Social media is fast penetrating into the smallest of Indian towns. Of the 62 million active urban social media users, 24 per cent belong to small towns with less than two lakh population, as per a recent report by Internet & Mobile Association of India (IAMAI). According to the report, of the 84 million active urban internet users, 74 per cent are active in at least one social media website. The number of social media users has grown 29 per cent from 48 million in 2011 to 62 million in 2013. Meanwhile, the internet user base grew by 21 per cent from 69 million to 84 million. Among these 62 million social media users, 34 per cent belong to the top eight metro cities and the remaining 66 per cent are in the smaller cities. More than 35 per cent of the social networking base is in towns with a population up to five lakh and of this, towns with population lesser than two lakh account for 24 per cent or a quarter of the users. In 2011, towns with lesser than two lakh population accounted for only 17 per cent of the user base and it is the only group that has significantly increased its share in two years. The towns with population between two and five lakh have slightly increased its share from 11 per cent to 12 per cent. “Quite clearly, although there is growth in terms of absolute number of individuals in each of the town classes, the smaller towns are exhibiting faster growth, thereby contributing more to the overall proportion of social media users in urban India,’ said Subho Ray, president, IAMAI. The most widely accessed social media site is Facebook with 97 per cent or 49.6 million users active on it. A high majority of 73 per cent Facebook members use some application available on the site, 47 per cent access groups and 34 per cent find friends. The professional site LinkedIn has 17 per cent users. “Apart from social networking, professional networking has been engaging the users. Professional networking sites are more popular among young females and have the second highest average time spent. It is also anticipated that the rate of growth in mobile usage will exceed the growth in usage through personal computers for the foreseeable future,” said Yogesh Bansal, founder and CEO, ApnaCircle.com. Usage of mobile internet for social media is comparatively higher. Among the 39.7 million mobile internet users, 82 per cent are active on social media. Social networking is considered the main internet activity done on a mobile phone. Source: Article, Image: flickr.com
Social media penetrates faster in Bharat than India
Social media is fast penetrating into the smallest of Indian towns. Of the 62 million active urban social media users, 24 per cent belong to small towns with less than two lakh population, as per a recent report by Internet & Mobile Association of India (IAMAI). According to the report, of the 84 million active urban internet users, 74 per cent are active in at least one social media website. The number of social media users has grown 29 per cent from 48 million in 2011 to 62 million in 2013. Meanwhile, the internet user base grew by 21 per cent from 69 million to 84 million. Among these 62 million social media users, 34 per cent belong to the top eight metro cities and the remaining 66 per cent are in the smaller cities. More than 35 per cent of the social networking base is in towns with a population up to five lakh and of this, towns with population lesser than two lakh account for 24 per cent or a quarter of the users. In 2011, towns with lesser than two lakh population accounted for only 17 per cent of the user base and it is the only group that has significantly increased its share in two years. The towns with population between two and five lakh have slightly increased its share from 11 per cent to 12 per cent. “Quite clearly, although there is growth in terms of absolute number of individuals in each of the town classes, the smaller towns are exhibiting faster growth, thereby contributing more to the overall proportion of social media users in urban India,’ said Subho Ray, president, IAMAI. The most widely accessed social media site is Facebook with 97 per cent or 49.6 million users active on it. A high majority of 73 per cent Facebook members use some application available on the site, 47 per cent access groups and 34 per cent find friends. The professional site LinkedIn has 17 per cent users. “Apart from social networking, professional networking has been engaging the users. Professional networking sites are more popular among young females and have the second highest average time spent. It is also anticipated that the rate of growth in mobile usage will exceed the growth in usage through personal computers for the foreseeable future,” said Yogesh Bansal, founder and CEO, ApnaCircle.com. Usage of mobile internet for social media is comparatively higher. Among the 39.7 million mobile internet users, 82 per cent are active on social media. Social networking is considered the main internet activity done on a mobile phone. Source: Article, Image: flickr.com