Philippines unseats Thailand as world’s heaviest internet user

by Richmond Mercurio (The Philippine Star) – Feb 1, 2019

MANILA, Philippines — Filipinos have further upped their game in terms of spending time online as the Philippines dethroned Thailand to become the world’s heaviest users of the internet.

The Digital 2019 report released by social media management platform Hootsuite and creative agency We Are Social showed internet users in the Philippines raised their average time online to 10 hours and two minutes per day in 2018 from nine hours and 29 minutes the previous year.

The increase puts the Philippines past Thailand, to become the country that spends the most amount of time online.

Thailand dropped to number three, with an average time online of nine hours and 11 minutes, while Brazil soared to second spot with nine hours and 29 minutes.

The Philippines also maintained its global lead in time spent on social media with an average of four hours and 12 minutes, a substantial lead from the global average of two hours and 16 minutes.

Following the country in terms of most time on social media platforms were Brazil and Colombia with three hours and 34 minutes and three hours and 31 minutes, respectively.

Computers such as laptops, desktops and tablet computers remain popular devices for accessing the internet in the Philippines, where users spend five hours and four minutes, the longest globally.

Mobile devices were also widely used among Filipino internet users with four hours and 58 minutes spent daily, the second highest globally behind Thailand.

“Asia is one of the world’s fastest-growing regions for internet and mobile usage, and with that comes a huge appetite for technological adoption, foreign investment and digital innovation,” Hootsuite head of Asia Roger Graham said.

With strong internet usage, the report said businesses in the Philippines cannot afford to miss the opportunities that digital and social media present. Data from the report showed that 70 percent of internet users in the country spend money on e-commerce platforms.

“Brands and companies are recognizing this opportunity and demonstrating a strong sense of urgency to integrate digital and social media into their businesses. We have been rapidly expanding our teams and partnerships across the region to meet this demand as we are focused on helping our customers unlock the value of social media through technology, strategy and training,” Graham said.

The annual Digital report examines digital trends and social media use across 230 countries and territories.

Globally, it revealed that more than one million new people go online every day, and that 45 percent of the world – nearly 3.5 billion people annually – log on to their favorite social platforms.