a person who is part of an Internet community, i.e. a group of people with similar interests who communicate with each other mainly through the Internet (mainly through social networks).
- Interview
|
The first question will allow you to find out which networks are the most recognizable among Internet users. The question involves the choice of several answers and an indication of your own option. This will allow to detect the variety of social networks specified by the user (i.e., what other networks users know, in addition to those listed in the questionnaire). The second question will show which social networks are the most popular and visited. This question will also allow you to find out the networks that are not indicated in the questionnaire, in which the respondents are registered. In the first and second questions, the most recognizable and popular networks identified by the Romir Research Holding were used as answer options: Vkontakte, Odnoklassniki, My World, My Circle, LiveJournal, MySpace, Facebook. The third question also involves the choice of several answers and an indication of your choice. This question will allow you to find out what social network users are most often doing (what functions they are most interested in), as well as to identify the variety of functions that social networks offer us. The fourth and fifth questions are closed. They will allow you to find out how often users visit social networks and how much time they spend on one visit. The fifth closed question will answer the question about the possibility of opting out of using social networks. This topic is relevant today, since the number of network users is growing every day, and it is becoming increasingly difficult for active Internet users to refuse to use social networks, they become addicted to social networks.
2. Survey results and data analysis
The study involved 60 respondents. Of these, 30 are female and 30 are male. By age categories, the respondents were distributed as follows: 20 people under the age of 17 (schoolchildren), 20 people aged 17 to 21 (students of a higher educational institution) and 20 people over the age of 22 years.
The most famous social network is Vkontakte, this site was indicated by all respondents (100%), Odnoklassniki (98%) was in second place, and the mail.ru portal project My World was unexpectedly in third place, 80 people know about its existence % of respondents. Moy Krug turned out to be the most little-known project - 32% of respondents are aware of its existence.
Despite the fact that the majority of active Internet users have accounts in several social networks, the results of the survey allow us to highlight some of the preferences of the participants. The leader in the number of registered participants was the social network Vkontakte - 83% of users are registered on this site. Competing with the Vkontakte network, Moi Mir unexpectedly took second place in terms of the number of registered users - 50%.
A similar analysis was carried out in September 2009 by the Romir Research Holding. The most famous network in this study was Odnoklassniki (92%). But Vkontakte was only in second place - 88%. In terms of the share of network users Odnoklassniki (67%) and Vkontakte (64%) are located in the same order.
etc.................
Today, social networks are so firmly rooted in our lives that the composition of the five most popular social sites practically does not change from year to year. However, the scale of penetration and use of these social networks differs depending on geography and demographic factors. Understanding these differences goes a long way when targeting a specific audience. When comparing the most popular social networks, it is important to pay attention not to the number of registered accounts, but to the number of active users. From the review, you will find out which social networks are growing faster than others, and which are currently in decline.
Most Popular Social Platforms
The chart prepared by analytics agency Statista gives a clear picture of the number of active users (in millions) on the most popular social networks in the world. Tops the Facebook list. This hardly surprises anyone. Facebook holds the majority of the market with over 2 billion active users. In January 2017, the giant's closest competitor was WhatsApp, which is also owned by Facebook. Then he was in second place. Today, YouTube is in second place with 1.5 billion active users. Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp come in third and fourth respectively.
They are followed by platforms, most of whose audience is in the Asia-Pacific region. These are QQ, WeChat and Qzone (with over 600 million active users). This shows that there are a number of popular social media in Asia-Pacific countries. After them, we see a cluster of sites that are popular mainly in the West - Tumblr, Instagram and Twitter.
But what about in Russia?
In Russia, the penetration of social networks is estimated at 47%, 67.8 million Russians have accounts in them. According to Statista, YouTube is the most active in the Russian Federation (63% of respondents), VKontakte ranks second with 61%. The global leader Facebook is only in fourth place with a figure of 35%. Skype and WhatsApp dominate among instant messengers (38% each).
Social networks that grow faster than others
Marketers usually do not spend much time on SMM. In which social network to concentrate efforts? Twitter, which managed to reach 313 million users between 2010 and 2017, has seen the slowest growth compared to its biggest competitors Facebook, WhatsApp and China's WeChat. Founded in 2013, Instagram surpassed Twitter in terms of audience size by 2014.
A new study from Statista has found that in 2017, Twitter has lagged far behind its rivals. It posted the lowest monthly active audience growth, with only 23 million from Q3 2015 to Q3 2017. Facebook, meanwhile, has grown by 461 million.
How users interact with brands on social media
Knowing how to behave and what to post on social media is also important, as it shapes your brand image and, as a result, encourages users to buy your products or vice versa to unfollow your groups. Social media is increasingly being used as a platform for working with customers, where customers, existing and potential, want to get answers to their questions in real time. From a chart taken from a Sprout Social report, it can be seen that 48% of users can be persuaded to buy by quickly answering questions in a group. 46% respond positively to promotions, and 42% may choose a brand's product if its page has educational content. 27% of the surveyed users admitted that they would want to make a purchase if they were shown materials that usually remain behind the scenes.
Half of Sprout Social survey participants said they would unfollow a brand's community if I posted content that annoyed them, while 27% said they would mark the brand and page as spam and block it. That is why it is so important to reach and engage your potential customers by publishing relevant and interesting content that resonates with your target audience.
Social networks with the most active audience
An important factor that influences how much time we should devote to SMM in a particular social network is the level of audience engagement. Here again, Facebook dominates, which also has the highest engagement over time, according to data obtained by analytics company comScore as a result of studying a group of consumers from the United States.
The success of Facebook is amazing. In addition to the social network itself occupying the top spot, other platforms owned by the corporation also occupied second and third place. The penetration rate of Facebook Messenger is 47% and Instagram follows right behind it.
From the latest data from Pew Internet, shown in the chart below, we can see that Facebook is also in the lead in terms of the number of active audience per day. 76% of users enter the social network every day, on Instagram this figure is 51%. Only 42% of Twitter users check it daily, which is almost half that of Facebook.
The average daily duration of using social networks in the United States is 2 hours 1 minute, in Russia users spend a little more time on social sites - 2 hours 19 minutes.
Engagement rates in different social networks
Analyst marketing company TrackMaven analyzed 51 million posts from various companies across 130 industries to find out which social networks have the highest engagement rates. The results showed that the absolute leader in terms of engagement per 1000 followers is Instagram. This is so much higher than other social networks that I had to make a separate chart to illustrate the difference between Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
As you can see from the second chart, Facebook is well ahead of Twitter and LinkedIn. The reason for this is largely due to the fact that more posts are published on Twitter, because there is no algorithm that allows you to show content to only a small part of the audience. Because of this, brands have to bombard their feeds with posts in order to break through the information noise. This, in turn, reduces the level of response to publications. Below is the average daily number of posts per account in three social networks.
General statistics of social media usage around the world
Every year, WeAreSocial updates its comprehensive Global Digital Report, which brings together useful data from social media around the world. From it you can find out how differently social platforms are used in different parts of the world. Surprising is the fact that Western countries are seriously lagging behind in terms of the rate of penetration of social networks.
Below are the main conclusions of the research.
- The number of Internet users in 2018 reached 4.021 billion, up 7 percent from a year ago.
- The audience of social networks in 2018 totals 3.196 billion people - 13% higher than last year's figure.
- The number of mobile phone users is 5.135 billion people, which means plus 4% compared to last year.
The numbers are growing rapidly, especially for social media active users on mobile devices – the penetration rate is 39%, which is 5% more than in 2017.
If we talk about the structure of web traffic depending on the type of device, then mobile users generate the most traffic (52%, which is 4% higher than last year). Only 43% of all web pages are visited from desktops, which is 3% lower than last year.
Northern, Western and Southern Europe, as well as North America, boast the highest levels of Internet penetration, with 74%-94% of the total population using the worldwide web. In Russia, 110 million people use the Internet - 76% of the total population.
The growth of the global audience of social networks since January 2017 amounted to 13%. The fastest growth in the number of users is observed in Saudi Arabia. Since January 2017, their number has increased by 32%, the global average is 17%. Other countries with the highest growth rates include India, Indonesia and Ghana. The reason for the jump was the development of technology, which made it easier for the population to access social platforms. Social networks grew the slowest in the UAE, South Korea and the UK -<5%. В России пользователей соцсетей стало на 8 826 000 человек больше (+15% к прошлогоднему значению).
Since the largest share of users is on Facebook, it would be useful to know how the content you post will perform on this social network and what features to use to increase its reach. According to social network statistics, the average coverage of a publication is 10.7%, while organic posts have 8% (organic coverage in Russia is 11.3%), and for paid posts this value is 26.8% (27.4% in Russia) . Organic and paid posts on Facebook have huge potential. It is important to correctly target publications in order to receive high-quality leads.
You can get a more complete picture of the state of the global digital market in 2018 by studying our survey of the Internet 2017-2018 in the world and in Russia: statistics and trends, which we prepared based on the Global Digital 2018 study.
Popularity of social networks by country
The graph from the GlobalWebIndex report below, based on a survey of Internet users, perfectly reflects the popularity of various social networks by country. Indonesia, the Philippines, Mexico, India, and Brazil are among the top 10 most active audiences on each social media, well ahead of the US, UK, and European countries.
Of the four social networks represented (Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Google+), Russians most actively visit the video service. Twitter and Google+ are relatively often used by only 20% of our compatriots, while Facebook is regularly viewed by just over 40%.
Demographic statistics of social media usage
As can be seen from the graph, there is a similar structure of social media use in different age groups. This suggests that social networks have reached the stage of maturity when they can be used to reach all demographic groups, regardless of age and gender. The exceptions are Instagram and Tumblr with younger audiences.
Strategies for interacting with the audience of social networks
According to The State of Social 2018, 96% of brands have a presence on Facebook.
At the same time, only half of the respondents have a documented SMM strategy. Large businesses are a little more responsible about this issue than small companies (60% said they have such a document).
When it comes to the types of content published by brands, images, links and texts are in the lead. Even though video posts tend to get the most engagement, video content only comes in at number four. This is primarily due to the complexity of creating such materials.
At the end of 2017, Smart Insights, together with Clutch, conducted a survey among business representatives in which they asked which of the social networks are of the greatest value to them. It turned out that among B2C companies, Facebook is considered the most effective (93% of respondents), and the majority of B2B companies prefer LinkedIn (93%).
The value of social media for brands in 2018
- If you think that your target audience is not on social networks, you are mistaken.
Through social networks, you can reach any audience, regardless of gender, age, social status. 98% percent of online consumers are registered in social networks, quite a large part of them are adults aged 55-64.
- A third of all time on the Internet people devote to social networks.
The average user spends 2 hours 15 minutes a day scrolling through the feed and chatting on social platforms, while young people aged 16-24 spend almost three hours. If you do not consider SMM as a channel for attracting customers, then you are voluntarily giving up the attention of your target audience to competitors.
- Half of all social media users are subscribed to brand pages.
4 out of 10 Internet users follow the pages of their favorite companies on social networks, and a quarter follow brands when they plan to buy something. People have a positive attitude towards such content, so an active presence in social media is of great value to companies.
- Social networks are the main source of information for consumers.
People aged 16-24 prefer to search for information about brands in social networks, rather than in search engines. A quarter of users in this age group admit that a large number of likes on a brand's page can persuade them to buy. In the group of 35-44 years old, 20% of respondents said the same. Social commerce can be considered one of the main channels for generating income, which means that it is important to diversify efforts, and not rely only on advertising.
- Watching videos is my favorite social media activity.
Facebook is the largest social network in terms of the number of users, but YouTube takes the first place in terms of traffic and the reason is in the video. Video posts get the most active response, which is why leading brands constantly publish videos on their pages.
The following materials were used in preparing the article:
- Global Social Media Research Summary 2018 by Smart Insights
- The State of Social 2018 Report by Social Media Week
- The Biggest Social Media Trends Shaping 2018 article published on the GlobalWebIndex blog
- Social Networks Study: How social networks were used in 2017 by Metricool analytical agency
- Global Digital 2018 report package compiled by WeAreSocial analytical agency
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