By NIDHAL
GUESSOUM
The “Digital 2021” report was published a few weeks ago by DataReportal, We Are Social and Hootsuite, a trio of international organizations and agencies. Their annual reports monitor worldwide digital activity and trends, allowing experts to study the impact of digital devices and networks on social and economic life in more than 220 countries.
I will get to some significant insights and conclusions from this report shortly, including a few notes relating to Gulf and Arab countries. But, first, a few general facts: 66.6 percent of people in the world use at least one mobile device, 60 percent are internet users, and 54 percent are active social media users. Unsurprisingly, percentages vary widely from one country to another: In the UAE, 99 percent of people use the internet — the highest figure in the world — in Saudi Arabia, the figure is 95.7 percent, while in India it is 45 percent.
Time spent online is also interesting. On average, people spend almost seven hours a day using the internet on various devices — this means that we spend almost half of our waking time online. Social media usage continues to increase; this will not surprise anyone. However, the rate of that growth (1.3 million new users every day) may startle, and the amount of time that people spend on social media, chatting and exchanging text messages and audio and video recordings, might too. On average, people spend 2.5 hours a day just on social media. In some countries, the figures are even higher: Filipinos spend 4.25 hours a day on social media and Egyptians more than three hours, while the Japanese spend only 51 minutes a day, although this is 13 percent more than in 2020, possibly due to the pandemic.
In fact, socializing online comes second to using the internet to find information. A third reason is keeping up with the news. Then comes learning how to do things and researching products and brands — activities that are growing fast and may become important targets for companies. Indeed, people’s online search behavior is evolving, and understanding what they want from and what they do on the internet may have major social and economic impacts.
For instance, the fact that Google is the most-visited website in the world will surprise no one, but the fact that the second is YouTube may not only be unexpected but also have important implications. Facebook comes third and Wikipedia fourth.
One important recent and growing factor in internet usage is mobile connection speed, which is now fast enough in many areas of the globe to allow video streaming. This is relevant not only to entertainment companies but, as mentioned above, to businesses, which should now constantly think of reaching customers on their mobiles and via video. Moreover, the impending deployment of 5G networks in many places could turn into a multifaceted revolution.
Another important trend is the growth of online shopping worldwide. Indeed, Amazon.com is the sixth-most visited website. Globally, almost 77 percent of internet users aged 16 to 64 buy something online at least once a month. Surprisingly, Indonesians are the world’s most avid online shoppers, with 87 percent of digital users making purchases each month. It may be understandable that “only” 57 percent of digital Egyptians do the same (the volume and ease also depend on banking services and such). But the fact the UAE’s figure is (only) 67 percent and Russia’s is 60 percent was rather surprising. In Saudi Arabia, it is 77.4 percent, just about at the global average.
And what do people shop for? Usually, travel and accommodation is the top category, but the pandemic hit that sector very strongly. Other favorite products include personal care, fashion and beauty, electronics, furniture, appliances, toys, hobbies, music, and video games.
There were two particular fields on which I wanted data and insight: Online education and online healthcare. Unfortunately, the report does not seem to contain data on online education and instead limits itself to “looking ahead,” noting that “we can expect increased emphasis on digital innovation in the world of learning over the coming months… Some of this will relate to how individual educators deliver their materials, with innovations in ‘digital classroom’ solutions likely to continue apace in 2021.” –AN
