More than 68 million Filipinos aged 10 to 64 years used the internet for social media in 2024, representing 80.5 percent of that age group, according to the fourth report on the 2024 Functional Literacy, Education and Mass Media Survey (FLEMMS) released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
The widespread use of social media dwarfed other common internet activities, with the second most common use being for work or research purposes at 52.7 percent of the population aged 10 to 64.
Use of e-commerce platforms followed at 45.3 percent, while 37.0 percent accessed the internet for government services, financial transactions or online banking.
The National Capital Region (NCR) recorded the highest rate of internet usage for social media at 88.9 percent, while the Zamboanga Peninsula saw the lowest rate at 67.8 percent.
While internet use for social media surged, television remained the most widely accessed audio/visual platform in 2024, with an 82.3 percent exposure rate among those aged 10 to 64. Video streaming came in second at 66.5 percent, followed by music streaming at 63.5 percent.
Traditional platforms saw an overall decrease in exposure rates compared to the previous FLEMMS round. Radio recorded the lowest exposure among audio/visual platforms at 52.9 percent.
The NCR also led in television exposure at 88.0 percent, with the MIMAROPA Region recording the lowest rate at 75.3 percent.
Among reading platforms, online/digital newspapers recorded the highest exposure rate at 52.1 percent for the 10 to 64 age group. This was followed by printed magazines at 50.2 percent, printed posters at 49.2 percent and printed newspapers at 30.0 percent.
Similar to audio/visual platforms, the overall exposure to reading platforms saw a decline compared to the previous FLEMMS round.
Central Visayas posted the highest exposure rate for online/digital newspapers at 64.6 percent, while the Zamboanga Peninsula recorded the lowest at 39.2 percent.
