The Internet grows with each turn that the Earth takes to the Sun. Thus, the most recent figures, according to a January 2021 report, point to 4.66 billion users on the Internet. Interestingly, the same report points to the existence of 5.22 billion users with mobile devices (smartphones and cell phones). If there are, according to estimates in July 2020, a global population of 7.8 billion people, then more than half the world is connected.
It is easier to understand the numbers of Internet users when the numbers show that there are 4.2 billion users on social networks alone. You can already see where the people are, right?
The Internet is increasingly the Holy Grail of people's lives
The pandemic is devastating a generation and negatively marking a planet that is not yet free of this disease so soon. However, the change in habits forced the Internet to become increasingly prevalent in people's lives. Online is now the Holy Grail in the processes of work, learning, and even entertainment.
The report shows that in January 2021, the world population was 7.83 billion people. According to a UN report, this number is currently increasing at a rate of 1% per year. This means that, since the beginning of 2020, the total global population has increased by more than 80 million people.
Currently, 5.22 billion people worldwide use smartphones, equivalent to 66.6% of the total world population. Since January 2020, the number of smartphone users has increased by 1.8% (93 million), while the total number of mobile calls (people with multiple devices) increased by 0.9%, from 72 million to 8.02 billion in January this year.
In January 2021, the number of people using the Internet in the world reached 4.66 billion, an increase of 316 million (7.3%) over the same period. Currently, the global Internet penetration rate is 59.5%. However, the COVID-19 outbreak had a significant impact on the number of Internet users. Therefore, the actual number may be higher.
Regarding users in Portugal, there were 8.52 million Internet users in January 2020. Thus, the increase in the number of Internet users in Portugal is noticeable. There was a growth of 251 thousand users (+ 3.0%) between 2019 and 2020.
According to the same report, Internet penetration in Portugal was 83% in January 2020.
Social networks are the world's addiction
The pandemic relegated many people to their homes and brought a new reality to work and education. Online classes, remote work, and forced entertainment justify part of a new reality, but social networks are the fastest-growing.
According to published data, there are currently 4.2 billion social network users worldwide. This number has increased by 490 million in the last 12 months, an increase of more than 13% year-on-year. The number of users of the various social platforms now represents more than 53% of the global population.
In 2020, the daily number of new users of social networks was 1.3 million. So, after all, we’re talking about approximately 155,000 new users per second. In terms of time spent, the average social media user spends 2 hours and 25 minutes surfing every day. In 2021, global social media users will spend 3.7 billion hours jumping on social media profiles and pages.
With regard to Portugal, in January 2020 there were 7 million users of social networks in the country. So, the number of users of social networks here increased by 433 thousand (+ 6.6%) between April 2019 and January 2020. The penetration of these platforms in Portugal was 69% in January 2020.
Smartphones are our first screen
Despite advancing that the smartphone market was falling, in the pandemic year 2020, the truth is that it was not for everyone. Apple, for example, broke a sales record and became the largest smartphone seller in the world. However, data shared by the company App Annie revealed that Android users worldwide use their phones for more than 4 hours a day.
In general, this means that Android users have used their smartphones for more than 3.5 billion hours in the past 12 months. In addition, the data also reveals that users already spend more time on smartphones than watching TV. Therefore, people consume more content on their mobile devices.
Regarding Portugal, with regard to the use of smartphones, in January 2020 there were 15.80 million mobile connections in the country. However, the report states that the number of mobile connections in Portugal decreased by 410 thousand (-2.5%) between January 2019 and January 2020.
In summary, the average Internet user uses the web on all devices for almost 7 hours a day. This equates to more than 48 hours of online time per week, that is, 2 days out of every 7 days online.
Assuming that everyone's average sleep time per day is 7 to 8 hours, this means that about 42% of our waking lives are spent online. And the time we use the Internet is almost the same as the time we sleep.
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