Australian digital habits dissected in new Global Digital Report

Meltwater, the social and media intelligence specialist and creative agency We Are Social, have revealed the newest quarterly update in its Global Digital Report series, Digital 2024: April Statshot. The report offers an in-depth examination of global patterns and tendencies in social media and digital usage, highlighting several key insights for Australia.

Internet use worldwide is now over two-thirds of the population, marking a 3.4% annual rise, according to the report. The average Australian internet user spends just above 6 hours a day online, slightly below the global mean of 6.35 hours.

The study also shows that Australians are more concerned about their digital privacy than most. Approximately 40.6% of the nation's internet users decline cookies at least some of the time, more than the global average of 34.8%. 42% are concerned about how companies use their online personal data, significantly above the global mean of 30.9%.

Aussies are among the world's top consumers of paid digital content. Around 74.7% of internet users engage in online transactions for digital content each month, higher than the global average of 67.7%. Streaming services are popular, with 45.7% of users aged 16 to 64 paying for a TV or movie streaming service each month and 36.9% paying for music streaming services. This puts Australia at 7th and 5th internationally, respectably.

Beyond consumption, the report reveals a strong trend towards online gambling, with 17.6% of Australians using a betting website or application. This is considerably above the worldwide average of 9.7%. The country is also one of the leaders in mobile payment adoption, with 35.7% using platforms like Apple Pay, significantly exceeding the global average of 24.1%.

Meanwhile, social media usage in Australia has seen an overall decline. The report states that the average Australian daily time spent on social media platforms is 1 hour and 54 minutes, compared to the global average of 2 hours and 20 minutes. Furthermore, Australians are less likely to use social media as a source of news, at just 27.3% compared to the global average of 34.3%.

Despite the overall reduction in social media time, TikTok continues to dominate. The average user in Australia spends over 38 hours a month on the platform, compared to the global average of just under 32 hours.

Interestingly, the report debunks the notion of "doom-scrolling" amongst Gen Z users, finding a shift towards a greater emphasis on social connection over passive video consumption. It also found that Gen Z users are the most active demographic on search engines and are more likely to use email over online music platforms.

The top online motivations for all age groups continue to be "finding information" and "staying in touch with friends and family." This stresses the continued value of information-seeking and social interaction during online activity.