Report finds that internet users have passed the 5.5 billion mark, with 136 million new users added in the last 12 months
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Meltwater, a global leader in media, social and consumer intelligence, and We Are Social, the socially-led creative agency, have released Digital 2025, their latest annual report on social media and digital trends worldwide.
Digital 2025 shows that AI's momentum is accelerating, social media is increasingly important for brand discovery, and ad spend has increased significantly across digital, social and influencer.
Brand discovery grows on social
According to Digital 2025, global social media user identities now stand at 5.24 billion, an increase of 4.1 percent over the past 12 months. The typical internet user spends 2 hours and 21 minutes using social media each day.
Importantly for marketers, half of all adult social media users now visit social platforms with the intention of learning more about brands; a figure that has steadily increased over the last year. Instagram tops the research charts, with 62.3 percent of its adult users researching brands on the platform. Facebook ranks second, (52.5 percent) with TikTok third (51.5 percent). Digital 2025 shows that 22 percent of active social media users follow influencers or other experts on social channels. However, this figure jumps to 30.8 percent for women aged 16 to 24.
Social platforms vie for top spot
YouTube was the 'most used' social media platform at the start of 2025, with an active user base 16 percent larger than second placed WhatsApp; Facebook, Instagram and TikTok make up the top five. When it comes to the world's 'favourite' social platform*, Instagram tops the charts, with 16.6 percent of social media users pledging their allegiance. WhatsApp ranks second with 16 percent, while Facebook comes in third, with 13.1 percent.
However, there is good news for TikTok, whose Android user base spent almost 35 hours using the platform's app in November 2024; the average monthly time that the typical TikTok user spends using the platform's Android app increased by almost two hours between August and November. The 6.6 billion TikToks tagged with "#FYP" attracted an incremental 24 trillion views in 2024 alone.
When it comes to breakthrough platforms, Threads now has 320 million monthly active users, of which more than 100 million are active each day, and topped the 'active user growth' rankings at the end of 2024. Bluesky has attracted more than 30 million registered users, but data.ai reported that the app still had fewer than 25 million monthly active users at the end of November 2024.
Digital and social ad spend grows - again
The increasing importance of digital in the advertising landscape is reflected in ad spend figures. Marketers spent US$1.1 trillion on ads in 2024, with global spend increasing by $75 billion - 7.3 percent - compared to 2023. Digital channels now account for 72.7 percent of worldwide ad investment, with online spend exceeding US$790 billion last year; a year-on-year increase of 10.3 percent (+$74 billion). In fact, digital ad spend has more than doubled since 2019.
Within the digital landscape, social media ad spend has increased to $243 billion, a 15% rise year-on-year. And brands' continued interest in influencer marketing is clear, with a 14% increase in global influencer marketing spend year-on-year and annual influencer investment now at $35 billion.
ChatGPT makes gains
Digital 2025's app data showcases the rising interest in, and use of, AI. ChatGPT tops the AI leaderboard, with its mobile app averaging more than a quarter of a billion monthly active users between September and November 2024. It was also one of the world's most
