Who use social media the most?
The Dutch are more digitally active than ever. In 2019, 88 percent of the Dutch population aged 12 years and over was online every day. The most common internet activities are e-mailing and the use of social media. The Dutch are also calling more frequently via services such as Skype or WhatsApp. Young people in particular use social media, but elderly people have been catching up in recent years.
| Kenmerken personen | 12 to 24 yrs | 25 to 34 yrs | 35 to 44 yrs | 45 to 54 yrs | 55 to 64 yrs | 65 to 74 yrs | 75 yrs and over |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 96.7 | 94.0 | 88.3 | 79.3 | 64.3 | 39.8 | 13.0 |
| 2015 | 94.8 | 94.6 | 90.3 | 84.0 | 70.0 | 48.8 | 18.1 |
| 2016 | 95.4 | 93.7 | 93.1 | 88.8 | 78.9 | 54.7 | 22.0 |
| 2017 | 98.1 | 97.5 | 95.8 | 91.0 | 83.6 | 63.9 | 34.7 |
| 2018 | 95.4 | 97.1 | 94.3 | 93.1 | 83.9 | 67.6 | 40.3 |
| 2019 | 96.8 | 96.3 | 95.8 | 94.8 | 88.9 | 76.0 | 39.8 |
Every year more and more Dutch people aged 12 years or older use one or more forms of social media. While 74 percent used social media in 2014, that figure had risen to 87 percent five years later. Virtually everyone in the age category 12 to 44 years used social media in 2019 (over 95 percent).
Especially 65 to 75‑year-olds have been using social media more often in recent years. In 2019, 76 percent of people in this age category were active on social media, compared to 40 percent in 2014. An increase in social media use is also seen among Dutch seniors over the age of 75: in 2014, social media was used by 13 percent, a figure that had reached 40 percent five years later.
Mainly exchanging text messages
Exchange text messages, via WhatsApp for instance, is the most popular form of social media; 84 percent of the Dutch population aged 12 years and over did this in 2019.
The use of direct messaging has increased in recent years. In 2014, 63 percent of people aged 12 years and over sent text messages.
The strongest growth can be seen among 65 to 75‑year-olds. Seventy percent currently send text messages, compared to 25 percent in 2014. Exchanging text messages among over-75s increased from 7 percent in 2014 to 34 percent five years later. Men and women use direct messaging just as often.
| Soc med | 2019 | 2014 |
|---|---|---|
| Total | 84.2 | 62.8 |
| 12 to 24 yrs | 95.0 | 93.0 |
| 25 to 34 yrs | 95.0 | 87.4 |
| 35 to 44 yrs | 94.1 | 75.8 |
| 45 to 54 yrs | 92.0 | 64.9 |
| 55 to 64 yrs | 84.0 | 46.5 |
| 65 to 74 yrs | 70.0 | 25.2 |
| 75 yrs and over | 34.4 | 6.5 |
Elderly people more frequently active on social networks
In 2019, 63 percent of the Dutch population aged 12 years and over were active on one or more social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Snapchat. In 2014, that figure was 55 percent. Ever more elderly are also active on social media networks. In 2019, 38 percent of 65 to 74‑year-olds and 17 percent of over-75s were active on a social network; five years previously this was 23 and 6 percent, respectively.
Increase in internet calls
Of the Dutch population aged 12 years or older, 58 percent said they had made phone calls via the internet using services such as Skype or WhatsApp in the three months prior to the study. This is more than in 2014, when 31 percent were making internet phone calls.
Of the 12 to 24‑year-olds, nearly 80 percent made phone calls via the internet. At 18 percent (6 percent in 2014), relatively few people over the age 75 were using the internet to make phone calls. Of the 65 to 74‑year-olds, as much as 41 percent (19 percent in 2014) indicated they made phone calls via the internet.
The questions
- How does CBS calculate the figures?
- How do we use our land?
- How fast is the population growing?
- How are the various animal species doing?
- What are our top concerns?
- Where do the emigrants go?
- Who use social media the most?
- How isolated do we feel?
- What are our favourite wedding dates? What about partnership registrations?
- How many under-18s are receiving youth assistance?
- What about cyber crime?
- What are the most popular majors?
- What are the major religions?
- How many overnight stays?
- How many people shop online? And the items they buy...
- Who are eligible to vote?
- What are young people doing online?
- How many adults smoke or have smoked?
- Where were people in the Caribbean Netherlands originally born?
- Where do Caribbean Dutch children live?
- How much internet usage in the Caribbean Netherlands?
- How many people (never) work from home?
- How many millionaires in the Netherlands?
- Has our purchasing power gone up or down?
- Which jobs have the highest levels of mental fatigue?
- How many employees are members of a trade union?
- How many passengers flying into and out of the Netherlands?
- How much nitrogen is emitted at livestock farms?
- How many dwellings in the Netherlands?
- How much is our average mileage in electric cars?
- What do we import from China?
- Which prices are up, which are down?
- What is our production of frozen fries?
- How many enterprises in the Netherlands?
- How much energy do we get from biomass?
- How much do we recycle?
- Which flower bulbs are most common?
- What is the impact of coronavirus?