Digital 2022 report – internet and social media in Poland

The vast majority of people around the world and in Poland are now using the Internet and social media. In February 2022, a new version of the Digital report was released, showing the situation related to the use of the Internet and social media in Poland. How many people go online and have Facebook or Instagram accounts? How much time do Poles spend online and on which devices?

How many Poles use the Internet?

The report showed that the number of Internet users relative to the total population has increased. In 2021, it was 84.5% of Poles, and by the beginning of 2022 the number had risen to 87%. We are, of course, talking about all individuals, regardless of age. The number of social media users has also increased from 68.5% to 72%. So it’s now 27 million Poles, with 1.3 million new users in a year. The activities of Internet and social media users are also changing from year to year. It turns out that although there are more of them, they spend a little less time online and on social media. It seemed that through the pandemic, time spent online would increase, and even the number of Internet addicts would increase. Meanwhile, the findings described in the report are strongly surprising.

How much time do Poles spend on the Internet?

The report indicates that, surprisingly, users spent 5 minutes less per day online. This may not seem like much, but on a yearly basis there is already a difference. On social media alone, meanwhile, Poles spent up to 10 minutes less per day than in 2021. It turned out that this saved time was spent reading newspapers (2 minutes a day more), listening to music on streaming services (6 minutes a day more), listening to the radio (4 minutes more) and podcasts (1 minute more).

The average Polish Internet user in the 16-64 age bracket spends an average of 6 hours and 30 minutes a day online. More than 93% access the mobile Internet on smartphones. On phones, Poles use the Internet for a shorter time than on computers. So it comes out that we have our noses in our phones for less than three hours a day, while we surf the net for 3 hours and 42 minutes on computers or laptops.

However, it is important to note here a certain, very important relationship. Laptops or computers are now used mainly for work purposes, while smartphones are used more for private purposes. Poles tend to reach for their phones after work or during breaks. This shows that the convenience of content on smartphones should be taken into account when planning marketing activities. The functionality of websites and the readability of content on phone screens is increasingly important for most users.

Sound experience better than visual?

The results of the research described in the Digital 2022 report indicate that Polish Internet users have begun to value audio experiences more than visual ones. Indeed, it turns out that among Internet users between the ages of 16 and 64, 21.5% listen to music on streaming platforms like Spotify or Tidal, 26% listen to Internet radio, and 19.6% are interested in and listen to podcasts. Nearly 12% of users in this age group also listen to audiobooks. Also, the number of plays or views of music, podcasts or videos shows that more and more Internet users are interested in this type of content. This is also noted by social networks, where it is audio content that is gaining more reach than traditional visual content. This is important news for online creators, who should increasingly rely on audio content or content combining image and sound.

Popularity of social media in Poland

Overall, at the beginning of 2022, there were more users on social media than a year earlier, but the time rushed on the sites per person decreased. Social media platforms are now used by about 83% of people over the age of 13. Interestingly, social media users include people of almost all ages. This is quite surprising, since it seems that the older a person gets, the less convinced he or she is about such portals. Meanwhile, accounts on Facebook or Instagram even have people aged 65+. The largest number is, of course, those aged 18-44, but there are also many people over 55 and just 65.

The report shows Meta’s exact demographics, which means it covers the most popular portals that Meta owns. Respondents were divided into 7 age groups. Each is slightly outnumbered by women. In the 13-17 age group, 4% of girls and 3.2% of guys use social media. In the 18-24 and 25-34 age groups, the results are relatively similar. After that, a downward trend begins. In the 35-44 age group, women prevail slightly more than in other age groups. Indeed, there are 11% of them compared to 9% of men. In the 45-54 age group, it is only 6.6% women and 5% men. The 55-64 age group, meanwhile, is only 4.2% of ladies and just 2.6% of men. The least numerous, of course, is the 65+ age group, with only 3% of women and 2.2% of men.

Which portals are the most popular?

Among all the social media platforms, those owned by Meta obviously lead the way, but there is no denying the tremendous growth in popularity of the Chinese app TikTok. Just a year earlier it was in 9th place with 28.6% of Internet users, and in 2022 it has already been elevated to 5th place. The number of TikTok users has already risen to 34.1% of people between the ages of 13 and 64. In the context of the growing popularity of audio and video content, the rise in popularity of TikTok, which is based on such content, is no longer such a surprise. Added to this is the fact that the application can be conveniently used on a smartphone.

Twitter, on the other hand, suffered a loss in popularity. The reason for this is probably that in Poland it is almost completely dominated by politics, and this is not a favorite topic of Poles. In addition, nothing changes there in terms of content. You can still publish only short mentions accompanied by hashtags, and Internet users now have needs to share more extensive content, both privately and for business purposes. As recently as a year ago, 37.5% of Internet users had Twitter accounts, and by 2022 barely 26.25%. With the continued growth of other portals, Twitter may unfortunately record further declines.

Facebook, Instagram, Messenger or WhatsApp, owned by Meta, have not seen significant changes in terms of popularity and are still the leaders among social media in Poland. Facebook is used by more than 88% of people, and Messenger by just under 80%. In third place is Instagram with 59.6%, and WhatsApp is fourth with 49.8%.

And which platform is the favorite of Polish users? Here it’s interesting, because the leader is of course Facebook with a score of 36.9%, but the next places already have much lower scores, which shows how huge an advantage Facebook still has over the rest. Messenger has a score of 14.7%, Instagram has the most likes of 13% of people, and WhatsApp and TikTok are already the favorite platforms of only 6.8 and 4.2% of users, respectively.

Facebook and Instagram lead the way in terms of number of users

Expressions of affection are one thing, and actual social media presence is another. Facebook, however, has by far the most users, at 17.65 million. That’s slightly less than a year earlier, when it was 18 million, but it’s not as big a drop as was expected after various news stories rallying to Facebook’s flight. So the rumors turned out to be greatly exaggerated. Facebook is used by slightly more women (just over 53%) than men (just under 4%). It should also be noted that more than 53% of users use the application on smartphones. Only 3% of people use Facebook only on computers or laptops, and the rest, or about 44% of people, alternate between the two devices.

Instagram, on the other hand, has more than 10 million users in Poland. That’s an increase of about a million. However, there is concern among the portal’s managers about competition from TikTok, as video content also reigns on Instagram in addition to photos. TikTok, mentioned above, gained 918,000 users during the year.

The fact that Facebook and Instagram, along with Messenger, are still the leaders in the social media market is not surprising, as these are portals used extensively for business purposes, not just personal ones. The influencer business is booming, and many famous people (actors, athletes, musicians and others) are taking advantage of the opportunity to connect with fans, and fans also appreciate the opportunity to observe the lives of idols.

What about LinkedIn and the rest of the portals?

In addition to the most popular platforms, there are several others, including LinkedIn. However, they compare rather poorly with the leaders. Even LinkedIn is gaining weakly in popularity, even though it is beginning to resemble Facebook. While it still doesn’t have as many ads and loose, entertaining content as Facebook, it is a good portal for making friends, publishing smart, valuable content and having smart conversations. It’s no longer just a portal for businesses and job seekers. Artists, new technologies or even paramedics are gaining popularity there. A year ago, accounts on LinkedIn had just over 4 million users. By 2022, there are already 4.6 million. This is an increase, but a small one. However, when asked about their favorite platform, LinkedIn fared very poorly, with only 1% of the votes. The service has tremendous potential, and let’s hope that it will eventually become more popular in Poland as well.

And other portals? Just under 5 million people look at SnapChat, while 4.23 million people look at Pinterest. It is worth noting that in the case of Pinterest, as many as 81% of users are women. Twitter, on the other hand, has only 2 million users.

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