Azlan Othman
Brunei Darussalam’s social media adoption and use are the fourth highest in the world in population ratio, with 94.4 per cent or 425,600 users.
United Arab Emirates (UAE) topped the table with 105.5 per cent (10,000,000), followed by Bahrain with 98.7 per cent (1,460,000) and Qatar with 96.8 per cent (2,620,000).
For the population aged 18 and above per population, the Sultanate was placed second in social media usage, with 120.6 per cent (401,000). UAE ranked first with 124.6 per cent (9,750,000).
The Sultanate also topped the ranking in Instagram’s most significant advertisement reach in the population over 13 years old, with 74.1 per cent (270,550).
The data was according to the Digital 2023 report, an annual report issued by Meltwater, a global leader in media and social information, and We Are Social, a social creative agency.
As for Internet use in Brunei last year, the report said there were 421,300 Internet users in the country in January 2022. The Sultanate’s Internet penetration rate stood at 95.0 per cent of the total population at the start of 2022.
Kepios (an advisory firm enabling organisations everywhere to understand how to use digital technologies to improve success) indicated that Internet users in Brunei increased by 3,775 (+0.9 per cent) between 2021 and 2022.
The report also stated that there were 516,500 social media users in Brunei in January 2022.
The number of social media users in the country at the start of 2022 was equivalent to 116 per cent of the total population. Kepios analysis reveals that social media users in Brunei increased by 82,000 (+18.7 per cent) between 2021 and 2022.
Digital 2023 shows that the typical Internet user globally has reduced their average daily Internet use by 20 minutes over the past 12 months to six hours 37 minutes, equating to a year-on-year reduction of almost five per cent.
However, time spent on social platforms has increased to more than two-and-a-half hours per day – 40 minutes more than time spent watching broadcast and cable television.
Data analysis suggests that people seek more purposeful Internet use, focussing on quality over quantity. The daily usage rate is a return to 2019 levels before the COVID-19 pandemic profoundly impacted the world’s digital behaviours.
The report also showed that social platforms claim a more significant share of the world’s search activity.
The age group 16 to 34 are now more likely to visit a social network when looking for information about brands than using a search engine (48 per cent versus 45 per cent).
Half of the world’s social media users said they actively visit social platforms to learn more about brands and see their content.
While the rise of TikTok search has already caught the media’s attention, the latest data suggest that Instagram is social media users’ preferred destination when researching things.
The growing importance of social media is reflected in global advertising spend, with investment in social media ads more than doubling since the outbreak of COVID-19, to reach an estimated USD226 billion in 2022.
Additional headlines in Digital 2023, which looks at social media, Internet, mobile and e-commerce trends globally, include 5.16 billion Internet users today and 4.76 billion social media users.
Average daily mobile time has increased by seven minutes over the past year, and the typical Android user now spends more than five hours per day using their smartphone.
Computers still account for over half of the time people in North America and Europe use the Internet.
Ownership of cryptocurrencies is in decline: the share of Internet users who own at least one form of the digital currency fell by three per cent between July and October.
TikTok tops the global list of social media platforms regarding time spent per user on Android devices, followed by YouTube and Facebook.
