COVID-19 has affected everything, on one side some of the businesses are going down but WhatsApp has been exceptional as there has been an increase of 40 percent in its use since the spread of the virus. According to the market survey, among all the social media apps, WhatsApp has seen the most usage growth, around 27 percent increase as compared to before the virus took over.
After the global pandemic, there has been an overall 61 percent increase in social media engagement. Web browsing has also boosted by 70 percent and the traditional media, TV watch-time has also increased by 63 percent.
Kantar, a consulting firm surveyed from March 14 to March 24, among 25,000 consumers of around 30 markets to check the popularity of the WhatsApp after the COVID-19 outbreak. Initially, the usage grew by 27 percent, which by the mid-phase of the virus outbreak reached 41 percent. Countries in which outbreak is in the later phase, the use of WhatsApp there has increased by 51 percent.
The time spent on the WhatsApp has also grown in some of the markets. Like in Spain, the time spent on the app increased by 76 percent during the pandemic.
Other social media apps have also witnessed growth in their usage. Facebook, for instance, has a 37 percent increase. The survey revealed that people between the age group 18 to 28 have been using the messaging apps the most. Also, 50 percent of usage on WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram is from people below the age of 35.
China, allegedly from the virus started, the usage of local social media apps have been the most, particularly on WeChat and Weibo.
Even though the usage of social media increased during the pandemic, but still a large number of people do not trust the information available there. Around 52 percent of people consider TV or newspaper a trustable source of information. On the other side, only 11 percent of the surveyed people said they trust the information available on social media platforms.
The report highlighted that around half (48 percent of people to be exact) trust the government agency website as a reliable source. According to the survey respondents, steps taken by the government are not providing enough security and assurance.
A few days back, Facebook also showed its internal data which proved that the use of Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp have turned almost double. The social media giants has also claimed that after the outbreak of Coronavirus in the USA in January, there has been an increase in time spent on all its apps, growing by 70 percent.
Photo: SOPA Images via Getty Images
Read next: How TikTok Is Entertaining and Engaging Its Users During Global Lockdown
After the global pandemic, there has been an overall 61 percent increase in social media engagement. Web browsing has also boosted by 70 percent and the traditional media, TV watch-time has also increased by 63 percent.
Kantar, a consulting firm surveyed from March 14 to March 24, among 25,000 consumers of around 30 markets to check the popularity of the WhatsApp after the COVID-19 outbreak. Initially, the usage grew by 27 percent, which by the mid-phase of the virus outbreak reached 41 percent. Countries in which outbreak is in the later phase, the use of WhatsApp there has increased by 51 percent.
The time spent on the WhatsApp has also grown in some of the markets. Like in Spain, the time spent on the app increased by 76 percent during the pandemic.
Other social media apps have also witnessed growth in their usage. Facebook, for instance, has a 37 percent increase. The survey revealed that people between the age group 18 to 28 have been using the messaging apps the most. Also, 50 percent of usage on WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram is from people below the age of 35.
China, allegedly from the virus started, the usage of local social media apps have been the most, particularly on WeChat and Weibo.
Even though the usage of social media increased during the pandemic, but still a large number of people do not trust the information available there. Around 52 percent of people consider TV or newspaper a trustable source of information. On the other side, only 11 percent of the surveyed people said they trust the information available on social media platforms.
The report highlighted that around half (48 percent of people to be exact) trust the government agency website as a reliable source. According to the survey respondents, steps taken by the government are not providing enough security and assurance.
A few days back, Facebook also showed its internal data which proved that the use of Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp have turned almost double. The social media giants has also claimed that after the outbreak of Coronavirus in the USA in January, there has been an increase in time spent on all its apps, growing by 70 percent.
Photo: SOPA Images via Getty Images
Read next: How TikTok Is Entertaining and Engaging Its Users During Global Lockdown
