Social media’s popularity is driving internet uptake and taking “content creation” to new heights
In Indonesia, social media is inspiring art. According to a February 2012 report from the BBC, its popularity spawned the feature film “#republiktwitter,”described as “a modern Indonesian romantic comedy about two young people who find love through social media.” The article goes on to state that social media has struck a chord among Indonesia’s urban elite, and that aspirational young people in the country follow famous and powerful people in order to feel connected.
In fact, so many youths have taken to social media that it is driving internet uptake as well. “Social networking has fueled a great deal of growth in internet usage,” said eMarketer principal analyst Debra Aho Williamson in her March 2012 report, “Worldwide Social Network Usage: Market Size and Growth Forecast.” “The country’s population skews dramatically young, which has helped fuel an obsession with social networks … The median age in Indonesia is 28.2,” she added.
After a 40% jump in internet users during 2011, eMarketer predicts internet users in Indonesia will grow 38.6% to reach 59.6 million in 2012, accounting for nearly a quarter of the total population.
eMarketer expects social network user growth (51.6%) in Indonesia to outpace the growth of internet users overall, for a total of 52.1 million social network users in 2012. This would rank Indonesia as the second-fastest-growing country of social network users in the world, narrowly beat out by India.
Research and survey data also concurs with eMarketer’s analysis. According to the “Interconnected World: Communication & Social Networking” report from Ipsos, 83% of internet users surveyed in February 2012 in Indonesia had accessed a social media site once in the past three months.
The survey included social networks, forums and blogs, and put Indonesia 23 percentage points ahead of the Asia-Pacific average of 60%. With plenty of room for internet penetration to grow in the country, eMarketer expects big things from the island nation: By 2014, 79.2 million people in Indonesia will likely be social network users, nearly a third of the entire population.
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Check out today’s other articles, “The ‘Smartphone Class’: Always On, Always Consuming Content” and “Grocery Shoppers Stick to Lists, but Disruptions Sneak In.”