Which is more popular, and twelve other seriously interesting social media stats based on South Africa.

Ever wondered what kind of people are using social media in South Africa?

A recent study has shed some light on our country’s techno-savvy, uncovering some rather fascinating findings about everything from how active users are, to times certain websites get the most visits, and even what exactly people are getting up to at any given moment!

For example, did you know that the biggest percentage of South Africans on Facebook are over 60? Yup, that’s right!

So although you might find your mom’s comments and pictures totally embarrassing, the older folk are the biggest group of users in the country. Kind of impressive, don’t you agree?

The South African Social Media Landscape 2012 study, produced by technology market researchers World Wide Worx and information analysts Fuseware, also shows that South Africa has crossed the age barrier, the urban/rural divide and even the relationship gap.

Here are some more figures:
 
•    5.33-million South Africans are using Facebook on the Web

•    6.8-million people access Facebook on their phones.

•    Twitter gets 100 000 new users a month, with a total of 2,43-million South African users.

•    Mxit is used by whopping 9,35-million people

•    LinkedIn has grown substantially, but at a slightly lower rate, to reach 1,93-million South Africans.

•    Pinterest is the least popular (and youngest) major social network, with only 150 000 users in South Africa.

•    WhatsApp has become the leading instant messaging tool among South Africans aged 16 and over, living in cities and towns, with a user base of 4,6-million.

•    The youngest mobile instant messaging tool to emerge on the measurement radar in South Africa, 2Go, has close to a million adult users

•    The most common "Check In" sites for Facebook in South Africa are airports and shopping malls.

•    The biggest tweeting day of the week is a Monday, with an average of 9,6-million tweets sent by South Africans on the first working day of the week. Friday is next, with 9.6-million, while Saturday is the slowest Twitter day, with 8,4-million tweets.

•    Both Facebook and Twitter have crossed the urban/rural divide. The proportion of urban adults using Facebook is a little less than double rural users while Twitter's urban penetration is a little more than double its rural penetration.

•    Both Facebook and Twitter have grown at a similar rate, at around 100 000 new users a month, for the past year.


What social media platform do you enjoy most? By: Jana Joubert