A recent Twitter study conducted by Nielsen looked at the Twitter habits of South African users.

The study shows that Twitter is growing in popularity and that Twitter is used for more than personal updates.

Who uses Twitter?

The study showed that 53% of users in South Africa are 25-44, nearly one third (29%) are aged 16-24, and the remaining 18% are over 55.

Just over half of the Twitter users in South Africa are women (56%).

How South Africans engage with Twitter

87% of people use a mobile phone to access the Internet, and of those 3 in 5 use their mobile phone to access Twitter.

Laptops are the second-most popular device used to access Twitter at 68%, and tablet users contribute 32% of the access.

Twitter is most often accessed ‘on the move’ and ‘in the moment’.

Mobile users also tend to be more likely to engage with Twitter at various times of the day, but are particularly more active than the average Twitter user during the weekday evenings between 6-9pm and during weekend nights (midnight – 7am).

52% of those surveyed said they read Tweets on their timeline daily, 40% said they Tweet themselves, and 37% look at the trending topics.

64% of users use Twitter for keeping up to date with breaking news and 39% use it for the latest sports information.

55% engage with people they know, and 53% of users connect with people they don’t know. Twitter is also used as a way to discover and 58% of users conducted searches on the platform.

According to the study in South Africa, women are more likely to Tweet about holidays and celebrities whereas men Tweet about news, sports, and politics. 63% of people Tweet about jokes or things that make them laugh.

Another South African favorite is music content, with 69% of South African Twitter users indicating it as their top interest.

Film (67%), food (66%), TV shows (64%), and travel (60%) complete the top five South African interests on Twitter.

In Summary

Twitter is an everyday activity – 61% of South African users visit Twitter everyday and more than 2 in 5 engage several times a day

Mobile is at the heart of Twitter – 85% of South Africans use a mobile device (phone, tablet) to access Twitter. 79% of these users state that mobile devices are the primary way they access Twitter.

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