A new study by the United States International University (USIU) has shown that most Kenyans ages 21-35 years spend more than 3 hours on social media every day. The report called ‘Social Media Consumption in Kenya- Trends and Practices’ – was conducted as a joint partnership between USIU-Africa and the U.S. Embassy in Kenya.
According to the 2017/2018 Communication Authority of Kenya report, the number of mobile data subscriptions in Kenya currently stands at 40.7 million, 38 per cent more than in the same period the previous year, with the internet penetration in the country at 83 per cent based on the Internet World Statistics.
The report draws from a nationwide survey of social media consumption patterns among different demographic segments and was conducted between December 2018 and March 2019. It sampled 3,269 respondents aged between 14 and 55 from eight counties drawn from Nairobi, Coast, Central, Western, Nyanza, Eastern, Rift Valley, and North Eastern.
The report noted that 88.5% of Kenyans used Facebook, while 88.6% used WhatsApp. It also noted that there were three main motivators of using social media. 31% used social media to acquire information, 28% for entertainment and pleasure and 24% for social interactions. It also said that the majority of Kenyans used mobile phones to access their prefered platforms, mostly at night to read entertainment, education and business blogs.
Speaking at the launch, Bloggers Association of Kenya Chairman, Mr Kennedy Kachwanya commended the steps Kenya has taken in supporting local content generation. He also urged the government co to create an enabling environment where this space an continue to grow.
The report recognized that the proliferation of internet-enabled mobile devices has led to the development of social networking sites which resulted in the reconfiguration of how individuals and groups accessed social media. It looked at how the platforms are relevant based on the demographics such as age, geolocation, educational level, level of income and religion among others.
It also looked at social media and politics, cybersecurity, cyberbullying and privacy-related issues, influencer engagement, social media in the non-profit sector and the influence of the blogging community.
You can read the report, here.