The rise and fall of human interaction

A news item arrived in my inbox describing the rise of internet and social media usage worldwide. It specifically reports which countries are using the internet the most. I somewhat disagree with the results, but it is interesting to see the ranking.

According to their research, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) ranks as the #1 users of internet globally.

Is that because they have the highest levels of immigration and therefore residents need to be connected with their families overseas?

It looks like not, as the main thing that people in the UAE are doing is TikTok. Must be all those folks in Dubai saying look at me on the beach.

Then they say that Brazilians are the next highest users with eight hours per day online, mainly using Instagram. Must be all those folks in Rio de Janeiro saying look at me on the beach.

You can read the list below but what strikes me, as a reflection, is that we are now socially interacting digitally far more globally on Instagram and TikTok, but interacting far less socially face-to-face. Is this good or bad?

The Countries Most Addicted to Their Screens

Since 2020, global screen time has increased by 42%, while face-to-face social interactions have declined by nearly a third. A new study by data infrastructure provider TRG Datacenters.

analysed tech usage patterns worldwide to identify which countries have become most dependent on digital platforms.

The research evaluated states using multiple tech-reliance indicators such as daily time spent on devices, social media usage, platform adoption rates across Instagram, TikTok, and Netflix, and internet penetration. Countries were ranked using a Tech Dependency Index that scored states based on how much time citizens spend on devices and how widely they've adopted major digital platforms.

The UAE ranks first in tech dependency worldwide, with residents spending nearly 8 hours a day on screens and close to 3 hours on social media. With universal internet access, TikTok is the clear favourite among Emiratis, attracting more than 94K users per 100K people and even outpacing Instagram.

Brazil takes second place, recording the highest screen time in the world at over 9 hours daily, including 3.5 hours on social media. Unlike the UAE, it’s Instagram that is most popular here, with usage levels that reach about two-thirds of the population.

Saudi Arabia follows in third, where people average 7 hours of daily screen time, while devoting 3 hours specifically to social media, the highest share anywhere. TikTok leads the way here by a wide margin, with adoption so widespread that for every person on Instagram, more than two are on TikTok.

Turkey ranks fourth, with citizens spending around 7 hours and 15 minutes a day on screens. Instagram is especially popular here, with about two-thirds of the population using it, while nearly 3 hours of daily screen time goes to social media overall.

Next up is Singapore, where people spend about 6.5 hours a day in front of gadgets. Locals here seem to love streaming services more than in other Asian countries, as roughly 1 in 6 residents are Netflix subscribers. Singapore also stands out with internet penetration, with the entire population being online.

Portugal follows next, as residents here report 7.5 hours of daily use of phones and other devices. Instagram is the favorite platform among Portuguese, attracting close to two-thirds of the population, who usually spend about 2.3 hours of their day on social media.

The USA is the seventh most tech-dependent country in the world. Americans are estimated to spend around 6 hours and 40 minutes a day on devices. Compared to other countries, Instagram and TikTok enjoy relatively similar popularity in the US, while social media usage in general takes up over 2 hours of locals' time daily.

Australia comes in eighth position, with people using digital devices for around 6 hours every day. Netflix is particularly popular here, reaching nearly a quarter of the population (24.3%), while Instagram also has a strong presence, with more than half of Australians using it.

Norway is in ninth place. Locals here spend around 5 hours and 40 minutes on devices daily. Like in Australia, Norwegians show a higher interest in Netflix and Instagram. Notably, almost every Norwegian has access to the Internet.

Sweden completes the top 10 most tech-dependent countries. Swedish residents spend 6 hours daily in front of screens, with Instagram being their preferred social platform. Similar to their neighbours in Norway, Swedes dedicate around 2 hours of their days to social media.