Marketers warned consumers don’t feel advertisements represent them
Australia is showing the signs of a nationwide digital detox, with social media use falling sharply across many platforms according to Digital 2024 - July Global Digital Statshot Report. Published in partnership with Meltwater, a global leader in media, social and consumer intelligence, and global creative agency, we are social, the report found a significant drop in the time spent over the last quarter. Even younger Australians seem to be getting less social, with Snapchat monthly app sessions falling by 11% and TikTok by 9%.
By comparison, time spent on LinkedIn and Reddit, both social media platforms used by professionals, have increased over time. Australians are now amongst the world’s biggest users of the LinkedIn app in terms of time spent (1h 38m/month).
Advertising lacking relevance
The report also noted that only one in every 13 Australians (7.7%) feel they are represented by the adverts they see, regardless of channel or medium. This is down from previous quarters and perhaps most concerning, half the global average (15.3%).
Overall, women are less likely to recognise themselves in the ads that they’re served, and older people feel particularly excluded.
Additionally, nearly a third of Australians (30%) use adblockers for at least some of their online activities. Globally, the primary reasons for this are "too many ads" (63%) and "ads get in the way" (53%), but 39% are blocking because they feel "ads aren’t relevant to me".
Ross Candido, VP Australia, New Zealand & Southeast Asia, Meltwater, commented "What’s particularly interesting here is that the primary problem here is not adverts that annoy, upset or offend people – emotions which usually lead to adverts being flagged through traditional complaint mechanisms. Rather, the issue is that the vast majority of advertising is being deemed as wholly irrelevant, a response that without this type of social sentiment insight might otherwise not get picked up."
Other insights from the report include:
Reddit has the third highest global ad reach in Australia (35%) after Canada (44%) and the US (42%). Reddit continues to be a growing platform despite the controversy over its API last year, which saw multiple third-party applications shut down.
When it comes to finance, Australia is in the top five countries in terms of users of mobile payment services - and above average in terms of its use of online financial services and crypto currencies worldwide, both of which are increasing their adoption.
Australians are becoming increasingly keen internet shoppers, with 53% making online purchases every week and 24% buying groceries online every week – although this is still under the global average.
While growth areas in Australia include the use of smartwatches, smart wristbands, digital health and fitness services and checking health symptoms online, the use of games consoles and online gambling were also key areas seeing an increase.
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