World Social Media Day is observed every June 30. This commemorative date was celebrated for the first time in 2010 at the initiative of the digital news portal Mashable. The goal is to recognize the impact of social media on global communication and promote its responsible use.
Social media are tools that revolutionized the way we stay informed and connected. They are now part of the everyday life of millions of users around the world.
These platforms have become tools that allow friends and family to stay close, launch social and political campaigns, call for massive social mobilizations, and bring brands closer to their consumers.
In crisis situations, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, they served as essential spaces for disseminating information.
Internet users and social media consumption continue to grow
According to the
Digital News Report 2025,
"dependence on social media and video networks for news is highest with younger demographics, with 44% of 18–24s saying these are their main source of news and 38% for 25–34s."
News use across online platforms continues to fragment, with six online networks now reaching more than 10% weekly with news content, compared with just two a decade ago. Around a third of our global sample use Facebook (36%) and YouTube (30%) for news each week. Instagram (19%) and WhatsApp (19%) are used by around a fifth, while TikTok (16%) remains ahead of X at 12%.
In Peru, during the first quarter of 2025, according to
National Institute of Statistics and Informatics (INEI) figures,
80.5% of men and 77.5% of women used the Internet, a difference of 3.0 percentage points in favor of men. Compared to the same quarter of the previous year, Internet use increased by 0.6 percentage points among men and 0.8 percentage points among women.
By age group, men aged 6 to 14, 30 to 49, and 50 and over (65.4%, 89.8%, and 65.8%) used the Internet in higher proportion than women in those same groups (64.5%, 88.1%, and 57.7%).
Among those aged 15 to 17, women (89.8%) accessed the Internet in greater proportion than men (88.9%).
In the first quarter of 2025, among women aged 6 and over who used the Internet, 92.5% performed activities to communicate, and 91.4% for entertainment. Meanwhile, among men, 93.3% used the Internet for entertainment activities, and 92.1% performed activities to communicate, according to the INEI report.
The most popular social media
Created in 2004, Facebook leads the list of the most popular social networks globally.
According to the Digital News Report 2025, Facebook is the most used social network (52%) by Peruvian users to consume news, although its popularity declined slightly from last year (53%). This platform is also the main one for content of all types, with 75%.
Owned by the same parent company, the messaging app WhatsApp has 2 billion users. Every day, more than 100 billion messages are exchanged on the platform, and Meta's app continues to add new functions powered by artificial intelligence.
YouTube reaches 2.562 billion users around the world. Every minute, users watch 694,000 hours of video on the platform. In Peru, over the past year, YouTube channels uploaded more than 2 million hours of content to the platform. Moreover, in the South American country, the number of channels generating six-figure incomes or more grew by more than 10% compared to the previous year.
For its part, Instagram, which celebrates 15 years since its creation, already has 1.478 billion users worldwide. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the platform's growth in Latin America, where it surpassed 200 million users.
Another social network that has recorded a notable increase in accounts during the pandemic is TikTok. It rose to third place with 33% for news consumption and 57% for all types of content, surpassing WhatsApp with 29% and 68%, respectively, according to the Digital News Report 2025 for Peru.
To keep its audience informed, Andina News Agency is present on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter (now X), LinkedIn, and TikTok. We look forward to seeing you on our social media!
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