Young, online and always connected: SA's 25 to 34-year-olds dominate internet use
The day, commemorated globally on June 30, was launched by global digital media company Mashable in 2010 to celebrate the profound affect of social media on global communication, community-building and information sharing.
According to Statista, SA, which finds itself at the heart of an evolving digital era, is home to 26.7-million active social media users, which equates to 41.5% of the country's total population.
'A closer look into the demographics of social media users in the country reveals that people between the ages of 25 and 34 years made up the highest share of users in SA,' said Statista.
This age group, often referred to as digital natives, are not only comfortable navigating online spaces they live in them. From networking on LinkedIn to curating their lives on Instagram, this cohort is setting the tone for how SA communicates and consumes media.
By January, 45.34-million South Africans were active internet users. Out of these, nearly 26-million used social media representing about 42.8% of the total population.
The broader regional landscape also paints a picture of rising connectivity as a staggering 77.1% of the Southern African population now uses the internet, leaving only about 1.9-million people in the region offline.
According to the 2025 Digital April Global Statshot Report by Meltwater, globally the digital transformation continues at a huge scale as out of a population of 8.21-billion about 5.81-billion people use mobile phones with 5.64-billion individuals being internet users and 5.31- billion holding social media identities.
South Africans are consuming online media at levels that mirror and sometimes surpass global trends with the average weekly time spent consuming online media globally being 33 hours and 23 minutes.
'The majority of the South African population, specifically 78.7%, used mobile devices to access the internet in 2022. This proportion is expected to exceed 90% by 2027,' said Statista.
Meltwater's report revealed that mobile phones have become the gateway to the web for millions and that globally, 97.7% of internet users aged 16 and older use mobile phones to connect, with 97.5% using smartphones.
A gender gap in internet usage still exists but is narrowing. In SA 66.5% of the female population uses the internet compared to 70.8% of the male population.
'Globally, online videos top the list of consumed media formats each week, with 91.5% of internet users engaging. Social media follows closely at 88.4%, and short-form videos like TikToks hit 87.5%,' said Meltwater.
The digital report also showed that the time spent by global internet users (16+) on an average weekly basis is:
11 hours 34 minutes on online videos
7 hours 8 minutes on social media
9 hours 58 minutes watching TV (online and traditional)
1 hour 56 minutes listening to podcasts
Additionally, Meltwater said that the average person consumes social media 4.19 days per week, while platforms like TikTok and Reels are used 4.12 days a week. Long-form videos, online press, and even traditional radio still maintain their footing, but digital is clearly dominant.
Why are users going online? The top reasons include:
60.9%: To find information
58.6%: To stay connected with friends and family
54.0%: To watch videos, TV shows or movies
29.7%: To meet new people
According to the report, SimilarWeb's December 2024 to February 2025 rankings showed that the top visited website globally, reflecting a strong preference for content, connection and search, was Google, followed by YouTube, , Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter).
In February, the percentage of page views by browser was 66.3% via Google Chrome, 17.99% on Safari and 5.33% on Microsoft Edge.
SA's's digital landscape continues to evolve, the dominance of the 25 to 34-year-old age group highlights a future shaped by tech-savvy, mobile-first and video-driven communication.
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