- Contents
- *Overview
- What you need to know
- Products covered in this Report
- Social networks
- Media networks
What you need to know
Facebook continues to be the dominant social network in the market, with 69% of consumers using it. However, this is down five percentage points compared to last year with one of the likely reasons for this being the negative publicity the company has received around data protection issues. While Facebook usage has decreased, Instagram is rising year-on-year.
In the last year, social networks have implemented a number of measures to clean up some of the content on their sites, particularly after the platforms have been used to impact regional elections or display criminal content. The social platforms have been cracking down on this through tougher guidelines on what can be posted, as well as account deletions.
While social networks continue to be used predominantly for following the activity of friends and family, using it for messaging purposes is also quite popular. However, consumers think that social media can have a negative effect on mental health, and these concerns can be across issues such as addiction, self-esteem and stress.
Products covered in this Report
For the purposes of this Report, Mintel distinguishes between ‘social networks’ and ‘media networks’ based on a network’s core function(s). Social and media networks are typically discussed together in this Report (referred to in general by the terms ‘social media’, ‘social networks’ or simply ‘networks’), except where noted, because of overlaps in functionality.
Social networks
Mintel defines social networks as any networks the primary function of which is person-to-person interaction. Examples falling under Mintel’s definition include: Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Media networks
Mintel defines media networks as any network the primary function of which is to share media with other users. Examples falling under Mintel’s definition include: Pinterest, YouTube, Tumblr and Periscope. Although Instagram and Snapchat are technically media networks, the hybrid identity of the platforms makes placing them in either category potentially misleading. As per the above, they are therefore referred to using the general terms listed above.
The ‘Top Five’ social networks refer to the group of platforms which take up the largest sections of the market – Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat.
