A 2019 research found that the time spent by social networks globally increased by 60% in the last seven years. To a research company GlobalWebIndex, based in London, they analyzed data from 45 major internet markets in the world and estimated that the average daily time each person spent on sites or social media applications increased by about 90 minutes in 2012 to 143 minutes we first three months of 2019.
There are great regional and national variations. In regional terms, Latin America and other countries use non-world social networks – at a daily rate of 212 minutes, at least, or the highest level recorded in North America, with 116 minutes.
The data is from the report “2018 Global Digital”, from We Are Social and Hootsuite. Brazil is among the three countries in the world in which the population spends, on average, more than 9 hours a day surfing the Internet. And it is one of the only two countries where the daily time spent on social media exceeds 3 ½ hours.
Who is spending so much time online in Brazil?
Are social networks a habit only of young Brazilians? We have to believe that it is, but the data shows that it is not. According to the Connected Life study by Kantar TNS, connectivity is present in the daily lives of parents too.
According to the survey, 24% of Brazilian parents spend an average of 2:30 a day browsing networks such as Facebook and YouTube. In addition, these are the interviewees’ favorite networks: 93% like Facebook more, while 81% chose YouTube. After them are Instagram (46%) and Twitter (44%). Of course, parents also use the internet to check e-mails and send instant messages.
The potential risks appear to have triggered behavioral changes: the use of “digital wellness” applications, which limit or track time spent, is increasing. Heavy social media users are very familiar with the digital world, which also allows them to more easily regulate their usage time. More than two-thirds of those aged 16 to 24 admit to being constantly connected, and more than a third also say that technology makes the most complicated life. There is a clear awareness of the impact of technology on their lives.
Smartphones allowed more Brazilians to spend time online
Smartphones are consuming our days and our time, and the evidence of how these technologies are consuming our lives is in the findings of the latest research on our cellphone usage habits. The survey found that average smartphone users in Brazil look at the phone once every 10 minutes, which is approximately 85 times a day. The average time between all groups surveyed was 3 hours and 14 minutes using the cell phone per day.
When considering only young people born from the 2000s, the average time connected to a cell phone is 4 hours a day. Equally interesting is the disparity between the perceived use of people and the actual activity in the use of the cell phone.
In another survey, it was proven that the perceived use of the cell phone was often much less than its actual use, that is: people use smartphones more and more, and do not realize how much time they are spending on the screens of these devices.
A study carried out by Google also showed that the number of Brazilians who are connected is quite large. Seven out of every 10 Brazilians are on any social network, the number is 45% above the average. In addition, 9 out of 10 use YouTube to gain some knowledge. The survey was attended by 2,477 people distributed in 28 cities in Brazil. According to the survey, the hours spent browsing could be better used if Brazilians mastered online tools for access, use, security and also creation. The study also says that the development of digital skills can add US$ 70 billion to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Brazil. This is all because the greater use of web tools, the great it can impact the country’s economy.
Getting Brazilians to watch your videos is a guarantee of many views
Brazil is a country with 209 million people speaking one language and with a uniform culture. Brazilians characteristic communicative and friendly makes it the perfect public for anybody looking to find a niche and public for their Youtube channel.
Brazilians are also known for their “complexo de vira-lata (mongrel)” not known by many foreigners, but known in Brazil. This term is an expression created by the Brazilian playwright and writer Nelson Rodrigues, which originally referred to the trauma suffered by the Brazilians in 1950, when the Brazilian team was defeated by the Uruguayan soccer team in the World Cup final in a completely full Maracanã (the main soccer stadium of Brazil). Brazil would have recovered from the shock (at least in the football field) in 1958, when it won the World Cup for the first time.
For Rodrigues, the phenomenon was not limited to soccer:
“By” mongrel complex” I mean the inferiority in which Brazilians voluntarily place themselves in relation to the rest of the world. The Brazilian is an upside-down narcissus, spitting on their self image. This is the truth: we do not find personal or historical pretexts for self-esteem.
Now that you understand the concept, associate that with Brazilians tendency to show off, participate in every situation possible and make fun of every one and all, and that creates the perfect scenerio for Brazilians on the internet.
Brazilians love to participate. We have many different interests, and everywhere we go we make our presence known.
A few interesting episodes of Brazilians behavior online was when in around 2010, Brazilians were famous for trolling every online game or forums with their famous laugh: “huahuhauahua”. That’s the brazilian equivalent to “lol”.
Another episode was Brazilians invasion of Tyler William James Instagram profile. A simple post by the actor who played the character Chris in “Everybody Hates Chris” – a TV series from the 2000s – on Instagram becomes a joke. Like this one, about a new job for William, which was enough for Brazilians to remind him that Chris’s father had two jobs (in the series).
And that brings me to my third point about Brazilians online. You don’t want to piss them off. You would prefer to go by without the ire and the close breaking up your neck of millions of highly engaged Brazilians with lots of times on their hands online. Trust me.
Successful Youtubers with large Brazilian followings
Seth Kugel used to be a New York Times correspondent in the 90s in Rio De Janeiro and after 2010 came back with a Youtube chanel for Brazilians about New York City. Overtime his channel became about Brazilians and Brazilians in general and their relationship with the United States.
Nienke is a dutch girl that started posting videos about Brazilian things (candyh and others) in and overtime gained Brazilian followings because of her funny demeanor and the way she would pronounce portuguese. She visits Brazil and and is constantly doing videos with other Brazilian youtubers.
Aurelio do Rosario Jr is a an African youtuber from Mozambique (they also speak Portuguese) that makes comparison between his reality and Brazilian reality. His fell on Brazilians favor that are currently trying to bring him to Brazil through a crowdsourcing campaign.
Many other Youtubers and bloggers take advantage of Brazilians high engagement online and created a nice niche for their views on Youtube. TIm Explica, Minha Professora Gringa, and others for example, are foreigners that moved to Brazil to teach english (or other interests) and became smithen with the culture, language and jeitinho brasileiro (brazilian way of doing things).
