The number of active social media users around the world just crossed the three billion person mark. This of course is a big deal because it is such a significant number, but also because it means that roughly forty percent of the entire population on Earth is now using social media on a regular basis.
Thenextweb.com did an article on these findings which also show that the number of mobile active social media users is nearing the three billion person mark as well. This in a world where there is so much inequality and sometimes a lack of access to even the most basic goods. Despite all of that, people find a way to get online and use social media.
The number of new users of social media is growing very fast. It is currently estimated that about one million new users sign up for social media accounts of some form or another per day! That means that the trend towards an even larger percentage of the Earth’s population having an active social media account is growing.
Most of the credit for the growth in social media usage can be attributed to the king of social media, Facebook. That one website hit the two billion monthly active user month as of last quarter, and it just continues to grow. New features are attracting some, but so is the fact that as more people create Facebook accounts, others feel the need to do the same. The website has almost become more of a utility than just another website on the Internet at this point.
Believe it or not, YouTube is the platform that comes in second for monthly active users. It too is showing tremendous growth that can be directly attributed to changes that it has made to the site recently.
There is little stopping other social media platforms from coming online as well. A lot of the people in the three billion number have more than one platform. They are spreading the use of popular social media websites to their friends and family. It is almost quite strange at this point to not have a social media account of some type, particularly in developed countries.
Before long it is expected that the number of people with a monthly active social media account will top those who do not have one. It is already almost there, and the trend just keeps moving towards more and more people having them.
Dil Bole Oberoi
