Social media usage Australia 2018 by age

Social media presence plays an important role in Australia, with more than 90 percent of Australians between the ages of 12 to 55 years old claiming to have an account on a social networking site. This high figure applies to senior citizens as well: more than half the people above the age of 55 years have an account on a social networking platform.

Most used social media platform

  Australia has one the highest active social media penetration rates internationally, with most of the population holding an account on a social network platform. This is partially due to the country’s high internet penetration rate and heavy influence from the western world with regard to internet and social media trends. For a country of slightly more than 24 million people, it is estimated that more than 18 million citizens have an account on a social media. Furthermore, Facebook dominates the market with more than double the number of users compared to the second-placed platform Instagram.

Reasons for using social networking sites

  There are various reasons that Australians use social networking sites with the main reason being to catch up/keep in touch with family and friends. While this applies to all age groups, the younger generation have more reasons to stay engaged on social media while the elderly mainly uses social media solely for friends and family.