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The World Wide Web turned 32 on March 12, 2021.  In this relatively short period of time, "going online" has become an integral part of many Americans' daily lives – at work, at home, and at leisure.  We now have a generation of consumers who never know life without being online, and even older segments of the population have incorporated the Internet into their routines.

From the PC as geek "toy", desktops, laptops, mobile phones and tablets have evolved into essential tools.  Consumers routinely seek out audio and editorial content online.  Ever-faster connections have led to the rise of online as a primary vehicle for video entertainment – to the point where the computer and mobile devices are now referred to as "second" and "third screens" respectively.

The Internet grew rapidly since its invention and in more recent years has been accompanied by the rise of mobile connectivity:

• As of February 2022, there are an estimated 307.2 million active internet users in the United States.
  • Cellular mobile connections: 353.5 million
  • Active social media users: 270.1 million 

(Source: We Are Social; Hootsuite; DataReportal, Digital 2022: The United States of America)

• Share of U.S. adults who subscribe to the internet in 2021 by age:
  • 18-29: 99%
  • 30-49: 98%
  • 50-64: 96%
  • 65+: 75%

(Source: Pew Research Center; 2021)

• The types of websites and online services visited in the past 4 weeks:
  • Search engines, 98%
  • Social media websites and apps, 59%
  • Online stores, 58%
  • Video websites and apps, 56%
  • Company websites and apps, 39%
  • News websites and apps, 33%
  • Blogs, 16%
  • Newsletters, 14%
  • None of the above, 1%

(Source: Statista Global Consumer Survey, April 2022)

Adult ownership of cell phones has also soared:

• As of 2022, 94% of U.S. adults have a smartphone.
  • 68% of households only have a cell phone and no landline.

(Source: MRI-Simmons 2022 Spring Doublebase)

• In 2021, there were about 277 million mobile internet users in the country

(Source: Statista Key Market Indicators, July 2021 )

• 64% of U.S. adults have used their smartphone for online shopping in the past year

(Source: Statista Global Consumer Survey, April 2022)

• In Q2 2021, online orders placed from a smartphone had an average value of $134.39

(Source: Monetate; Kibo, EQ2 2021)

Social media use plays a big part in American lives today

• An estimated 235MM people 12+ are using social media in 2021

(Source: The Infinite Dial 2022 - Edison Research/Wondery/ART19)

Social Media Usage by demographic

• Total
  • Facebook - 63%
  • Instagram - 46%
  • TikTok - 36%
  • Pinterest - 28%
  • Snapchat - 27%
  • Twitter - 27%
• Hispanics
  • Facebook - 61%
  • Instagram - 53%
  • TikTok - 47%
  • Pinterest - 28%
  • Twitter - 26%
  • Snapchat - 19%
• African-Americans
  • Facebook - 60%
  • Instagram - 58%
  • TikTok - 46%
  • Twitter - 35%
  • Snapchat - 30%
  • Pinterest - 28%

Social media platform used most often by demographic 

• Total
  • Facebook - 54%
  • Instagram - 14% 
  • TikTok - 10%
  • Snapchat - 7%
• Hispanics
  • Facebook - 46%
  • Instagram - 19%
  • TikTok - 12%
  • Snapchat - 6%
• African-Americans
  • Facebook - 40%
  • Instagram - 24%
  • TikTok - 20%
  • Snapchat - 3%

(Source: The Infinite Dial 2022, A Look at African-Americans & Hispanics)

• Most used social media platforms among 16-64 year olds in the U.S.:
• Facebook - 74.2%
• Facebook Messenger - 61.1%
• Instagram - 60.7%
• TikTok - 42.4%
• Twitter - 41.8%
• IMessage - 40.2%
• Pintrest - 39%
• Snapchat - 38.7%
• LinkedIn - 28.7%
• WhatsApp - 28.6%

(Source: We Are Social; Hootsuite; DataReportal, Digital 2021: July Global Statshot Report)

• Most popular reasons for global internet users to use social media as of Q2 2021:
  • Staying in touch with friends/family - 48%
  • Filling spare time - 36%
  • Reading news stories - 35%
  • Finding funny or entertaining content - 31%
  • Seeing what's being talked about - 29%

(Source: We Are Social; GlobalWebIndex; Hootsuite; DataReportal, Digital 2021: October Global Statshot Report)

• Percentage on different generations consuming news on Social Media:
  • Generation Z – 35%
  • Millennials – 32%
  • Boomers – 21%
  • Generation X – 8%

(Source: Digital media trends, 15th edition, April 2021)

On social media platforms, these generations would rather see ads personalized to their likes and activity than generic ones:

• Generation Z – 62%
• Millennials – 72%

(Source: Digital media trends, 15th edition, April 2021)

Leading social media platforms used by small businesses to advertise:

• Facebook - 66%
• YouTube - 42%
• Instagram - 41%
• Snapchat - 15%
• TikTok - 12%

(Source: The Manifest 2021 Small Business Survey)

Different activities that people engage in with social media (%):

• Read or watch news – 27%
• Listen to music – 28%
• Watch TV shows and movies – 23%
• Shop – 17%
• Play video games – 22%
• Watch sports – 13%

(Source: Digital media trends, 16th edition, March 2022)

Clubhouse made it's debute in April 2020 and is an invite-only, audio-based social media platform.

• There are 10MM weekly active global users

(Source: Influencer Marketing Hub; CNBC; Statista, April 2021)

• In June 2021, Clubhouse was downloaded about 8MM times

(Source: AppMagic, July 2021)

Top 5 trending topics on Clubhouse worldwide (in millions)

• Sales - 564
• Social media - 532
• Deep Tech - 528
• Startups - 464
  
• Business - 194 

(Source: britopian.com & Brandwatch, June 2021)

Amount of time A18+ use Clubhouse 

• At least once a day - 44%
• At least once a week - 28%
• At least once a month - 15%
• Less than once a month - 13%

(Source: Edison Research; Inside Radio, May 2021)

• In Q1 2022, TikTok had 188MM downloads
  • Q1 2021, TikTok had 177MM downloads

(Source: Sensor Tower, August 2022)

• TikTok has an estimated 1 billion monthly active users

(Source: DemandSage, August 2022)

• In August 2022, the daily minutes each visitor spent on TikTok was 95 minutes

(Source: Sensor Tower, August 2022)

Most popular TikTok content categories globally (in billions) as of July 2020:

• Entertainment - 535
• Dance - 181
• Pranks -79
• Fitness/Sports -57
• Home reno/DIY - 39

(Source: Mediakix, July 2020)

As online populations continue to grow, and time spent with digital media, marketers are diverting more of their ad budgets to online, with digital advertising becoming the #1 media category. 

• As of Q2 2022, retail e-commerce sales in the U.S. has accounted for over 257.3 billion

(Source: US Census Bureau, Quarterly Retail E-commerce Sales in the United States, August 2022)

• 68% of consumers purchased directly from a social media platform in 2022.
• 98% consumers plan to make at least one purchase through social shopping or influencer commerce this year.

(Source: Sprout Social Inc., February 2022)

For additional information/insights on Digital (Internet/Mobile/Social Media)

IAB  (Interactive Advertising Bureau)
http://www.iab.net

Borrell Associates, Inc.
https://www.borrellassociates.com

comScore, Inc.
http://www.comscore.com

eMarketer
http://www.emarketer.com

Nielsen
http://www.nielsen.com

Pew Research Internet Project
http://www.pewinternet.org