More than 4 billion people use the internet now, and new data from the Pew Research Center suggests that social-media use is spiking in developing countries.
What kinds of social media are people using? According to Facebook (FB), more than 2 billion of those internet users go on that social network at least once a month.
Social media strategist Vincenzo Cosenza has a map that lays out how Facebook has come to dominate the planet — with 91% of 167 countries analyzed using the social network. He used traffic data from Alexa (AMZN) and SimilarWeb to create the map.
This map, also from Cosenza, shows Facebook-owned Instagram as the second-most used platform in 23 countries and Twitter (TWTR) as the second-most used platform in 22 nations. Reddit has also been growing, according to his analysis.
Social media ban
While social media use is growing worldwide, several countries have also imposed bans on social media. In March, Sri Lanka imposed a week-long ban on Facebook, Viber and WhatsApp, in an attempt to censor hate speech amid violent clashes between Buddhist and Muslim communities.
Pakistan is also censoring media, including social media, ahead of its elections on July 25. Meanwhile, China, Iran and North Korea have permanently banned Twitter and Facebook.
Interestingly, among the advanced economies, Pew noted that only 46% of internet users in Germany use social media. But in the Philippines, which is considered a developing country, 88% of internet users are on social media.
“When looking at social media use among internet users, many countries with relatively limited internet use have seen their share of social media users skyrocket relative to advanced economies,” the report noted.
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