According to the Romanians New Media Adoption study, carried out by the Data Intelligence team of the Spark Foundry media agency, a member of Publicis Groupe Romania, the main digital activities of Romanians continue to include online payments and shopping, accessing social media platforms and interacting with friends and the family. So, the top five main digital activities are: making payments, searching for information, accessing online platforms, online shopping and accessing social networks.
Moreover, 53% of urban Internet users have at least one subscription (personal or household) for access to video streaming platforms, most using a Smart TV (75%). The study is part of Focus On: New Media Usage, a series of reports tracking the evolution of media consumption behaviors based on quantitative studies.
“Data from the new study shows us a significant increase in interest in the concept of ‘Metaverse’ among urban Internet users, with 62% of them reporting that they have heard of it. Moreover, we have reason to believe that this interest will be sustained, with 60% of those familiar with Metaverse keen to experience the virtual experiences it offers.At the same time, we are seeing a growing adoption of video streaming platforms, with 53% of Internet users in the urban environment having at least one subscription at home. More interesting is the fact that most of them, i.e. 75%, use Smart TVs to access video content. These figures highlight the continuous evolution of user preferences and behavior in the digital environment,” said Valeriu Galani, Brand Lead, Spark Foundry.
First, the study revealed a continuous downward trend in wave five for all online activities. People have started to focus more on offline activities, as they probably did before the pandemic period. At the same time, the main digital activities remained similar: making payments and shopping online, accessing online platforms and social networks or searching for information.
The main reasons for using Social Media
For most respondents, Social Media platforms remain the best way to relax and stay connected with friends. The reasons mentioned by them for using social media, which registered a positive trend compared to the previous wave, are filling free time/relaxation and keeping in touch with family and friends. The diversity of content types and finding out the latest trends are also among the reasons for use that have seen a positive evolution. Thus, according to the new study, people over the age of 35 use Social Media in particular to stay connected with friends or to find out news about family members, friends and colleagues.
On the other side, 18-24 year olds use Social Media more to follow celebrities/influencers, while 35-44 year olds want to join different social media communities of socialization or to support social causes.
Social Media Platforms
The new study shows that the main social media platforms used by Romanians are still Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. While the first two did not see big swings from the previous wave, TikTok saw a positive evolution from the previous waves. Facebook continues to be the most used platform, especially among people over 45. Those aged 18-34 are more attracted to platforms such as Instagram and TikTok, while LinkedIn is preferred by those aged 35-44 and Twitter is preferred by those aged 55+. Snapchat, BeReal and Reddit are most often chosen by Gen Z (18-24), while Pinterest is more preferred by 18-24 and 45-55 years.
The favorite content of Romanians in Social Media
Images and videos remain the preferred types of content in social media. While images have seen a negative evolution compared to the previous wave, videos have seen an important increase, surpassing all metrics from previous waves. Images are the most popular type of content, especially for people aged 45-55, while video content is more preferred by people aged 55+. Articles are the most popular content type on social media for people aged 35+, while text is more preferred by those aged 45+. Younger 18-24 year olds prefer Instagram story format, audio content and GIFs, while 35-44 year olds prefer live streaming and images and videos in 360 format.
Activities on Instagram
Instagram remains the most popular network with which you can follow your friends’ posts. With the exception of activities such as swipe-up in stories, which recorded a positive evolution, the other activities recorded a negative trend or a constant evolution compared to the previous wave. People aged 18 to 34 post photos and stories on Instagram. 18-24 year olds prefer to follow friends’ posts, view stories, follow celebrities/influencers and react to polls. Those aged 25-34 prefer using filters. People between the ages of 35 and 44 prefer to share videos, and those between the ages of 45 and 55 participate in contests. People aged 55+ react more to photos and videos and prefer to access sponsored ads.
TikTok and influencer campaigns
In the case of TikTok, there is a slight drop in awareness of influencer campaigns compared to the previous wave, but the result is still above the same period last year. The most distinctive and memorable campaigns were related to music, although they had a negative evolution. The campaigns with the highest growth were related to gastronomy and tourism.
Metaverse
According to the new study, there is an increase in awareness of the Metaverse concept compared to previous waves. 62% of urban internet users have heard of “Metaverse”, of which 60% would be interested in trying such virtual experiences. 57% of them would be interested in music concerts, half in socializing, 43% in games and 40% in educational experiences.
Evolution of live streaming platforms and content
The most used platforms for live streaming remain Youtube and Facebook, both of which recorded a negative evolution compared to the previous wave. Twitch was the only platform to see significant growth, reaching the same value as of May 2021.Regarding the topics covered, Music remains the preferred type of live streaming, and the next two ranked categories are Entertainment, with a constant evolution compared to the previous wave, and Concerts, with a slight increase compared to the previous wave. The biggest increases were recorded by Tourism and Games.
E-commerce through social media
In terms of e-commerce, 8 out of 10 urban Internet users continue to believe that the social media tagging feature is useful because they can see the price directly, without going to the online store, or it takes them directly to the online store page. The biggest increase compared to all waves can be seen in those who click when they see a photo on Instagram in which a certain brand is tagged and go to see those products.
Gaming
The study also observes a negative evolution for all types of Gaming activities, except for two categories: purchasing video games from online stores and live streaming the gamer’s style of play. The most important activity remains playing or downloading a free video game, followed by playing or downloading games on your personal smartphone.
The main users of online games, who choose to play together with friends or even strangers, are people in the 18-34 age segment, while the 25-44 age group prefers to play network games and stream live with their style of play.
Most of the urban Internet users have a type of game that they prefer, and in this wave there is also an increase in those for whom the story behind a game is important.
Regarding the criteria by which Romanians choose the games they try, in the 18-44 age segment, the popularity and recommendation of a gaming influencer are important. For people aged 18-24, game design and story are important, while for people over 55, finding their favorite type of game is important and they continue to search for free video games.
Online communities
Urban Internet users join online communities primarily to connect and interact with people who share their interests. This type of activity is seeing the biggest increase compared to the previous two waves, almost reaching the levels of the 2021 waves. There has been a steady evolution in those expressing their appreciation by reacting to community posts.
Local targeting feature and nearby events
At this stage, we see a slight increase from the previous stage in terms of the percentage of people using the apps’ features to search for events near them. Brand-promoted events on social media generate interest especially among people aged 55 and over. People between the ages of 18 and 44 would be willing to participate, and those most receptive to nearby events are those between the ages of 25 and 34. People between the ages of 35 and 44 are also looking for other events of the same brand.
Romanians and smart TVs
87% of urban internet users have at least one smart TV at home, of which 35% exclusively watch online content (Netflix, HBO, Voyo, etc.).
Media consumption with the family
Although decreasing, most respondents still watch TV programs with their family and believe that this has become a habit that has brought them closer to their family. There has also been a decline in those spending more time in front of the TV in the last 12 months, with 43% of urban internet users watching less local news than during the pandemic. People aged 25 to 55 watch TV with their family to a greater extent, and those aged 25 to 34 have spent more time in front of the TV in the past 12 months. When it comes to information, 25- to 44-year-olds prefer to watch the news on TV rather than read it online. They also watched fewer TV shows/online videos for children than during the pandemic.
*The study was carried out by the Data Intelligence team of the Spark Foundry media agency, using the CAWI (Computer Assisted Web Interviews) method, on a sample of 806 people, female and male, over 18 years old, Internet users, from the urban, between 10-18 May 2023.