A study taken in 2014 showed that 100 million people were active on Facebook each month across Africa. Eighty-percent of people accessed Facebook using a mobile device. Now, a CNN article posted in January by Phoebe Parke, states that this number has risen to over 120 million people.
“Four and a half million of those Facebook users are based in Kenya, 15 million in Nigeria and 12 million in South Africa, in statistics first reported by Reuters.”
Although those numbers may sounds large, in reality, that is only about Nine-percent of Africans that are using social media. South African users are actually some of the people who spend the most time of social networks a day by using it for over three hours. This number is in comparison with the global average of about two and a half hours. For a small but growing number of people in Africa, social media is becoming a daily part of their everyday life.
"We discuss life, love, politics, philosophy, and all else one would expect," says Mark Kaigwa, founder of African digital strategy consultancy Nendo.
Kaigwa also states in the article that social media brings a new light to the views of Africa. Social Media is beginning to show more of what everyday life is like rather than constant poverty and corruption. Snapchat, for one day, allowed users in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi to host a public channel that the world could view. “Kenyans were quick to put Americans expecting wildlife and wilderness in check.” This sparked the trending hashtag of Twitter #TheAfricaTheyNeverShowYou. (Also, #TheAfricaTheMediaNeverShowsYou)
As social media rises in Africa, so does the competition between social networks. What networks will be used the most? Which one will rise to the top? Facebook is currently the main source of social media communication on the continent, but with the rise of WeChat and WhatsApp, they may not be at the top for long as more citizens begin to join the online community.