Recent statistics revealed by the London based data company Similar Web seem to suggest that social media usage is on the decline – but is that really the case?

The study was carried out across the first 3 months of this year in comparison to the same last year and explored Android only app usage for the four leaders in social media – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat – in nine countries. Whilst the results found some evidence of less time being spent on social media, the results overall are not overwhelming.

Source: https://www.similarweb.com/blog/social-media-usage

The most extreme example showed that time spent on Twitter in France had experienced a drop of 34% whilst America showed an increase in downloads of the Facebook messenger app. Snapchat experienced a drop in installs in South Africa – 56% March to March – whilst Brazil showed an increase of 22% for the same period. Of course these results only detail the behaviour of android users, ignoring other platforms such as desktop PCs, wearable tech and the juggernaut that is the Apple iPhone.

The digital world is an ever-changing one. Other social channels such as WhatsApp experienced a 5% increase in app downloads in March 2016 compared to March 2015, and with the advent of virtual reality and wearable tech our behaviours are likely to change and move with the times.

Virtual reality tech companies such as the Facebook-owned Oculus Rift are expected to soar past two billion dollars in sales by the end of 2016, and the Apple Smart Watch is rumoured to have sold 12 million units in 2015 alone.  Mark Zuckerberg himself announced that Facebook are developing a whole new range of ‘social experiences’ to match the future of augmented and virtual reality.

It is difficult to believe that the role of social media will lose its significance in our everyday lives; from providing a platform for unity in times of tragedy to the musings of our day-to day existence: social media is here to stay. Changing, yes – disappearing? No. We’re definitely seeing it become more personalised, more immersive and more experiential though, meaning brands will need to rethink how they use it in the coming months. But for now? I can confidently say that after having read through the study results I am certainly not ready to stop sharing my thoughts and experiences with the world yet!

Tune in to Notts TV @ 6.30pm this evening to hear Shake Social director Kate Tyler talk about this study and the current changes in social media.