This archive report was first published on 18 July 2019.
Published on July 18, 2019, a research conducted by the United States International University (USIU) and the United States Embassy in Kenya shed light on the social media habits of Kenyans.
The study, titled 'Social Media Consumption in Kenya: Trends and practices,' sampled 3,269 respondents aged between 14 and 55 years from Kenya's eight administrative provinces.
According to the report, the majority of Kenyans spend about three hours a day on social media platforms, with 21-25 year olds spending more than three hours on a typical day. Younger Kenyans between 14-21 years spent between two and three hours, while those aged 26-35 averaged an hour. Those above 46 years spent the least time using social media.
The report also found that users are most active during the night, especially when they are at home after work. Men were found to be more active on social media than women, with more men preferring Yahoo and Twitter as their everyday go-to sites. Women, on the other hand, mostly used Snapchat with Twitter being the least popular platform.
Acquiring information, entertainment, and interacting with friends ranked top amongst some of the reasons why Kenyans used social media. The most popular social media platforms were WhatsApp at 88.6 per cent and Facebook with 88.5 per cent, with the two having their most active users in the 25-35 age group.
Speaking at the launch of the report, USIU Vice Chancellor Prof. Paul Zeleza said that social media had the potential of creating more jobs for young people and thus contribute to the economic growth of the country.
