South Asia's Social Media Landscape
Mohamed Shareef
DX4D | MIET | Former Minister of State for Environment, Climate Change and Technology, Maldives
Social media has become an integral part of daily life across the globe, and South Asia is no exception. The region, known for its diverse cultures and rapidly growing digital landscape, presents a fascinating study of social media penetration. Let’s delve into some interesting and contrasting insights on social media usage in South Asia.
Diverse Social Media Penetration Rates
Social media penetration varies widely across South Asian countries, ranging from as low as 8.6% in Afghanistan to as high as 69.9% in the Maldives.
Interestingly, when looking at social media penetration among internet users, the differences are less stark. For instance, while Bangladesh has only 30.4% overall social media penetration, 68.4% of its internet users are on social media.
Bhutan stands out with a high social media penetration of 57.9%, despite being one of the smallest countries in the region.
Gender Disparities in Social Media Usage
There are significant gender disparities in social media usage across South Asia, with males generally having higher penetration rates.
Afghanistan shows the most extreme gender gap, with 84.4% male users compared to only 15.6% female users on social media. Bhutan presents the most balanced gender distribution, with 53.3% male users and 46.7% female users.
Interestingly, the Maldives has the highest female social media penetration at 35.9%, despite not having the most balanced ratio.
Platform Preferences
Facebook is the dominant social media platform across South Asia, with penetration rates closely mirroring overall social media usage in each country.
The Maldives has the highest Facebook penetration at 69.9% of the population, followed by Bhutan at 57.9%. In Afghanistan, despite the low overall social media penetration, Facebook reaches 47.0% of internet users, indicating its strong presence among those who are online. In Bangladesh, Facebook is highly popular, with 68.4% of internet users active on the platform, reflecting its role as a primary social media channel. In India, with a penetration rate of 32.2%, Facebook continues to be a major platform for social interaction and business.
YouTube
Data for YouTube is only available for some countries, but where it is, it shows significant penetration.
In Bangladesh, YouTube has a significant reach, with 43.4% of internet users engaging with video content, highlighting the platform’s popularity for entertainment and information. In Sri Lanka, YouTube reaches 33% of the population, which is nearly as high as its overall social media penetration (34.2%). Pakistan's YouTube penetration (29.5%) is equal to its overall social media penetration, suggesting it's a key platform in the country.
Instagram penetration is generally lower than Facebook across the region.
India has the highest Instagram users at 25.3% of the population, reaching nearly half of its internet users. The Maldives shows the highest Instagram penetration relative to its internet users, at 60.8%. Pakistan and Sri Lanka have relatively low Instagram penetration rates at 7.1% and 8% respectively.
TikTok
TikTok data is only available for some countries, but where present, it shows significant adoption.
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In Bangladesh, TikTok has a 21.5% penetration rate, higher than Instagram and nearly as high as YouTube. Sri Lanka shows a 20.3% TikTok penetration, reaching 36% of its internet users. In Pakistan, TikTok (22.4%) has higher penetration than Facebook (18.3%), indicating its popularity in the country.
Messenger
Facebook Messenger usage varies widely across the region.
The Bhutan has the highest Messenger penetration at 51.8%, followed closely by Maldives at 46.5%. In Nepal, Messenger reaches 70.5% of internet users, the highest rate in the region. Pakistan and Afghanistan have relatively low Messenger penetration rates at 4.9% and 4.8% respectively.
LinkedIn usage is generally low across South Asia compared to other platforms.
The Maldives has the highest LinkedIn penetration at 30.8% of the population. Bhutan shows a relatively high LinkedIn penetration at 13.9%, reaching 16% of its internet users. Nepal has the lowest LinkedIn penetration among the countries with available data, at 4.8%.
X
X (formally Twitter) has the lowest penetration rates among all platforms across the region.
The Maldives is an outlier with a significantly higher X penetration at 23.8%, far exceeding other countries. India, despite its large population, only has a 1.8% X penetration rate. In most countries, X reaches less than 5% of internet users, with the Maldives being a notable exception.
Conclusion
The social media landscape in South Asia reflects the region's cultural diversity and varying levels of digital development. While Facebook maintains dominance across all countries, the adoption of other platforms varies significantly. YouTube and TikTok have gained substantial traction in several nations, often rivaling Facebook's reach. Instagram shows strong penetration in some countries, particularly India and the Maldives, while professional networking through LinkedIn is still in its early stages across most of the region.
Despite the overall growth, stark contrasts exist between countries. The Maldives and Bhutan demonstrate high social media adoption rates across multiple platforms, while Afghanistan struggles with low penetration across the board. India, with its massive population, presents a mixed picture of high absolute user numbers but moderate penetration rates.
Gender disparities in social media usage remain a significant challenge. This imbalance reflects broader societal issues and represents a potential area for growth and social change.
The diversity in platform preferences also suggests opportunities for both global and local social media companies to tailor their offerings to specific markets within the region. As internet accessibility expands, social media is poised to play an increasingly crucial role in connecting and empowering the diverse populations of South Asia, while also presenting challenges in terms of digital literacy, privacy, and content moderation.
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