India emerges as a key global market for social media platforms

India is one of the most important growth markets for social media companies, as platforms face increasing calls globally to limit access for young users amid concerns over “digital addiction”.

Below are key facts on India’s internet, smartphone and social media landscape, which are central to the growth plans of companies such as Meta and Alphabet’s YouTube.

User base and connectivity

India’s total number of internet users stood at nearly 1.02 billion by September 2025, a sharp rise from about 250 million in 2014.

The country is also the world’s second-largest smartphone market, with around 750 million devices in use.

India is home to 500 million unique social media users, according to data from research firm DataReportal.

Alphabet and Meta do not publish country-specific user figures, but DataReportal estimates that India has 500 million YouTube users, 403 million Facebook users, 481 million Instagram users, and 213 million Snapchat users.

Elon Musk’s X has about 22 million users in India.

Usage intensity and consumption patterns

Average monthly data consumption per user in India surged 399 times to around 24 gigabytes in 2025, from 62 megabytes in 2014, according to government figures. This is among the highest levels globally.

High usage is supported by low data costs, with mobile internet priced at an average of 10 cents per gigabyte, one of the lowest rates worldwide.

Social media accounts for a major share of daily digital activity. Indians spend an average of 3.2 hours a day on social media platforms, according to a 2023 report by research firm Esya Centre.

Children and smartphone use

About 24% of India’s population is under the age of 14, according to United Nations data.

While precise estimates of children’s social media usage are not available, a 2024 survey found that nearly 90% of children aged 14 to 16 in India have access to smartphones at home.

Recreational use dominates screen time among this group. The survey showed that 76% of children aged 14 to 16 accessed social media, compared with 57% who used smartphones for education during the week prior to the survey.

(With inputs from Reuters)