BANGKOK, Feb 17 — Local Internet users spent less time on the Internet and social media, and made less purchases online as life returns to normal after the pandemic, according to the Digital 2023: Thailand study.
The study is part of the Digital 2023 Global Overview report produced by Datareportal.com in partnership with creative agency We Are Social and media monitoring and social listening platform Meltwater.
Thai Internet users aged 16 – 64 spent an average of 8.06 hours a day on the internet, a decline of one hour year-on-year, based on the report’s survey for January 2023.
According to the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) citing the report, they spent 5.05 hours a day using the Internet on mobile phones and 3.01 hours a day on computers and tablets. They spent 2.44 hours a day on social media, a drop of 15 minutes year-on-year.
Thai engagement with online shopping also declined. The report found 66.8 per cent of respondents purchased a product or service online each week, a decrease of 2.2 per cent year-on-year.
The report estimated 61.2 million Internet users in Thailand in January, with an Internet penetration rate of 85.3 per cent of the total population.
There were 101 million mobile connections at the start of 2023, equivalent to 141 per cent of the total population, it added.
Finding information was the top reason for using the Internet, followed by keeping up-to-date with news and events and watching videos, TV shows or movies, according to the study.
Facebook was the most popular social media platform in Thailand last month, followed by TikTok and Line.
Facebook had 48.1 million potential Thai viewers that marketers can reach with ads, a decline of 3.9 per cent year-on-year.
According to the report, 30.5 per cent of Thai internet users aged 16 to 64 used a banking, investment or insurance website or app each month.
Some 21.9 per cent of Thai internet users aged 16-64 owned some form of cryptocurrency in January, the fourth-largest percentage in the world, behind Turkey, Argentina and the Philippines, it added.
— Bernama
