India's Social Media Hours Down 10% While Internet Usage Rises

Indian users spent nearly 10 billion hours on social media in June 2024, marking a 10 per cent decline from the 11 billion hours recorded in June 2023, according to Comscore Inc's latest report. The decrease in social media activity occurred despite a slight rise in overall internet usage during the same period.

The number of unique social media visitors also saw a marginal dip, falling to 485 million in June 2024 from 486 million in June 2023. In contrast, unique internet visitors increased to 524 million from 510 million over the same timeframe.

Despite this slight decline, the report emphasises India's vast potential, with over 500 million unique internet users, 78 per cent of whom access the web exclusively through mobile devices. This underscores the importance of businesses adopting a mobile-first strategy to effectively engage this large audience.

YouTube emerged as the top social platform, achieving an 88 per cent reach and an average of 13 hours per user each month. Meanwhile, a shift in social media preferences is apparent, with Instagram surpassing Facebook in popularity among users aged 15-24. This trend presents brands with a valuable opportunity to leverage these changing preferences. Influencer marketing remains robust, with influencers accounting for 32 per cent of all social media interactions, including likes, comments, and shares, across platforms.

Between January and June 2024, Indian social media users collectively spent an astonishing 60 billion hours on social platforms, which represented 27 per cent of the total 218 billion hours spent online. Comparatively, users dedicated 40 billion hours to entertainment and 6 billion hours to news, revealing a clear preference for social engagement and content sharing. Retail and travel accumulated 5 billion and 1 billion hours respectively, while the finance sector accounted for 7 billion hours.

As social media continues to command a significant share of online activity, businesses must strategically engage users on these platforms to harness their influence and drive growth in an increasingly digital-first economy.