Facebook, Instagram and Reddit use rising despite privacy and advertising fears

Major social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter and Reddit aren’t going anywhere, in spite of growing fears from users about their privacy and the kind of advertising content being injected onto their timelines.

According to the 2019 Canadian Social Media Insights report by research group Insights West, Facebook use has risen 10 per cent since 2017, Instagram has climbed by a nine per cent usage in the same timeframe, and Reddit has climbed four per cent.

Twitter use has plateaued in those same years but still represents 29 per cent of the study’s weekly usage trends, and while YouTube shot from 49 to 60 per cent of the polls usage rate in 2016, it has since levelled off with a three per cent growth rate in 2019.

Younger people, between the ages of 18 and 34, have created the highest growth for Instagram and Reddit.

However, this period of growth is marked by a period of frequent communication with brands, but also a rising distrust and fear of marketers and targeted advertising online.

The study finds that Canadians spent nearly a quarter of their time spent on social media was interacting with brands, four-fifths of those polled online for the study were reportedly worried that individual social media activities and behavioural patterns are being used to tailor the information and news they see in their feeds.

Almost two-thirds of social media users said they were concerned their online activity was being used for targeted advertising campaigns, and Baby Boomers in particular are more worried and prone to loathe targeted ads.

Half of the poll’s respondents have used Facebook to gripe at a company, a jump from a third of respondents in 2016. In the same time frame, six per cent more Twitter users aired their grievances to a brand on the platform, up to 23 per cent from 17.

Restaurants and telecommunications providers were the most frequent targets of consumer scorn - legitimate or otherwise - followed by retailers, with online shopping and airlines following close behind.

Insights West, based in Vancouver and Calgary, reported its results are based on an online study conducted from April 22 to May 1, 2019, among a broad sample of 1,023 Canadian adults. The data has been statistically weighted according to Canadian census figures for age, gender and region.

Readers can download the full report here.