'Band' Attracting Users in Their 40s to 60s... Tops SNS User Numbers in February

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] Naver Band ranked first in the number of social networking service (SNS) users in February.

According to Mobile Index, a mobile big data analysis platform's 'SNS, Community Apps' report on the 12th, Band was used by 18.97 million people throughout February, ranking first in terms of user numbers among SNS platforms. Instagram ranked second with 18.34 million monthly users.

The analysis period was from January 1, 2021, to February 28, 2022, analyzing 2 billion data points from 40 million mobile devices daily (based on integrated Android and iOS data) using an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm.

Facebook ranked third (11.79 million), KakaoStory fourth (9.92 million), and Naver Cafe fifth (7.3 million). Twitter and TikTok followed in the rankings.

By age group, those in their teens to 30s used Instagram the most, while those in their 40s and older used Band the most. Additionally, Twitter was mainly used by users under their 20s, including teenagers, and TikTok was confirmed to be popular among those under their teens.

Band's overall number one ranking was based on high usage among middle-aged and older adults. Band gained popularity as a communication channel for various group activities among middle-aged and older users, and recently, due to COVID-19, it has been used as a place for parents of elementary, middle, and high school students to interact, increasing its user base.

In particular, although Band ranked outside the top 4 among users in their teens and 20s, its ranking sharply rose to second place from the 30s age group, which is analyzed to be due to its use as a communication space for parents with children.

Meanwhile, the crossover users of TikTok and Instagram numbered about 2.31 million, and these users accessed 'Instagram' more frequently but used 'TikTok' for longer durations.

The TikTok app churn rate was 23.31%, higher than major SNS apps such as 'Twitter' (12.2%), 'Instagram' (13.31%), 'Facebook' (15.67%), and 'Band' (15.68%).

Twitter's monthly users numbered 4.32 million, an increase of about 24.6% compared to the same period last year. The proportion of female users was 61.7%, with women in their 20s accounting for 30.7% of the total. Users mainly resided in Gangnam (10.4%), Seocho (7.44%), and Dongjak (7.15%). An analysis of their personas showed high characteristics of 'music subscription service users' (86.3%), 'OTT subscription service users' (77.8%), and 'webtoon enthusiasts' (74.4%).