SOCIALscape Canadian Social Media & Messaging Monitor · Most social media users do not share or...

June 2018 Edition

SOCIALscapeCanada’s definitive measurement of social media and messaging platform usage patterns

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Conducted annually, SOCIALscape is Canada’s definitive measurement of social media and messaging platform usage patterns.

This free version of the report reveals how many Canadians use each of the available social media and messaging platforms, who they are, how they use them, and how often. It also includes an analysis of key experiences and attitudes.

If you wish to test your reputation, image, products, services, policies, and campaigns among key social media user audiences, custom questions can be purchased on the survey – with your proprietary results only shared with you.

If you have any questions or are interested in purchasing custom proprietary questions on the next wave of SOCIALscape, please contact Craig Worden, President, [email protected].

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• Almost all adult Online Canadians use social media.

• But social media usage is primarily Facebook-based. Each of the other platforms has significantly lower membership share and usage frequency.

• And, social media activity is mostly passive reading. Although social media provides a platform for expression, a majority do not post at least once per week.

• Among all adult Online Canadians, 69% read a social media platform daily and 85% do so at least once a week. However, just 22% post on a social media platform daily and less than half (42%) do so at least once a week.

• Among all adult Online Canadians, 54% read Facebook daily and 69% do so at least once a week. However, just 14% post on Facebook daily and only 31% do so at least once a week.

• Among all adult Online Canadians, just 23% read Instagram daily and only 30% do so at least once a week. Moreover, just 6% post on Instagram daily and only 13% do so at least weekly.

• Among all adult Online Canadians, just 11% read Twitter daily and only 20% do so at least once a week. Moreover, just 4% post on Twitter daily and only 8% do so at least weekly.

• Adult Online Canadians primarily use social media to connect with a large swath of friends and family, but they also follow a select few companies, news media, and celebrities in their feeds.

Key Themes

Social Media Usage Among Adult Online Canadians

Key Findings

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Incidence & demographics of social media platform membership

• Nine-in-ten (91%) Canadians have at least 1 social media account, similar to the membership numbers in 2017 (91%). • Demographically, the 9% who are not users of social media skew more towards the older generations and somewhat

less educated.

• Geographically, this non-user cohort is slightly higher among those in Manitoba (15%).

• Facebook continues to dominate, with slightly more adult Online Canadians holding an account this year versus 2017 (80% in 2018 and 76% in 2017). It continues to hold almost double the membership of the second most popular platform. • Facebook membership is widespread but skews more to Millennials and geographically to residents of Alberta.

• The second tier of social media membership is occupied by LinkedIn (45%) and Google+(40%) – both posting slight drops since 2017 (48% & 42% respectively).• LinkedIn’s membership skews more male and is most popular among residents of Ontario and Alberta (52%).

LinkedIn is most used by those who are university educated as well as Millennials and Gen Xers.

• Google+ membership tend to skews more male and more educated.

Key Findings

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Incidence & demographics of social media platform membership

• The third tier of social media platform membership is occupied by Instagram (39%), Pinterest (36%) and Twitter (35%). Membership with each of these accounts has steadily been increasing from about a quarter in 2016 to about a third in 2018. Notably, membership for all three platforms is the lowest in Quebec.

• Instagram’s membership skews notably younger, and slightly skews to more educated and females.

• Pinterest’s membership is comprised of twice as many women as men and skews more to the younger cohorts.

• Twitter membership although increased from 2016 to 2017 (27% to 34%), has remained fairly stable since. Membership tends to skew males, younger and more educated.

• Almost three-in-ten (27%) adult Online Canadians say they subscribe to a YouTube Channel. Just one-tenth (13%) say they own a YouTube Channel to which they can post videos.

• Both segments skew male and notably younger.

• Nearly a quarter (24%) of adult Online Canadians have a Snapchat account.

• Snapchat’s membership skews notably younger, with more than half under the age of 35.

• One-in-ten adult Online Canadians have an account on an online discussion forum/message board (10%) and a personal blog or website (8%).

• Membership on discussion forums/message boards tends to skew younger and male.

• Both genders equally own a personal blog or website and skew towards the younger age cohorts. Blogging is most popular among Ontarians.

• Relatively few adult Online Canadians are users of Reddit (7%), Tumblr (7%), Flickr (6%), Meetup (6%), and the other platforms tested.

Key Findings

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Frequency of reading/info-seeking among social media platform members

• Almost all social media users read their feeds at least once per week. • More than three-quarters (76%) read social media daily, 93% do so at least once per week, and almost all do so at least

monthly (97%) or a few times per year (99%). Only 1% of social media users never read.

• Overall usage among social media platforms for reading or seeking information is the same as 2017.

• Among social media platform members, Facebook members continue to be the most frequent readers and information-seekers.• On a daily basis, almost seven-in-ten (68%) Facebook members read or seek information on the platform, with 41%

and 28% reading several or a few times per day, respectively. Almost nine-in-ten (87%) Facebook members read at least a few times per week.

• Nearly three-fifths (59%) of Instagram members read content on their platforms on a daily basis, followed by half of Snapchat (50%) and Reddit (49%) members.• Number of Instagram and Snapchat members using these platforms to read and seek information have increased by

nearly 10% since 2017.

• At least a few times per week, solid majorities of Instagram (77%), Snapchat (68%), and Reddit (66%) members read or seek information on their platform.

Key Findings

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Frequency of reading/info-seeking among social media platform members

• Google+ (34%) and online discussion forum (31%) members are less likely to read content on a daily basis, but 54% and 60% do so on a weekly basis, respectively.

• Fewer Twitter (30%) and Pinterest (21%) and LinkedIn (20%) members are reading content on a daily basis, and – except for Twitter – less than half are doing so on a weekly basis (56%, 46%, and 44% respectively. Usage for all three platforms has declined since 2017.

• More Tumblr members are using it as a platform to read and seek information in 2018 (26%) versus 15% in 2017. Weekly usage increased as well, from 36% to 44%. On the other hand, the number of members who never read or seek information through Tumblr has also increased (17% vs 10% in 2017).

• Notably, about one-in-ten Google+ (13%) and Snapchat (10%) members never read or seek information on their respective platforms.

• Among the general population of adult Online Canadians (rather than YouTube channel owners or subscribers), 23% watch YouTube daily, almost half (49%) do so at least weekly, and seven-in-ten (71%) do so at least monthly.

Key Findings

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Frequency of posting among social media platform members

• A majority of social media users do not post their own comments or contents on a daily or weekly basis.

• Almost a quarter post daily (24%), nearly half post at least once per week (46%), seven-in-ten post on a monthly basis (69%), and nearly nine-in-ten (87%) post a few times per year. One-in-ten (13%) never post.

• Overall, the frequency of posting on social media platforms is the same when compared to 2017.

• Frequency of posting on any platform is about the same between males and females, though it skews notably towards the young.

• Snapchat and Facebook members are the most frequent posters, as 24% and 17%, respectively, post on their platform on a daily basis. Snapchat has gained popularity over Facebook from 2017.

• Four-in-ten Snapchat (45%) and Facebook (39%) members post at least weekly, and more than six-in-ten (65%) do so at least monthly. However, more Facebook members post few times a year (87%) than Snapchat members (77%).

• More than one-in-ten Instagram (15%) members post daily, one-in-three (32%) do so at least weekly and notably six-in-ten (62%) users post at least monthly - a similar level of monthly posting frequency as Snapchat members.

Key Findings

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Frequency of posting among social media platform members

• One-in-ten Twitter (10%) members post on a daily basis, with less than a quarter (22%) posting at least weekly. Less than a majority (38%) users post at least monthly.

• Reddit (15%), discussion forum (12%) and Tumblr (12%) members posting on a daily basis has somewhat increased from 2017.

• Discussion forums members are however most active among these platforms, as 26% and 44% do so on a weekly and monthly basis, respectively, and only about a quarter (22%) never post.

• Reddit members have a similar level of posting as Twitter members – 24% posting at least weekly and 39% at least monthly. Though two-fifths (42%) never post.

• Notably, about two-thirds of Pinterest members (63%), about half of Google+ members (54%) and LinkedIn members (48%) never post on their respective platforms. Similarly, three-quarters of YouTube Channel users (76%) never post.

Key Findings

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Frequency of sharing or reposting content among social media platform members

• Most social media users do not share or repost the posts or content of other people, organization or media on a daily or weekly basis.

• Two-in-ten share or repost daily (21%), twice the number of members do so at least once per week (42%), three-fifths do so on a monthly basis (62%), and 81% repost a few times per year. Two-fifths (19%) never share or repost other’s content.

• Members of Facebook are the most active compared to other social media platform members.

• But just two-in-ten (19%) repost or share other’s content on their platform on a daily basis. More than one-third (37%) of the members repost at least weekly, six-in-ten (59%) repost at least monthly and eight-in-ten (81%) do so a few times a year.

• Only one-in-ten Instagram (12%), Twitter (10%) and Snapchat (10%) members share or repost content from other’s on a daily basis, but almost a quarter – 24%, 24% and 19% respectively – do so at least weekly.

• Snapchat members are the most active at posting their own comments or contents, but very few members share or repost content from others – 61% Snapchat members never share or repost.

• Among Instagram and Twitter members, the daily frequency of posting their own content or sharing/ reposting other’s content is at the same level. However, more members do not share or repost - 45% Instagram members and 42% Twitter members never share or repost.

Key Findings

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Frequency of sharing or reposting content among social media platform members

• Three-in-ten Pinterest members (30%) repost or share other’s content on their platform at least monthly. More than half (51%) do not do either.

• Frequency of sharing or reposting content on a daily basis from other sources on information-seeking forums such as Reddit (15%), Tumblr (13%) and discussions forums (11%) is at the same level as posting their own comments or content.

• More than half never repost or share content on any of these platforms.

• Notably, about six-in-ten members of LinkedIn (60%) and Google+ (58%) never share or repost content from others.

• Three-quarters of YouTube users (75%) do not share or repost either - similar to the level of not posting their own comment or content.

Key Findings

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• Mobile – especially smartphone – is the dominant method of accessing social media.

• Six-in-ten (57%) social media users say their main method of accessing social media is smartphone (42%) or tablet(15%). Just over a third (36%) mainly access their platforms via laptop (20%) or desktop (16%) computer. Just 1% mainly rely on a SmartTV, and 6% say there is no single main method for them.

• Personal relationships dominate social media feeds, followed by brands and news.

• Nine-in-ten social media users follow friends (87%) and family (86%) via social media – and about one-in-three follow a lot of friends (39%) and family (36%). Notably, both friends and family are followed in equal measure.

• At least seven-in-ten social media users follow peers/acquaintances (73%), while 65% follow co-workers, but less than two-in-ten follow a lot from either category.

• About half or more social media users follow companies/brands (56%; just 3% follow a lot) and news media or journalists/columnists (50%; just 5% a lot),

• Less than half of social media users follow entertainment media or celebrities (45%; just 3% a lot) and not-for-profit entities (43%; just 2% a lot).

• Less followed entities include lifestyle, fashion, or fitness media/personalities (37%; 3% a lot), governments (31%; 2% a lot), politicians/parties (27%; 1% a lot), and video gamers (18%; 2% a lot).

Access methods & feed composition among social media platform members

Key Findings

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• Among the 80% of social media members who post their own comments or content, at least two-fifths post about personal and/or family news and updates (45%) and humour related content (43%).

• Current events (39%) and other hobbies or personal interests (36%) are also popular topics.

• Other topics of interest are entertainment related - Food and/or drink (26%), health and fitness (20%), music (19%), sports (19%), movies and/or TV (17%).

• Less than two-in-ten post about work, career or professional development (19%), politics or government (17%) and companies/brands (16%).

• Thus, about 18% of Canadian social media users – or 14% of Online Canadians – post about politics or government on social media.

• About one-in-seven or less post about self-improvement (15%), education (14%), asking for advice (14%) and lifestyle/ fashion (14%).

• Less than one-in-ten post about the arts, spirituality, video games, celebrities and so on.

Access methods & feed composition among social media platform members

Key Findings

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Attitudes and experiences: The positives and negatives

• Most Online Canadians feel that social media is “fun” (66%) and “cool” (52%), and that it allows them to stay in touch with friends and family (60%) and re-establish or improve friendships (55%).

• Social media is considered “fun” by 69% of social media users but only 19% of non-users. Similarly, 53% of social media users say it is “cool”, but merely 23% of non-users agree. Finally, among social media users, 63% use it to stay in touch with friends and family and 58% use it to re-establish or improve friendships.

• More disturbingly, almost eight-in-ten (78%) agree that people tend to be more hostile or negative on social media than in real life and almost half of social media users (46%) say they regularly see bigotry, racism, sexism, intolerance, bullying, and hate directed towards minority or marginalized populations on social media.

• Similarly, six-in-ten believe that social media fosters hate and violence (60%) and undermines unity and cohesiveness in society (60%) – and nearly half feel it also undermines democracy (48%).

• Comparing social media users to non-users, 78% of users vs. 65% of non-users feel people are more hostile/negative on it; 60% of users vs. 68% non-users worry it fosters and hate and violence insociety; and 47% of users vs. 56% of non-users worry it undermines democracy.

Key Findings

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• Not surprisingly, given these experiences and perceptions, four-in-ten (44%) are worried that people will download and use the comments, photos or videos that they post on social media for negative or harmful purposes.

• This worry is held by 44% of social media users as well as 48% of non-users.

• Trust levels specifically for Facebook are notably lower, as more than half (56%; 26% strongly so) of Facebook users feel that they cannot trust Facebook with their personal information and the posts that they share. Only 3% strongly agree that they can trust Facebook.

• Two-thirds of social media users believe they regularly see fake news on social media (67%) –likely driving the fact that only 44% of social media users are reliant upon social media to keep up-to-date and organized.

Key Findings

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• Although most (63%) social media users regularly read opinions or views of others which are different from their own beliefs or perspectives, and 32% have (at least once) changed their opinions or views based on what they have seen on social media. (32% agree; only 3% strongly agree).

• That said, two-fifths (42%) agree that social media gives them a platform they would not otherwise have to share their opinions freely. This opinion is held by 44% of social media users, but only 16% of non-users.

• Nevertheless, the positives appear to outweigh the negatives, as less than one-in-ten social media users and Facebook users are seriously considering quitting social media in general (7%) or Facebook specifically (7%).

Key Findings

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• Nine-in-ten adult Online Canadians use a messaging app/service.

• 92% are users of at least one of the 14 messaging apps/services tested. Two-thirds (63%) use at least one of these apps/services daily and eight-in-ten (79%) use at least weekly.

• Demographically, the 8% who are non-users skew somewhat older and somewhat less educated.

• Geographically, this non-user cohort is slightly higher among those in Manitoba (15%). Across the provinces, those in British Columbia have a notably higher daily usage frequency of at least of these apps/services (72%).

• Facebook Messenger and basic SMS/MMS texting are the leading messaging services, as almost seven-in-ten (71% and 68%, respectively) of adult Online Canadians use each.

• FB Messenger users skew somewhat more female than male.

• Both platforms skew notably younger.

• Two-fifths use Skype (43%), followed by Apple’s iMessage (40%) and WhatsApp (33%).

• Usage of Skype has fallen from 2017 (51%). Usage skews to younger age groups.

• Two-thirds of iMessage users fall under 18-22 age cohort (63%). Users skew somewhat more female than male.

• WhatsApp usage is notably higher among residents of Ontario (44%) and British Columbia (42%) and somewhat skews more male than female.

• Less than two-in-ten use Android Messages (17%), Google Hangouts (13%), and Yahoo! Messenger (12%).

• Less than one-in-ten use Viber (7%), Google Duo (7%), BlackBerry Messenger (7%), or the other apps/services tested.

• All Google/Android messaging app users skew somewhat more male than female.

Incidence & demographics of messaging app/service usage

Key Findings

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• Among messaging app/service users, iMessagers and basic SMS/MMS texters use their messaging service most frequently.• Six-in-ten iMessagers (62%) and texters (62%) use their messaging service on a daily basis, with about four-in-ten using each app

several times a day (46% and 39% respectively). Four-fifths use each app at least a few times per week – 79% and 83%, respectively.

• Four-in-ten (40%) WhatsApp users send messages with their app on a daily basis, with 59% doing so at least once per week.

• Although FB Messenger is the leading app in terms of numbers of users (71%), its users send messages less frequently than the apps above. Only 37% use it daily, and 62% use it at least weekly.• Similarly, although Skype is used by two-fifths (43%) of Online Canadians, it is not a frequently used app. Just one-in-ten (10%)

use it daily and less than two-in-ten (19%) use it at least weekly. Most (57%) use it a few times per year.

• About a third (32%) of Android Messages users use the app daily, and half (54%) do so at least weekly. • Although just 7% use BlackBerry Messenger, a quarter (22%) of BBM users use it daily with nearly half using it on a weekly

basis (47%) – a higher frequency of weekly use than found among more popular apps like Google Hangouts and Yahoo! Messenger.

• The Viber app – similar to BBM – is used daily by 22% of users and weekly by 40% of users.

Frequency of messaging app/service usage among users

Incidence of Social Media Platform Membership


Few do not use social media, but Facebook dominates membership share

1. Please indicate if you have each of the following: N=1500 adult Canadians aged 18 and older.Note: Google+ question included this explanation in parentheses: “GooglePlus – the Google social networking platform, not Gmail or Google Search”

80%

45%

40%

39%

36%

35%

27%

24%

13%

10%

8%

7%

7%

6%

6%

3%

2%

1%

Facebook account

LinkedIn account

Google+ account

Instagram account

Pinterest account

Twitter account

Subscription to another person or organization's YouTube channel

Snapchat account

Your own YouTube channel (that you can post videos to)

Account on an online discussion forum/message board not inc. Reddit

Your own personal blog or website

Reddit account

Tumblr account

Meetup account

Flickr account

Subscription to another person or organization's Twitch channel

Ask.Fm account

Your own Twitch.tv channel (that you can post videos to)

20

of Online Canadians do not use any of

the 18 social media platforms tested

9%

74%

76%80%

39%

48%

45%

35%

42%40%

24%

34%39%

23%

33%36%

27%

34% 35%

28% 27%

15% 21%

24%28%

13%6% 13%

10%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

2016 2017 2018

Facebook LinkedIn Google+ Instagram Pinterest Twitter Other's YouTube channel Snapchat Own YouTube channel Forum/message

board excl

Reddit

Incidence of Social Media Platform Membership (1 of 2)

1. Please indicate if you have each of the following: 2016 (N=2401), 2017 (N=1001), 2018 (N=1500) adult Canadians aged 18 and older.Note: Google+ question included this explanation in parentheses: “GooglePlus – the Google social networking platform, not Gmail or Google Search”

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Membership incidence among top 10 social media platforms increases year after year

• Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Snapchat membership continues to rise steadily.• LinkedIn and Google+ membership falls slightly from 2017 to 2018. • Twitter members and those subscribing to other’s YouTube channels remains steady from 2017 to 2018.

5%

11%

8%

6%

7%

4%

7%7%

6% 6%7%

6%

3% 3%

1%2%

3%

1%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

2016 2017 2018

Own blog/website Reddit Tumblr Meetup Flickr Other's Twitch channel Ask.Fm Own Twitch channel

Incidence of Social Media Platform Membership (2 of 2)

1. Please indicate if you have each of the following: 2016 (N=2401), 2017 (N=1001), 2018 (N=1500) adult Canadians aged 18 and older.Note: Google+ question included this explanation in parentheses: “GooglePlus – the Google social networking platform, not Gmail or Google Search”

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Membership incidence among the less frequently used platforms remains steady

• Incidence of having one’s own blog or website increased from 2016 to 2017 but drops in 2018.• Rest of the less frequent social media platforms membership incidence remains the same.


Demographics of platform memberships: Gender, Age, Education

1. Please indicate if you have each of the following: N=1500 adult Canadians aged 18 and older. Note: Hyphens indicate less than 1%.

Total

GENDER AGE EDUCATION

Female Male 18-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+HS or less

CollegeTech/ Trade

University

80% 81% 79% 89% 87% 75% 72% 72% 77% 86% 76% 80%

45% 42% 48% 49% 49% 51% 47% 32% 27% 36% 37% 58%

40% 37% 42% 41% 37% 43% 41% 36% 35% 40% 42% 41%

39% 41% 36% 64% 48% 32% 26% 15% 31% 37% 35% 44%

36% 50% 21% 43% 38% 36% 36% 25% 36% 44% 32% 35%

35% 33% 38% 46% 42% 35% 29% 22% 26% 33% 30% 42%

27% 24% 31% 46% 37% 22% 17% 9% 26% 31% 25% 28%

24% 24% 23% 55% 19% 17% 11% 2% 22% 24% 19% 25%

13% 9% 16% 23% 16% 11% 6% 3% 15% 13% 10% 13%

10% 7% 12% 12% 12% 12% 8% 4% 8% 7% 8% 11%

8% 8% 8% 12% 11% 6% 5% 5% 5% 9% 7% 10%

7% 5% 10% 15% 9% 5% 3% 2% 5% 7% 8% 9%

7% 6% 8% 15% 7% 6% 3% 1% 6% 9% 5% 8%

6% 6% 6% 6% 8% 9% 5% 3% 2% 5% 2% 9%

6% 4% 8% 7% 7% 5% 7% 4% 3% 5% 5% 7%

3% 1% 4% 7% 2% 2% - - 2% 3% 1% 3%

2% 2% 2% 4% 1% 2% 1% 1% 1% 2% 1% 2%

1% 1% 2% 3% 2% - - 1% 2% 2% - 2%

Subscription to another

Channel


Own Channel

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Demographics of platform memberships: Generations


TotalGENERATIONS

Millennials Generation X Boomers Silent

80% 88% 80% 73% 66%

45% 52% 50% 39% 28%

40% 40% 41% 38% 31%

39% 62% 36% 21% 10%

36% 41% 37% 31% 20%

35% 45% 37% 24% 26%

27% 41% 27% 14% 1%

24% 46% 17% 6% -

13% 22% 10% 5% 1%

10% 11% 11% 7% -

8% 12% 8% 4% 7%

7% 15% 5% 3% -

7% 14% 5% 1% 2%

6% 8% 7% 5% 1%

6% 6% 6% 6% 1%

3% 6% 2% - -

2% 2% 2% 1% 2%

1% 3% 1% - -

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Channel


Own Channel


Platform memberships across the provinces


TotalProvince

BC Alberta Manitoba Saskatchewan Ontario Quebec Atlantic

80% 80% 79% 74% 78% 81% 77% 88%

45% 47% 52% 32% 42% 52% 34% 42%

40% 46% 34% 33% 43% 38% 41% 41%

39% 40% 44% 47% 39% 43% 27% 41%

36% 40% 42% 38% 42% 37% 24% 47%

35% 42% 39% 35% 38% 37% 24% 44%

27% 34% 32% 23% 21% 28% 22% 25%

24% 21% 26% 22% 26% 24% 21% 29%

13% 18% 14% 11% 11% 13% 8% 16%

10% 11% 11% 5% 9% 11% 7% 8%

8% 9% 6% 4% 7% 11% 6% 5%

7% 9% 10% 7% 5% 9% 3% 8%

7% 9% 10% 11% 5% 7% 4% 7%

6% 12% 7% 5% 2% 8% 2% 2%

6% 9% 11% 2% 3% 5% 3% 6%

3% 3% 3% 3% 2% 2% 3% 4%

2% 2% 2% - 3% 2% 2% 3%

1% 2% 1% 1% 1% 1% 2% 1%

25


Channel


Own Channel

Frequency of Reading & Posting amongMembers of Top Social Media Platforms

Reading/Info-Seeking Frequency of Social Media Platform Members

272. Overall, how often do you use each of these platforms to read/view or search for information, content, posts, or comments from others, if at all? Bases = Holders of accounts for each of the social media platforms listed. See Methodology Section for base sizes. Note: YouTube reading/viewing activity shown here is among all respondents (general population), regardless of whether they have a channel to which they can post video or subscriptions to channels.

Facebook has the most readers, followed by (FB-owned) Instagram

41%

7%

17%

33%

6%

15%

28%

10%

16%

28%

28%

13%

17%

26%

15%

15%

22%

13%

14%

21%

19%

24%

21%

18%

25%

26%

18%

26%

29%

16%

7%

27%

16%

12%

30%

19%

11%

22%

17%

18%

4%

21%

16%

6%

19%

18%

10%

15%

20%

11%

2%

8%

13%

4%

4%

7%

10%

14%

3%

5%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Facebook

LinkedIn

Google+ account

Instagram

Pinterest

Twitter

Snapchat

YouTube (General Population)

Forum

Reddit

Several times/day Few times/day Few times/wk. Few times/mo. Few times/yr. Never At Least Daily

At Least Weekly

At Least A Few

Times/Yr

68% 87% 98%

20% 44% 92%

34% 54% 87%

59% 77% 96%

21% 46% 96%

30% 56% 93%

50% 68% 90%

23% 49% 86%

31% 60% 97%

49% 66% 84%

Reading/Info-Seeking Frequency of Social Media Platform Members: At Least Weekly Tracking (1 of 2)


Frequency of reading/ info-seeking by Facebook members falls slightly in 2018

83%

89%

87%

75%

74%77%

62%

65% 68%

58%

66%69%

53%

60%

53%

64%

56%

43%

56% 54%

47% 49%

-10%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

2016 2017 2018

Facebook Instagram Snapchat Reddit Forum/message brd (excl Reddit) Twitter Google+ YouTube

• Number of Instagram and Snapchat members using these platforms to read and seek information have increased by nearly 10% since 2017.• Fewer Twitter members are reading content on a weekly basis now than in 2017

Reading/Info-Seeking Frequency of Social Media Platform Members: At Least Weekly Tracking (2 of 2)


Pinterest usage by members fluctuates across the years

43%

60%

46%

42%

36%

44%

35%

47%

44%37%

32%30% 31%

23% 22%

42%

17%15%

5% 4%

-10%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

2016 2017 2018

Pinterest Tumblr LinkedIn Meetup Ask.Fm Flickr Blog/Website Twitch.tv

• Number of Pinterest and LinkedIn members using their platform on a weekly basis to read/ seek info rises from 2016 to 2017 but falls in 2018.

Posting Frequency of Social Media Platform Members

303. Overall, how often do you post your own comments or content on each of these platforms, if at all? Bases = Holders of accounts for each of the social media platforms listed. See Methodology Section for base sizes.Note: YouTube posting activity shown here is among only those who have a YouTube Channel/Account that they can post video to.

A majority of social media users do not post on a daily or weekly basis.

8%

1%

4%

6%

1%

4%

9%

2%

8%

7%

9%

3%

4%

8%

3%

6%

15%

3%

4%

7%

22%

8%

9%

18%

6%

12%

21%

3%

14%

10%

25%

15%

12%

30%

9%

16%

20%

6%

18%

15%

23%

24%

17%

18%

16%

27%

12%

10%

34%

19%

13%

48%

54%

20%

63%

35%

23%

76%

22%

42%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Facebook

LinkedIn

Google+ account

Instagram

Pinterest

Twitter

Snapchat


Forum

Reddit

Several times/day Few times/day Few times/wk Few times/mo. Few times/yr Never At Least Daily

At Least Weekly

At Least A Few

Times/Yr

17% 39% 87%

4% 13% 52%

8% 18% 46%

15% 32% 80%

5% 11% 37%

10% 22% 65%

24% 45% 77%

4% 8% 24%

12% 26% 78%

15% 24% 58%

Posting Frequency of Social Media Platform Members: At Least Weekly Tracking (1 of 2)


Overall, the frequency of posting on social media has reduced from 2017

34%

40%

45%

40%40%

39%

16%

30% 32%

22%

26%29%

29%24%25%

23% 22%

41%

15%

22%

14%

21%

-10%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

2016 2017 2018

Snapchat Facebook Instagram Forum/message brd (excl Reddit) Reddit Twitter Tumblr Ask.Fm

• Snapchat and Instagram members are posting more often in 2018 than the previous years.• While frequency of posting on a weekly basis among Facebook and Twitters users has not changed across the years.

Posting Frequency of Social Media Platform Members: At Least Weekly Tracking (2 of 2)


Posting content on lesser used social media platforms remains almost the same

34%

17%

18%

23%

12%

13%13% 14% 13%16%

12%

13%

13%11%

14%

8%6%

5%3% 2%

-10%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

2016 2017 2018

Google+ Flickr LinkedIn Meetup Pinterest YouTube Blog/website Twitch.tv

• Tendency to post on Google+ reduces to almost half from 2016 to 2017 and 2018.• Most Pinterest and LinkedIn members do not read/seek information, nor do they post often on these platforms. The frequency of posting at

least weekly remains constant as well across the years.

Repost/Share Frequency of Social Media Platform Members

334. Overall, how often do you share or repost the posts or content of other people, organizations, or media on each of these platforms, if at all? Bases = Holders of accounts for each of the social media platforms listed. See Methodology Section for base sizes.Note: YouTube posting activity shown here is among only those who have a YouTube Channel/Account that they can post video to.

Facebook is dominant platform for reposts, followed by Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat

7%

1%

3%

4%

2

4%

4%

1

2%

3%

12%

3%

4%

8%

4%

6%

6%

3%

8%

12%

18%

6%

10%

12%

10%

14%

9%

4%

3%

5%

23%

12%

9%

15%

14%

14%

11%

8%

11%

9%

22%

19%

16%

16%

19%

20%

8%

9%

18%

13%

19%

60%

58%

45%

51%

42%

61%

75%

57%

58%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Facebook

LinkedIn

Google+ account

Instagram

Pinterest

Twitter

Snapchat


Forum

Reddit

Several times/day Few times/day Few times/wk Few times/mo. Few times/yr Never At Least Daily

At Least Weekly

At Least A Few

Times/Yr

19% 37% 81%

4% 10% 40%

7% 17% 42%

12% 24% 55%

6% 16% 49%

10% 24% 58%

10% 19% 39%

4% 8% 25%

11% 13% 43%

15% 21% 42%

Repost/Share Frequency of Social Media Platform Members: At Least Weekly Tracking (1 of 2)

34NOTE: Question not asked in 20164. Overall, how often do you share or repost the posts or content of other people, organizations, or media on each of these platforms, if at all? Bases = Holders of accounts for each of the social media platforms listed. See Methodology Section for base sizes.Note: YouTube posting activity shown here is among only those who have a YouTube Channel/Account that they can post video to.

At an overall level, reposting or sharing frequency remain steady

40%

37%

19%

27%

19%

24%26%

24%21% 22%

28%

21%

24%

19%17% 17%

-10%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

2017 2018

Facebook Ask.Fm Instagram Twitter Tumblr Reddit Snapchat Google+

• While Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat members are reposting or sharing other’s content much less frequently in 2018 as compared to 2017, number Instagram members that reposting and sharing content are increasing.

Repost/Share Frequency of Social Media Platform Members: At Least Weekly Tracking (2 of 2)

35NOTE: Question not asked in 20164. Overall, how often do you share or repost the posts or content of other people, organizations, or media on each of these platforms, if at all? Bases = Holders of accounts for each of the social media platforms listed. See Methodology Section for base sizes.Note: YouTube posting activity shown here is among only those who have a YouTube Channel/Account that they can post video to.

Trends for posting own content or reposting other’s is the same across the lesser used platforms

15%16%

12%13%

9%

13%

10%

12%13%

10%

17%

8%

5%4%

3%2%

-5%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

2017 2018

Pinterest Forum/message brd (excl Reddit) Meetup Flickr LinkedIn YouTube Blog/Website Twitch.tv

• Likelihood of reposting or sharing content on LinkedIn or YouTube reduces even more in 2018 from 2017.

Access Methods & Feed CompositionAmong Social Media Users

People/Organizations Followed by Social Media Platform MembersPersonal relationships dominate feeds, followed by brands and news media

5. And, generally speaking, about how many of each of the following types of people and organizations are you connected with, subscribed to, or following across your social media/networking platforms?Bases = Holders of at least one of the social media platforms listed, N=1446.

39%

36%

16%

12%

3%

5%

3%

2%

3%

2%

1

2%

30%

30%

28%

27%

16%

16%

14%

13%

12%

8%

7%

6%

18%

20%

30%

26%

36%

29%

28%

28%

22%

21%

19%

10%

13%

14%

27%

35%

44%

50%

55%

57%

63%

69%

73%

82%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Friends

Family

Peers or acquaintances

Co-workers

Companies, products, or brands

News media organizations, reporters, anchors, or columnists

Entertainment media organizations, groups, or personalities/celebrities

Not-for-profit organizations or leaders

Lifestyle, fashion, or fitness media/personalities

Governments or government departments

Political parties or politicians

Video gamers

A lot Some A few NoneAny

A lot/ some

A few/ none

87% 69% 31%

86% 66% 34%

73% 44% 56%

65% 39% 61%

56% 19% 81%

50% 21% 79%

45% 17% 83%

43% 15% 85%

37% 15% 85%

31% 10% 90%

27% 8% 92%

18% 8% 92%

37

Topics posted on Social Media Platform by members

38

5B. And, when you post your own comments or content on social media, what type of content or subject matter do you typically post about? (N=1195)

Personal, family news and updates and humour related content are most common posts

46%43%

39%36%

26%20%

19%19%19%

17%17%

16%15%14%14%14%

11%9%

6%6%

Personal and/or family news and updates

Humour

Current events

Other hobbies or personal interests

Food and/or drink

Health and fitness

Music

Sports

Work, career, and professional development

Movies and/or TV

Political or government-focussed posts

Posts about companies/products/services/brands

Self-improvement

Education

Asking for advice

Lifestyle, fashion, etc.

Art / The arts

Spirituality

Video games

Celebrities

• Among social media users, 15% make posts about politics/government and 14% about companies/products/brands. Among all online Canadians, 14% make posts about politics/government and 12% about companies/products/brands.

• Canadians who post about politics/government are much more likely to be male (61%, vs. 46% among people who don’t) slightly older (55% in the 50 and up age cohort, vs. 49% among those who don’t), and slightly more likely to be in British Columbia or Alberta and less likely to be from Ontario or Quebec.

Main Method of Accessing Social Media among Users/MembersMobile – especially smartphone – is dominant method

6. And, what is the main way that you typically access your social media/networking platforms, overall?Bases = Holders of at least one of the social media platforms listed, 2017 (N=874), 2018 (N=1446).

42%

15%

20%

16%

1%

6%

44%

16%

22%

14%

1%

4%

Smartphone

Tablet

Laptop computer

Desktop computer

TV with internet connection

No typical/main way – it varies2018

2017

Net Mobile:2018: 57%2017: 60%

Net Computer:2018: 36%2017: 35%

39

Social Media Perceptions & Experiences

Social Media Perceptions/Experiences: The Positives

41

5C. Please indicate how much you agree or disagree with the following. N=813-814

Most see social media as fun, cool, a tool that connects them with friends and family, and a way to be exposed to different points of view

6%

9%

4%

7%

11%

5%

10%

8%

15%

11%

12%

21%

21%

15%

32%

22%

26%

24%

17%

19%

15%

17%

22%

22%

26%

30%

30%

56%

49%

44%

43%

45%

34%

36%

32%

29%

10%

12%

16%

12%

7%

8%

6%

3%

3%

Social media is fun

On social media, I regularly read the views of others who share different beliefs/views/perspectives than me

I need social media to stay connected with friends and family

I have met or re-established or improved friendships through social media

Social media is cool

I need social media to keep up-to-date and organized

Social media gives me a platform that I would not otherwise have to freely share my opinions

I trust Facebook with my personal information and the posts that I share on it

At least once, I have changed my opinions/views based on reading the views of others who share different beliefs and views than me

Don’t know / Unsure Strongly disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Strongly agree

• However, just 32% have ever changed views based on social media content. And, just 36% trust Facebook with personal info.

AgreeOnline

CanadiansSocial Media

Users

66% 69%

61% 63%

60% 63%

55% 58%

52% 53%

42% 44%

42% 44%

36% (among Facebook users)

32% 32%

Social Media Perceptions/Experiences: The Negatives

42


Most see social media as place of hostility and fake news – and worry it is fostering hate, violence, and division in society

8%

18%

11%

12%

15%

14%

12%

3%

5%

8%

8%

12%

14%

15%

11%

11%

20%

20%

26%

27%

29%

38%

43%

41%

41%

33%

30%

31%

40%

22%

19%

18%

15%

16%

13%

People tend to be more hostile/ negative on social media than in real life

I regularly see fake news on social media

I worry that social media is fostering hate and violence in our society

I worry that social media is undermining unity and cohesiveness in our society

I worry that social media is undermining our democracy

I regularly see bigotry/racism/sexism/intolerance/bullying/and hate directed at minority/marginalized populations on social media

I am worried that people will download and use the comments, photos or videos that I post on social media for negative or harmful

purposes


• Just under half regularly see bigotry directed towards marginalized/minority populations on social media, and worry that social media is undermining democracy. Agree

Online Canadians

Social Media Users

78% 78%

65% 67%

60% 60%

60% 60%

48% 47%

45% 46%

44% 44%

Social Media Positives Must Outweigh Negatives

43


Because less than 1-in-10 are seriously considering quitting Facebook or all social media

13%

14%

28%

27%

32%

34%

20%

17%

7%

7%

I am thinking of quitting Facebook

I am thinking of quitting most or all social media


Agree

26% (among Facebook users)

24% (among socialmedia users)

Incidence & Frequency of Use of Messaging Apps

Incidence of Messaging App/Service Usage

FB Messenger & basic texting are leading services

Incidence rates based on % indicating some level of usage of each app at Usage question (7. “How often do you use each of the following messaging apps/services, if at all?”). If respondents indicate “Never – Do not have an account / the app” or “Never - Have an account / the app, but never use it”, they are not included in the percentages above. N=1500 adult Canadians aged 18 and older.

71%

68%

43%

40%

33%

17%

13%

12%

7%

7%

7%

4%

3%

3%

Facebook Messenger

Basic SMS/MMS texting on mobile device(not through app)

Skype

iMessage (Apple)

WhatsApp

Android Messages(formerly Google Messenger)

Google Hangouts

Yahoo! Messenger

Viber

Google Duo

BlackBerry Messenger (BBM)

Google Allo

Kik

ICQ

45

of Online Canadians do not use any of the 14 messaging

apps/services tested

8%

Incidence of Messaging App/Service Usage (1 of 2)

Usage among the top 7 messaging apps/ services does not fluctuate much

Incidence rates based on % indicating some level of usage of each app at Usage question (7. “How often do you use each of the following messaging apps/services, if at all?”). If respondents indicate “Never – Do not have an account / the app” or “Never – Have an account / the app, but never use it”, they are not included in the percentages above. N=1500 adult Canadians aged 18 and older.

68%71%

66%68%

51%

43%40% 40%

32% 33%

15%

17%17%13%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

2017 2018

Facebook Messenger Basic SMS/MMS texting

(not through app)

Skype iMessage (Apple) WhatsApp Android Messages Google Hangouts

46

• Facebook Messenger, basic texting, WhatsApp and Android messaging usage increases by 1% to 2% only from 2018.• Popularity of Skype (-8) and Google Hangouts (-4) falls.

Incidence of Messaging App/Service Usage (2 of 2)

Incidence rates based on % indicating some level of usage of each app at Usage question (7. “How often do you use each of the following messaging apps/services, if at all?”). If respondents indicate “Never – Do not have an account / the app” or “Never – Have an account / the app, but never use it”, they are not included in the percentages above. N=1500 adult Canadians aged 18 and older.

47

Usage among the less popular platforms does not change across the years

11%12%

7%7%

5%

7%8%

7%5%

4%4%

3%4% 3%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

2017 2018

Yahoo! Messenger Viber Google Duo BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) Google Allo Kik ICQ


Demographics of messaging app/service usage: Gender, age, education

Please indicate if you have each of the following: N=1500 adult Canadians aged 18 and older.

48

Total


Female Male 18-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+HS or less

CollegeTech/ Trade

University

71% 73% 68% 83% 79% 61% 67% 60% 70% 75% 68% 71%

68% 67% 70% 81% 77% 72% 64% 46% 58% 69% 69% 73%

43% 41% 46% 49% 44% 41% 35% 43% 34% 32% 37% 53%

40% 42% 38% 51% 48% 40% 31% 27% 33% 35% 34% 46%

33% 30% 36% 49% 45% 31% 20% 16% 23% 28% 21% 42%

17% 15% 19% 16% 14% 18% 16% 20% 16% 17% 16% 17%

13% 10% 17% 21% 14% 12% 8% 9% 7% 12% 10% 17%

12% 11% 12% 8% 13% 11% 10% 16% 8% 12% 11% 13%

7% 6% 9% 11% 9% 9% 4% 3% 4% 6% 4% 10%

7% 5% 9% 8% 8% 4% 6% 7% 4% 9% 6% 8%

7% 5% 8% 7% 10% 9% 5% 2% 3% 7% 5% 8%

4% 3% 5% 5% 4% 3% 3% 5% 2% 5% 2% 5%

3% 2% 4% 7% 5% 1% - 1% 3% 2% 2% 4%

3% 2% 4% 5% 6% 2% 1% 1% 2% 2% 1% 4%


Demographics of messaging app/service usage: Generations


49

TotalGENERATIONS


71% 82% 68% 63% 62%

68% 80% 73% 56% 35%

43% 50% 41% 40% 37%

40% 48% 42% 29% 25%

33% 51% 32% 19% 15%

17% 16% 16% 18% 16%

13% 20% 11% 10% 6%

12% 8% 12% 14% 12%

7% 11% 8% 3% 8%

7% 10% 5% 7% 6%

7% 9% 9% 4% -

4% 5% 3% 5% 5%

3% 7% 3% - 2%

3% 5% 3% 1% 1%


Messaging app/service usage across the provinces


50

TotalProvince


71% 74% 68% 62% 69% 69% 72% 81%

68% 70% 72% 60% 74% 69% 67% 63%

43% 43% 36% 39% 35% 48% 43% 38%

40% 48% 39% 47% 47% 39% 34% 43%

33% 42% 29% 25% 26% 44% 19% 15%

17% 15% 11% 10% 18% 17% 21% 17%

13% 12% 12% 9% 15% 17% 10% 12%

12% 10% 11% 7% 7% 11% 15% 13%

7% 8% 7% 9% 11% 8% 6% 5%

7% 5% 6% 4% 11% 7% 8% 6%

7% 3% 8% 5% 9% 8% 5% 8%

4% 3% 2% 2% 3% 4% 7% 4%

3% 3% 2% 6% 7% 3% 3% 6%

3% 3% 1% 3% 6% 4% 3% 3%

Frequency of Messaging App/Service Usage among Users of Top AppsiMessagers and basic texters use their messaging app/service most frequently

X7. How often do you use each of the following messaging apps/services, if at all? Bases = Users of Messaging Apps/Services listed (i.e. Excludes respondents that indicate “Never – Do not have an account / the app” or “Never – Have an account / the app, but never use it”). See Methodology Section for base sizes.

Several times/day Few times/day Few times/wk Few times/mo. Few times/yr

19%

39%

3%

46%

26%

16%

9%

9%

6%

18%

23%

7%

16%

13%

16%

10%

13%

17%

26%

21%

9%

17%

19%

22%

14%

22%

18%

22%

11%

23%

10%

21%

23%

25%

22%

18%

16%

6%

57%

10%

20%

23%

43%

34%

42%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Facebook Messenger

Basic SMS or MMS texting

Skype

iMessage (Apple)

WhatsApp

Android Messages

Google Hangouts

Yahoo! Messenger

Viber

51

At Least Daily

At Least Weekly

37% 62%

62% 83%

10% 19%

62% 79%

40% 59%

32% 54%

19% 32%

21% 43%

22% 40%

Methodology

Methodology

Sampling, field window, & statistical considerations

Approach & Sampling

• Online survey conducted among a randomly-selected national sample of N=1,500 adult (18+) Canadian members of one of Canada’s largest, most respected research panels.

• Gender, age, and provincial quotas employed to ensure sufficient, reliable representation from these demographic and geographic cohorts.

Fielding Window

• Survey was conducted from May 4 – 10, 2018.

Statistical Considerations

• As a guideline, a probability sample of this size would carry a margin of error of +2.5, 19 times out of 20. Margin of error is larger for sub-segments.

• Dataset was statistically weighted according to the most up-to-date Census figures in order to ensure it accurately reflects the actual gender, age, and geographic distribution of the population.

53

Methodology

Unweighted & weighted base sizes among total sample

• The following tables provide the unweighted and weighted base sizes for the various demographic and geographic sub-segments discussed in the report:

TotalN=1500


Female Male 18 to 34 35 to 44 45 to 54 55 to 64 65+High School

or lessCollege

Tech/ Trade

University

Unweighted 781 719 413 254 283 250 300 296 231 203 727

Weighted 771 729 410 243 268 269 310 287 247 182 745

TotalN=1500

PROVINCE


Unweighted 200 200 100 100 402 300 198

Weighted 204 168 53 45 576 352 103

TotalN=1500

GENERATIONS


Unweighted 395 537 409 81

Weighted 393 509 435 85

54

Methodology

Unweighted & weighted base sizes among social media account users

Haveaccount

with: Facebook LinkedIn Google+ Instagram Pinterest Twitter

Unweighted 1203 670 592 598 567 545

Weighted 1196 680 594 583 537 530

Haveaccount

with: Snapchat Tumblr Reddit Flickr Ask.FM Meetup

Unweighted 367 110 111 86 30 88

Weighted 353 106 110 87 29 93

55

• The following tables provide the unweighted and weighted base sizes for the various social media user sub-segments discussed in the report:

NOTE: For the following social media platforms the questions regarding frequency of reading/ seeking information, posting content and reposting/sharing content were asked to the general population (N = 1500): YouTube, Twitch TV, Another individual’s blog or website and online, and online discussion forum/message board not including Reddit.

Methodology

Unweighted & weighted base sizes among messaging app/service users

• The following tables provide the unweighted and weighted base sizes for the various messaging app/service sub-segments discussed in the report:

Apps/Services Users:

Facebook Messenger

Basic SMS or MMS texting Skype iMessage WhatsApp

Android Messages

Google Hangouts

Unweighted 1071 1026 626 622 462 243 197

Weighted 1062 1026 650 600 495 251 201

56

Apps/Services Users:

Yahoo! Messenger Viber Google Duo

BlackBerry Messenger Google Allo Kik ICQ

Unweighted 168 110 99 99 59 53 45

Weighted 175 110 102 98 63 46 45

Methodology

Reporting conventions & considerations

• As this data is based on an online survey, it represents the social media/messaging usage and activities of adult Online Canadians.

• However, internet access and usage in Canada is widespread.

– According to the International Telecommunication Union, in 2015, 87% of Canadian households had home internet access via some type of service/device and 89% of Canadians were internet users.

– According to Statistics Canada’s Canadian Internet Use Survey, in 2012, 83% of Canadians aged 16 or over used the internet for personal use from any location.

– Internet access and usage is very likely higher and more widespread now.

• Also, the dataset has been weighted to accurately reflect the general adult population of Canada.

• Thus, we expect the incidence of social media platform membership and messaging app users among the entire general adult population to be slightly lower than presented herein. However, social media and messaging usage results (i.e. reading, posting, etc.) do not hold any of these caveats, as these results are based upon responses provided by users of these platforms and services.

57

www.pollara.com

For additional information, please contact:Craig Worden, [email protected]

@craigworden

SOCIALscape Canadian Social Media & Messaging Monitor · Most social media users do not share or...

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