MANILA, Philippines – Filipinos now rank fourth in terms of time spent on social media, but are among the most ardent consumers of vlogging content and video games, according to Digital 2023, the annual report on worldwide social media and digital trends by Meltwater and We Are Social.

According to the report, while the worldwide average amount of time spent by users aged 16-64 on social media daily is at 2 hours and 31 minutes, the Philippine internet users spends 3 hours and 43 minutes on social media per day.

The Philippines’ figure doesn’t hold a candle to topnotcher Nigeria, however, which averages 4 hours and 36 minutes on social media daily. Brazil (3 hours, 46 minutes) and South Africa (3 hours, 44 minutes) ranked second and third, respectively.

Game time

The report by Meltwater and We Are Social also looked at time spent in other digital trends. They found that, among internet users in the Philippines aged 16 to 64, 95.8% of them played video games on any device and are thus ranked first in those terms.

Comparatively, the worldwide average is at 81.9% and Indonesia, the next closest country in terms of percentage, has 94.8% of users aged 16 to 64 playing games on their devices.

Despite this, it’s Saudi Arabians who spend the most time playing video games in terms of daily average time, at about 1 hour and 58 minutes a day. The Philippines ranks fifth in this regard, with 1 hour and 29 minutes spent daily on average. Thailand (1 hour, 43 minutes), India (1 hour, 41 minutes), and Egypt (1 hour, 34 minutes) round out the top second to fourth placers in this lineup, respectively.

Cryptocurrency ownership

The report said 23.4% of Filipino internet users own some form of cryptocurrency compared to the global benchmark of 11.9%.

As such the Philippines is the third highest country to do so, behind Turkey (27.1%) and Argentina (23.5%), and above the worldwide average of 11.9%.

Consummate video viewers, avid music listeners

The report also noted that 97.9% of Philippine internet users aged 16 to 64 watch TV content via streaming services – such as Netflix – each month. Mexico comes a close second with 97.7% of its internet users in the same age range doing the same thing, while the worldwide average is at 90.9%.

Filipinos are also consummate vlog watchers, ranking first globally in terms of vlog consumption with 55.6% of Philippine internet users aged 16 to 64 watching vlogs daily. Indonesia is a distant second at 33.3% and the global benchmark is at 25.5%.

They are also the top-ranking video viewers when it comes to using online videos as a source of learning, with 64% watching how-to videos, tutorials, or educational videos weekly. South Africa is second at 62.3%, while the global benchmark is at 43.4%.

Meanwhile, in terms of listening to music via streaming services weekly, Philippine internet users rank fifth at 48.2%, behind Brazil (50.3%), Indonesia (50.3%), Mexico (49.5%), and Norway (48.7%). The global benchmark is at 39.1%.

The complete 465-slide report by Meltwater and We Are Social, with insights on a host of various countries, is downloadable here. – Rappler.com