Social media now plays a role far beyond communication, becoming a primary hub for inspiration, entertainment, news and business activities. In Southeast Asia, social media usage is extremely high, with the region recording the highest daily usage time in the Asia-Pacific region.

According to Statista, the Philippines and Indonesia, the two most populous countries in the region, have the most active social media users. The Philippines leads with an average daily usage of 3 hours and 30 minutes, followed by Indonesia with 3 hours and 14 minutes.

Malaysia comes next with an average of 2 hours and 46 minutes, followed by Thailand with 2 hours and 29 minutes, and Vietnam with 2 hours and 23 minutes. Singapore has the lowest social media usage in the region, with an average of 2 hours and 10 minutes per day.

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Social Media Penetration in Southeast Asia

However, there is a notable difference when looking at social media penetration. Despite having the lowest social media usage time in the region, Singapore has a very high social media penetration rate of 84.8%.

Malaysia ranks second with a penetration rate of 78.7%, followed by Thailand with 70.7%. The Philippines and Vietnam have relatively balanced penetration rates of 74.6% and 74.9% respectively.

Although Indonesia has a significant amount of daily social media usage, this is not reflected in its social media penetration rate. As the most populous country in Southeast Asia, Indonesia's social media penetration rate is only 56.3%. While this is still relatively high, it is lower than its neighboring countries.

Internet Adoption in Southeast Asia

In 2024, Internet penetration in Southeast Asia shows high adoption rates in most countries. Malaysia leads with the highest penetration rate at 97.4%, indicating that nearly the entire population is connected to the Internet. Singapore follows closely with a penetration rate of 96%, followed by Thailand at 88% and Vietnam at 79.1%.

These high penetration rates are largely supported by the superior mobile Internet infrastructure in these countries, which provides wider and more stable access to the population.

While Indonesia and the Philippines have the largest online populations in Southeast Asia, challenges related to telecommunications infrastructure remain a major barrier to further growth in Internet penetration in both countries. The Philippines has an Internet penetration rate of 73.6%, while Indonesia, the region's most populous country, has an Internet penetration rate of 66.5%.

However, Indonesia's mobile Internet infrastructure is developing rapidly. By 2022, mobile internet penetration in Indonesia will exceed 76%, a significant increase from less than 50% in 2017.

Source: Statista