Mobile usage trends worldwide

The mobile revolution continues to transform internet usage behavior and frequencies around the world. One of the most visible mobile usage trends is the preference for in-app experiences: In 2020, mobile app consumer spending on the Google Play and Apple App Store amounted to 102 billion U.S. dollars worldwide. The two app market leaders reported a combined 142 million app downloads that year, with social media, gaming, and messaging apps accounting for the largest share of downloads. Overall, most app categories experienced a surge in demand in 2020 following the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Popular activities among mobile users

Social media is one of the most popular online activities among mobile users. For over a decade, social networks, messaging apps, and photo and video-sharing platforms have been among the leading drivers of mobile engagement globally. In 2019, the mobile social network penetration rate worldwide stood at 42 percent, which is not surprising, considering that free mobile services facilitate communication in regions that lack sufficient (digital) infrastructures. With more than 2.7 billion active users, Facebook remains the leading social network worldwide, while WhatsApp ranks first among the most popular mobile messenger apps.

Mobile media usage is transforming the digital landscape

Every year, global mobile data traffic experiences double-digit growth rates, a trend that is fueled by the rapid increase in mobile media usage. In 2020, video apps accounted for more than 66 percent of the global data volume, and by then, smartphones had long overtaken desktop computers and smart TVs as primary devices for watching online video. In line with this development, mobile SVoD subscriptions are expected to make up 40 percent of the total global subscriber count by 2025, highlighting the significant impact that mobile technologies have on global media consumption today. In addition to visual media, smartphones have also become the most widely used devices for audio entertainment, with Spotify being the most-downloaded music and audio app worldwide.

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