Digital 2021: The state of the internet

Mobbie Nazir
CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER
Paul Greenwood
HEAD OF RESEARCH & INSIGHT

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OVER 39
MILLION
VIEWS
10 YEARS
195
COUNTRIES
wearesocial.com/digital-2021

WHAT DOES THIS DATA
MEAN FOR BRANDS?

Gaming is the
world’s biggest
social platform
4BN
Number of active
gamers in 2020
BRAND IMPLICATION 1

The Gaming Metaverse
Gaming has moved beyond a niche occupation to a
mainstream Global culture. But people aren’t simply using
these universes to play games anymore.
Games are becoming entertainment hubs and incorporating
innovative ways for players to socialize within the game’s virtual
environment. Even if you are not a Gamer, you are likely a
spectator of its culture.
87%
The FaZe Clan: gamer-focused talent hub
to global entertainment behemoth.
LGBTQ+ community came together on
Animal Crossing to celebrate Pride 2020.
Why it matters?
● Driving the future of entertainment
culture
● Not all play - social spaces where people
connect and hang-out
● Merging of real world and gaming worlds
Inception, Batman Begins, and The
Prestige are the three Nolan ﬂicks that
streamed at Fortnite Party Royale.
Of global internet
users are gamers.
GDR 2021.
BRAND IMPLICATION 1

TikTok jumps into
the top 10 social
media platforms
BRAND IMPLICATION 2
+61%
Growth in the number
of active users in 2020

TikTok: Major Player
There’s been many false dawns of the latest social
media platform about to the take on the established
big 4 that have burned brightly and fizzled out
quicker than any one could say Yik Yak.
However 2020 was the year of TikTok defied the odds
and established itself as a major league social media
player with huge growth.
700M
TikTok users aged 13+
in 2020
Justin Bieber live streamed concert broke
TikTok records in On Valentines day.
Pringles tapped into the TikTok dance
challenges and generated 4BN views
TikTok, home to viral dance trends and
funny memes ,can also be serious place
tackling issues systematic racism and the
Coronavirus.
Why it matters?
● Natural affinity to music and younger
audiences
● Broadening circles, people follow experts
not friends
● Delivers major numbers with lo-fi /
homemade content is very now
BRAND IMPLICATION 2

Voice is the new
frontier for social
media
BRAND IMPLICATION 3
45%
% of Global internet
audience using Voice
interfaces monthly

Speak Your Mind
From Clubhouse to Discord to Twitter, 2020 was all about
giving people a voice. Audio-social apps have launched
before, but never in a time of mass isolation and screen
fatigue.
This is part of a longer-term trend towards audio. Podcast
listenership has steadily risen in the last decade and tech
companies such as Google and Amazon continue to invest in
development of voice-enabled devices.
Netﬂix recreating audio only content to
reach new audiences.
10M
Why it matters?
● Live audio represents long overdue
addition to current text, video and
image based experiences
● Building on growth in popularity of
live-UGC content platforms such as
Twitch
● For social-audio based content to grow
broadcasts will need to be worth
listening to
Users of Clubhouse
up from 2M in Jan 21)
BRAND IMPLICATION 3
Discord positioning itself byond gaming to
appeal to broader cultures with new brand
tagline
Elon Musk broke the Internet with his
interview of Robinhood CEO on Clubhouse
following Gamestop frenzy

The average person
spend roughly 42%
of their waking lives
online 48 hrs
Of time spent online
per week.
BRAND IMPLICATION 4

Deeper Connections
People have changed how they use the internet and
social media. As people around the world digitised their
lives in 2020, every interaction changed. Online replaced
IRL connections.
People from all walks of life are now maintaining and
creating deeper connections online.
12TN
Hours spent online
in 2020
Why it matters?
● People are looking for more intimate
ways of connecting and expect a richer
form of online connection from brands
● Social isn’t for entertainment - every
interaction changed - family Facetimes,
socialising on Zoom, homeschooling for
children or simply wfh
● Brands should create connect at deeper
level
Cardi B charges $4.99 for her Only Fans BTS
content and earns £8M dollars per month
Spotify horoscope-inspired playlists, “Cosmic
Playlists” feature a selection of music speciﬁcally
chosen with each zodiac sign in mind.mic
TikTok Therapy - @the.truth.doctor is reaching an
anxious Gen Z audience on their own terms: short
video clips, replete with dance moves, raps, and
meme-esque captions.
BRAND IMPLICATION 4

Older age groups are the
fastest-growing segments
amongst top platforms
+25%
Facebook saw users over the
age of 65 increase by roughly
25 percent over the past year
BRAND IMPLICATION 5

Generations Unite
The internet has been rife with culture wars often split
down generational lines.
With new social media users coming from older
generations in most markets, there’s been potential for
further clashes. However, what we've seen in the last year is
faced with unparalleled challenges, generations are
coming together to bridge that divide through tech and
social.
13.2%
Growth in social users:
GDR 2021.
Why it matters?
● New audiences to consider on social
● Spirit of collaboration across the
generations - a social behaviour to tap
into to create change.
● Use intergenerational family dynamics
to drive engagement and conversation
IINA Stores printed the faces of people’s loved ones
onto baked goods as a way to keep them
connected during the pandemic.
Oatly enlisted teens to help convince their fathers
to make the switch from animal’s milk to
plant-based.
Caribu is a video-based platform focused on fun,
games, and intergenerational interaction.
BRAND IMPLICATION 5

At least 6 platforms have more than
1BN monthly active users
8.4
Average number of social
accounts a typical social media
user has.
BRAND IMPLICATION 6

Community Matters
The number of accounts a user “owns” grew across all
markets. As a result, it’s easier to reach broad audiences
on a couple of platforms.
And brands are streamlining social ecosystems focusing
on mass reach platforms and investing more in
intimate social networks for community building.
98%
Of the users of any given
social media platform also
use at least one other
Strava has developed from a running / cycling app
to be become a fully fledged social network.
IP-led communities are prevalent in the gaming
world, with Discord a popular platform for likes
Dying Light.
Netflix has a stable of community first accounts
such as The Most serving its LGBTQ+ dedicated
community content that reflects them.
Why it matters?
● Mature approach to using social media as
a marketing platform from forward
thinking brands
● Niche / smaller platforms getting a seat at
the table
● Challenging the idea of paid media
thinking that’s been dominant in social
marketing
BRAND IMPLICATION 6

DEEPER
CONNECTIONS
GENERATIONS
UNITE
TIK TOK
MAJOR PLAYER
SPEAK
YOUR MIND
GAMING
METAVERSE
COMMUNITY
MATTERS

IN 2021 SOCIAL NETWORKS
GOT COMPETITIVE AGAIN

THANK YOU
For more information on how we can
help your brand use these
implications, get in touch
enquiries@wearesocial.net

The Gaming Metaverse
Gaming has taken over the world. Long before
Covid and pandemics, there was a dynamic shift
in how gamers and the online universes they
inhabit inﬂuenced other spheres of culture.
There’s been an evolution in how gamers and
their crews operated within other cultures and,
by extension with non-gaming brands.
87%
Of global internet users
are gamers. GDR 2021.
The FaZe Clan: gamer-focused talent hub to
global entertainment behemoth
The LGBTQ+ community together on Animal
Crossing to celebrate Pride 2020
Travis Scott serves a spectacular performance
on Fortnight.
Why it matters?
● Cultural incubator
● Revolutionised entertainment
for audiences
● Crossover potential

TikTok x Music
With its origins as musical.ly, Tik Tok has a natural
affinity and heritage linked to music.
2020 was also the year of Tik Tok with huge
growth. At the same time, in some markets,
“traditional” music apps saw a decrease in active
users.
Did TikTok kill off music streaming?
700M
TikTok users aged 13+
in 2020
Say So was Doja Cat’s first song to enter the top
20 and, though she only joined the app in Feb
2020, at least 8 of her songs have generated
enough buzz since to be considered viral.
ELF cosmetics tapped in the music dance
trends on the platform - 90BN views.
Pringles tapped into the TikTok dance
challenges and generated 1BN views
Why it matters?
● New platform with newer and
younger audiences
● Broadening circles - user follow
people they don’t know than
close circles.
● Lo-fi / homemade content is very
now

APPENDIX SLIDES
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Global Overview
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Global Overview
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Deeper Connections
People have changed how they use the internet and social
media. Online replaced IRL connections.
People from all walks of life are now maintaining and creating
deeper connections online.
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ipsum dolor
sit amet,
consectetur
adipiscing
elit, sed do
eiusmod
tempor
incididunt
ut labore et
dolore
magna
aliqua.
eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore
et dolore magna aliqua.

Global Overview
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ipsum dolor
sit amet,
consectetur
adipiscing
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tempor
incididunt
ut labore et
dolore
magna
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et dolore magna aliqua.

DEEPER
CONNECTIONS
GENERATIONAL
DIVIDES
TIK TOK
X MUSIC
SPEAK
YOUR MIND
GAMING
METAVERSE
COMMUNITY
MATTERS
PEOPLE
PLATFORM

HEADLINE
A more strategic
approach to social
media marketing -
crossover of platform
use is standard 98%
Ff the users of any given social
media platform also use at
least one other social platform

HEADLINE
Social media adoption
surges: user numbers
jumped by more than
13% over the past year
4.2BN

HEADLINE
Online search
behaviours are
changing -ﬁnding
information is the main
reason why people go
online,
2/3
Of people say it’s the main
reason people go online

HEADLINE
A multi-device strategy
is essential - mobiles
dominant but data
shows that other
devices are important 53%
Of time online is spent on
mobile

HEADLINE
Online time jumps: the
average internet user
spends almost 7 hours
per day using the
internet 48HRS
Hours per weeks spent on the
internet

77%
E-COMMERCE
4.66 BILLION
NETIZENS
4.2 BILLION
USERS
4 HRS
ON MOBILES
2 HR 25 MINS
ON SOCAL
7 HRS
ONLINE

BRAND IMPLICATION 2
“The old is out and
the new has well and
truly arrived”
Chris Wildish, Kellogg’s,
Director Content and Digital
Innovation, Europe

Digital 2021: The state of the internet

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