Number of Facebook users in India 2018, by age and gender
A large portion of young India with access to the internet constituted Facebook usage in the country. About 74 million men and over 23 million women between ages 18 and 24 were users of the social media platform.
Social media and young India
With over 1.3 billion people, India was estimated to be home to a population with a median age of 28.2 years in 2020. No other country has that many young people. This was also reflected in internet penetration and therefore, social media usage. Almost 71 percent of Indians between 18 and 34 years old used Facebook alone. Most young adults spent between one and two hours on social media, which means it was a significant part of their day.
The world’s largest election and its social media impact
In April and May 2019, India held a general election which had between 80 and 100 million first-time voters, i.e. between 18 and 21 years old, as part of the 900 million registered voters. The connection between politics and social media use has become crystal clear in the time leading up to the election. Social media campaigns aside, the impact of fake news, not just via Facebook but also with WhatsApp, were and continue to be discussed with some hope for effective solutions to combat it. The composition of the population along with the regional, socio-economic and communal or cultural challenges make this a problem incredibly vast and complex, requiring some amount of accountability on all levels.
Social media and young India
With over 1.3 billion people, India was estimated to be home to a population with a median age of 28.2 years in 2020. No other country has that many young people. This was also reflected in internet penetration and therefore, social media usage. Almost 71 percent of Indians between 18 and 34 years old used Facebook alone. Most young adults spent between one and two hours on social media, which means it was a significant part of their day.
The world’s largest election and its social media impact
In April and May 2019, India held a general election which had between 80 and 100 million first-time voters, i.e. between 18 and 21 years old, as part of the 900 million registered voters. The connection between politics and social media use has become crystal clear in the time leading up to the election. Social media campaigns aside, the impact of fake news, not just via Facebook but also with WhatsApp, were and continue to be discussed with some hope for effective solutions to combat it. The composition of the population along with the regional, socio-economic and communal or cultural challenges make this a problem incredibly vast and complex, requiring some amount of accountability on all levels.
