Global social media trends: Who posts, edits, and engages the most?

Social media shapes how we communicate, share experiences, and express ourselves. But how do social media habits differ across the globe? Our recent study, surveying 1,010 social media users from six countries, garnered helpful insights into global digital engagement trends. From posting frequencies and platform preferences to the emotional impact of social media, this article explores the diversity of online behavior and looks at what influences our digital interactions.

Key takeaways

Summary/Overview

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Digital engagement around the world

Social media is a part of daily life for many, but usage patterns and preferences vary across different countries and demographics. Let's explore global trends in social media engagement, from posting frequency to platform preferences and emotional connections.

Most popular social media platform by country

Instagram claimed the top spot as users' favorite platform, with those in Mexico, Germany, and the UK showing the strongest preference for the photo-sharing app.

Time spent on social media also varied across different groups. While the average global social media user is on social media a little over two hours a day, South Africans said they spend about three and a half hours on it. It's no surprise that Gen Z users spend the most time online, with one in six dedicating at least five hours per day, while one in eight parents follow closely, spending more than four hours daily on social media.

Social media can provide users with a feeling of satisfaction or contentment as they experience connecting with others digitally. More than a third of users (35%) reported needing one to two hours on social media daily to feel fulfilled in this way. Social media users from the UK and Australia (56% each) and the US (46%) were the most likely to need less than one hour on social media to feel fulfilled. Users in South Africa were the most likely to need more than four hours (29%).

Other research shows that browsing and sharing posts on social media can harm mental health. We asked users how they feel when they can't access social media. This triggered various emotional responses, including:

Gen Z users were particularly affected, with 67% feeling bored and 28% experiencing FOMO when unable to access social media. Overall, more than one in five users (21%) reported anxiety or stress when cut off from social media, with Gen Z (27%) being the most likely to experience these negative emotions.

Nearly one in six of the users we surveyed (14%) said they rely on social media for their mental health and well-being — especially those in Germany (17%), the US (16%), and South Africa (16%). Gen Z also showed a stronger dependence (17%) than other generations.

Next, our research examines how often users in different countries share content and their preferred times for engaging with their online communities.

Types of content and frequency of social media posts per day

Different platforms require different posting frequencies for optimal engagement. But overall, most respondents (33%) said they post on social media an average of a few times a week. Closely following were those who posted multiple times a day (27%) and once daily (25%). Only 14% shared content once a week or less.

Looking at daily post frequency by country, users in South Africa were the most prolific posters, averaging about 3.3 social media posts per day. UK social media users posted the least frequently, averaging 1.9 times daily.

The afternoon was the most popular time to post: 43% favored this time slot for sharing their content. Evening posts were the second most common, with about one-third (32%) of users preferring this time. Morning posts were far less frequent (16%), and late-night posting was the least common (9%).

Behind the posts

What goes into a post, and what happens after? This section reveals what influences users' posting habits and their responses to audience interactions.

Social media posting habits

Users reported a range of primary motivations for posting on social media:

When it came to aesthetically enhancing posts, users favored various filters, with the most popular being:

What about users' attitudes toward post engagement? Gen Z stood out, with 29% reporting that they depend on likes for personal validation. Paradoxically, they were also the users most likely to prefer not to see likes on their posts (34%).

Engagement-seeking behavior was evident across age groups. One in eight social media users participated in "engagement groups," where members notify each other to like new posts immediately. This practice was most common among younger users: Gen Z (15%) and millennials (12%).

Content editing habits varied, with nearly half of users (47%) spending less than five minutes editing posts before sharing. Those in the UK (57%) and the US (54%) were the most likely to edit their own so quickly. Nearly one in 10 South Africans (9%) needed more than half an hour to edit their content.

Deleting posts due to insufficient engagement was a common practice, with 37% of users reporting this behavior. Those in South Africa (57%) and Mexico (48%) were the most likely to delete posts that didn't receive enough likes or comments.

Social media across borders

Social media habits are far from universal. From South Africa's prolific posters to the global dominance of Instagram and Gen Z's complex relationship with likes, users worldwide engage with social platforms in many ways. While social media connects us across borders, it also reflects and shapes our cultural differences, personal motivations, and emotional well-being.

As we click, post, and share, let's remember the human experience behind every like, comment, and follower count. Each one contributes to the global conversation that defines our digital age.

Methodology

For this campaign, we surveyed 1,010 social media users in six different countries to explore global social media behaviors, preferences, and motivations. We selected these countries to ensure a diverse representation of social media usage across key regions, including North America, Europe, Africa, and Australia. The country breakdown is as follows:

The generational breakdown is as follows:

The survey was conducted from July 18-24, 2024. Any percentages not totaling 100% are due to rounding.

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