Socially led creative agency We Are Social, working with media, social, and consumer intelligence firm Meltwater, has released Digital 2026, their latest annual report analyzing global social and digital media trends.
The report shows that more than two-thirds of the world’s population now uses social media, marking a significant milestone in global internet and social media adoption. It also highlights changes in online behavior as established platforms face growing competition for user attention.
Digital 2026 provides insight into how users engage with platforms and digital content, reflecting an evolving landscape shaped by rapid adoption and shifting consumption habits.
“What really stood out to me is how rapidly digital behaviour is evolving, especially in mobile-first markets like Southeast Asia. People are active across seven or more platforms, which makes attention really fragmented. That highlights how important it is for brands to be both agile and culturally relevant, not just present,” said Naiyen Wang, Managing Director, Southeast Asia at We Are Social.
“It’s not about one-size-fits-all content; it’s about tailoring content that caters to each platform’s unique user behaviour. Short-form video, authenticity, and local relevance are becoming key to staying engaging and meaningful.”
Wang added that, “the real opportunity lies in how we adapt our strategies to reflect these shifting behaviours in a way that is native to the brand and platforms, while staying value-driven.”
Highlights from Southeast Asia:
- Two in three Southeast Asians use social media.
- At least one in five people from across Southeast Asia follow influencers.
- Filipinos are some of the world’s most active social media users:
- They spend an average of nearly 34 hours a week on social media and consuming online videos.
- They use an average of 8.36 platforms. Malaysia follows closely behind using an average of 8.30 platforms.
- They are the world’s most active users of YouTube, Facebook and Messenger.
- Filipinos & Malaysians are more likely to discover a brand through social media ads versus search engines and a brand’s website.
- Digital makes up more than three quarters of total ad spend in Singapore.
Platform behaviours
TikTok:
- Southeast Asia remains TikTok’s biggest market, accounting for 22.3% of the platform’s global advertising audience.
- Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines rank in TikTok’s top five countries with more than 80% of internet users active on the platform each month.
Facebook:
- Southeast Asia makes up 17.3% of Facebook’s global advertising audience – its second largest after Southern Asia.
- Facebook accounts for 97.08% of social media’s web traffic referrals in Indonesia, compared to just 20.92% in Thailand.
Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines rank in TikTok’s top five countries with more than 80% of internet users active on the platform each month.
YouTube:
- More than 80% of Filipinos, Thai, Vietnamese, Malaysians, and Indonesians internet users are active on the platform each month.
Instagram:
- Indonesia is Instagram’s most popular market in the region with 82.4% active on the platform each month.
LinkedIn:
- Singapore is LinkedIn’s top market in the region with more than a third (37.3%) of internet users active on the platform each month.
Reddit:
- One-third of Filipinos and a quarter of Singaporeans are active on Reddit each month.
X:
- Half of Indonesians are active on X each month.
Threads:
- Malaysia & Indonesia are home to some of Threads most active monthly users with more than a quarter using the platform each month.
AI habits
- Nearly half (48.7%) of global internet users are excited about AI. Internet users in Vietnam have some of the highest enthusiasm for the technology globally with 61.3% citing they are enthusiastic about AI.
- ‘Therapy & companionship’ ranks as the top use case for generative AI.
- Malaysia is home to some of ChatGPT’s most active users, with nearly half (48.4%) using the platform in the past month.
- Singaporeans (71.1%) are Southeast Asia’s most concerned about online misinformation, followed by Filipinos (67.1%) and Thai (65.4%) internet users.
Digital 2026 reveals major milestones in internet and social media adoption, with more than two-thirds of the world’s total population now using social media. The report also points to a significant evolution in online behaviour, as the battle for attention intensifies on established platforms.
A significant evolution in online behaviour
A social media ‘supermajority’
According to Digital 2026, global social media user identities now stand at 5.66 billion, equivalent to 68.7 percent of the global population. This figure represents a ‘supermajority’, with social media users outnumbering non-users two to one. The global total increased by 4.8 percent over the past year, thanks to the addition of 259 million new user identities.
The battle for attention
While user numbers continue to climb, how people spend their time is changing. The typical internet user spends more than 2.5 hours per day on social and video platforms, with ‘filling spare time’ now ranking as the second-biggest motivation for using social media, behind ‘keeping in touch with friends and family’.
When it comes to which platforms are winning this battle for attention, Similarweb data shows YouTube has the largest number of active app users, almost 50 percent more than fifth-placed TikTok.
The typical internet user spends more than 2.5 hours per day on social and video platforms, with ‘filling spare time’ now ranking as the second-biggest motivation for using social media, behind ‘keeping in touch with friends and family’.
However, the typical TikTok user spends an average of 1 hour and 37 minutes per day using the platform’s Android app, significantly more than any other social platform.
Social media now the top channel for brand discovery
The report highlights fundamental differences in how different generations discover brands, with social media ads now the dominant channel for younger consumers.
The report finds that for internet users aged 16 to 34, social media ads are the number one source of brand discovery, with 34.2 percent of 16 to 24-year-olds and 32.1 percent of 25 to 34-year-olds using them to learn about new products and services. Social media ads also rank a strong second behind search engines for those aged 35 to 44, underlining a clear generational divide where older audiences still rely on more traditional channels.
AI adoption surges past 1 billion
According to the report, the findings provide compelling evidence that more than 1 billion people now use standalone generative AI tools every month. OpenAI’s CEO reported that ChatGPT alone had 800 million weekly users in early October 2025.
The findings provide compelling evidence that more than 1 billion people now use standalone generative AI tools every month.
This rapid adoption is reshaping online behaviours, particularly search, with GWI data showing a steady decline in the number of people who use a conventional search engine each month.
Digital ad spend continues to climb
Marketers are on track to spend US$1.16 trillion on advertising in 2025, with digital channels accounting for nearly three-quarters (74.4 percent) of that total. Social media advertising continues to enjoy strong growth, with global spend projected to increase by 13.6 percent year-on-year to reach US$277 billion in 2025.
Digital 2026 is a 700-page report covering data from across the entire online ecosystem. Other key social media highlights include:
- Social media ads are now the number one source of brand discovery for internet users aged 16 to 34, ahead of search engines and TV ads.
- Women aged 16 to 24 now spend an average of 3 hours and 40 minutes per day on social and video platforms, the most of any demographic.
- The typical social media user now uses an average of 6.75 different social platforms each month.
A view from the wider digital ecosystem:
- Online retail advertising is surging, with marketers on track to spend a combined US$204 billion on ads on these platforms in 2025.
- Streaming services now account for more than half (50.4 percent) of all time spent watching TV content globally.
- The number of people using a conventional search engine each month has seen a steady decline, with only 80 percent of online adults now using one.
- Globally, YouTube’s advertising formats on connected TVs now reach more than four in ten of its users each month.
- Nearly half of the world’s online adults say that they are excited about the potential of artificial intelligence.
- There are 5.78 billion unique mobile users globally, equating to 70.1% of the world’s population
“We’re seeing a profound shift in how people discover brands, with more people turning to social media and AI platforms than ever before,” said Alexandra Bjertnæs, Chief Strategy Officer at Meltwater..
“Among younger audiences, social media ads now carry more weight than traditional search in shaping awareness and perception, while the rise of GenAI, now used by more than a billion people each month, is transforming how people find and trust information. For marketers and communicators, this is an exciting opportunity to build strategies that connect with audiences in new ways and meet them where they are today.
You can download the full report here.
