Social media and digitization are now affecting almost every aspect of daily life. Many consumers around the world use social platforms for more than just social connections.

With YouGov Global profile we asked consumers whether they use social media primarily for news and entertainment. In this analysis, we focus on European countries with at least 2,000 respondents each. Globally, 58% of consumers use social media for just this purpose: entertainment and information.

The German consumer is above the international average (65%). Portuguese use social media the most for news and entertainment (69%), followed by Poles (68%).

Meanwhile, more than a quarter of Germans (26%) disagree that they use social media primarily for news and entertainment. This puts Germany right behind the UK, with 33 per cent of Britons disagreeing with the statement, the highest of the ten European countries we surveyed. Even in France and Austria, more than a fifth (23 and 22%, respectively) do not use social media primarily for news and entertainment. Greek and Italian consumers are less likely to agree with the statement (10% each).

So what else can social media be used for? 63% of Germans say they mostly use social media to stay in touch with friends and family. Globally, this is what 62% of all respondents said.

Method: These results are based on data from YouGov Global profile from April 2022. We looked at 10 countries in Europe with at least 2,000 respondents aged 18 and over per country.

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