Top Digital and Social Media Trends in Indonesia

UNGKIT.COM – From chat apps to content creators, and from streaming to shopping, social media continues to shape how Indonesians connect, consume content, and create.

A recent report, Digital 2026: Indonesia—compiled by We Are Social in collaboration with Meltwater—reveals that social media trends and online behaviors in Indonesia have seen another surge this year.

The number of social media user identities has grown by 26 percent year-on-year, reaching 180 million—equivalent to 62.9 percent of the total population.

Social networks remain the most visited type of website or app, followed by chat and messaging platforms, underscoring the vital role of social connection in the online lives of Indonesians.

According to the report, Indonesians spend an extraordinary amount of time—21 hours and 50 minutes per week—on social media, including watching online videos; that averages out to more than three hours every single day.

This time is spread across an average of 7.7 different platforms each month, reflecting an Indonesian social ecosystem that is both fragmented and highly active.

In terms of usage, WhatsApp dominates as the most frequently used and preferred application, with nine out of ten Indonesians using it actively each month.

TikTok and WhatsApp are nearly neck-and-neck in terms of daily engagement, with users spending approximately 1 hour and 53 minutes on TikTok and 1 hour and 52 minutes on WhatsApp every day.

When it comes to capturing sustained attention, YouTube leads with the longest average session duration—16 minutes and 49 seconds—followed by SnackVideo at 15 minutes and 4 seconds.

Similar findings were reported by DataReportal and other digital research institutions, which rank social media platforms by penetration or user base as follows: WhatsApp, followed by TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. 

WhatsApp is the most widely used platform in terms of ownership or monthly reach, spanning approximately 90 percent to 90.8 percent of internet users.

TikTok leads in terms of daily watch time—averaging nearly two hours per day—and boasts a very high frequency of access. Indonesia serves as one of its largest user bases globally, with over 126 million users.

Instagram remains a primary platform for visual sharing and daily communication, whether through photos or videos.

Facebook maintains a large, multi-generational user base. Beyond posting status updates—ranging from text and photos to videos—users can also communicate directly with one another via Messenger.

YouTube serves as the hub for long-form video content, allowing users to upload, watch, and share videos.

According to We Are Social, social media is not just a place for Indonesians to connect; it is also a space where they discover information and make decisions.

While search engines still lead in brand discovery (38.3 percent), social media channels follow closely: 37.3 percent of users discover brands through social media advertisements, and 32.6 percent through social media comments.

Nearly one-fifth of internet users report having clicked on a sponsored social media post within the last month, and three out of five Indonesians now use social media as their primary channel for researching brands online. In effect, social media has become the new search engine.

Furthermore, Indonesia’s digital economy shows no signs of slowing down. Total projected ad spending for 2025 is US$6.97 billion—a 5.3 percent increase from the previous year.

Digital channels account for 52 percent of this expenditure—totaling US$3.64 billion—an 8 percent rise over the prior year.

Social media advertising has seen the most significant growth, up 11.3 percent, while influencer marketing has surged by 14.4 percent—a testament to the growing power of creators in shaping culture and commerce. (*)

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