For the first time in history, more than half of the world's population is online.
According to the latest Internet Trends Report by Mary Meeker of Bond Capital, 51% of the world — which equates to roughly 3.8 billion people — is connected to the Internet.
Some of the other key points in the data:
The number of internet users grew by 6% in 2018, compared to 7% the previous year.
The number of new smartphone shipments dropped by 4% last year.
China leads the world in Internet users with 21% of of the total share, followed by India (12%) and the United States (8%).
E-commerce in the U.S. grew by 12.4% in 2018, higher than the 12.1% growth the sector saw in 2017. Online shopping now makes up 15% of the entire U.S. retail market.
88% of Americans use a second digital device while watching television.
American adults spend an average of 6.3 hours every day consuming digital media, which breaks down to 3.6 hours on mobile devices, 2 hours on desktop or laptop computers, and 0.7 hours on other connected devices.
Out of a sample of social media platforms, YouTube and Instagram are experiencing the highest growth in terms of users spending time on their platforms.
As the number of Internet users has risen over the years, so too have the privacy concerns when it comes to users' data. Lawmakers are now considering taking action against some tech companies to tighten up regulations.
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