THEESSENTIALGUIDETOTHEWORLD’SCONNECTEDBEHAVIOURSGLOBALOVERVIEWREPORTDIGITAL2023SimonKempChiefAnalystDataReportalOverthepasttwelvemonths,theworld’sdigitalbehaviourshaveshownsomeofthemostprofoundchangeswe’veseeninyears,evencomparedwith“thepandemicyears”.Andinfact,ourtopstoryinthisyear’sreportdoesn’trelatetodigitalgrowth,buttoanoveralldeclineintheamountoftimethateachindividualspendsusingtheinternet.It’simportanttostressthatthisdeclinedoesn’tindicatethattheinternetisbecominglessimportantinourlives,however.Rather,itsuggeststhatpeoplearebecomingmorepurposefulintheiruseofdigitaltechnologies,andareprioritisingthequalityoftheirconnectedexperiencesoverthequantity.Despitethedeclineinoveralltimespent,however,peopleareactuallyspendingmoretimethaneverusingsocialmedia,andinstarkcontradictiontotheendlessclick-baitforetellinganimminent“demise”ofsocialmedia,globalusernumberscontinuetogrow.oftheseonlinebehaviourstocontinueevolvingduringthecourseof2023.Macroeconomictrendswilllikelyhavethemostwidespreadinfluence,buttheriseoftechnologieslikegenerativeAImayalsohaveaprofoundimpactonthewayswework,rest,andplayonline.Ifyou’dliketoexploreamoredetailedanalysisofthisyear’snumbers,you’llfindmycompleteDigital2023reviewinthisarticleoveronDataReportal,butclickontothenextpageheretostartreadingourbiggestevercollectionofdigitalstatsandtrends.Butwiththat,I’dliketowishyoutheverybestofluckforyouryearindigitalin2023–here’stomorepurposefulanddiscerningsuccessforallofus.overtheinternet,morepeoplethaneverarebuyingthingsonline,andwe’realsousinganeverwiderrangeofconnecteddevices.Mobilephonesremainatthecentreoftheworld’sdigitalbehaviours,withthetypicalusernowspendingmorethanfivehoursperdayinteractingwiththeirsmartphone.However,computerscontinuetoplayanessentialroleintheworld’sdigitalactivities,andthesedevicesstillaccountformorethanhalfofallconnectedtimeacrosscountriesinNorthernAmericaandWesternEurope.We’vealsoseensomeofthe“hottest”digitaltrendscooloverrecentmonths,withrisingeconomicchal...
