Tech – Social media still has an Internet stronghold, new research finds

New Zealanders are spending slightly less time on social media, but still a considerable amount of time each day, new research from InternetNZ | Ipurangi Aotearoa shows.

The 2025 data for Internet Insights, an annual survey commissioned by InternetNZ released today, shows we spend an average of three hours of our personal time each day on the Internet.

For close to half of people (46 percent), social media is one of their top three uses of their time. This is closely followed by emails (45 percent) and streaming (41 percent). The number of people who cited social media as one of their top three uses has dropped slightly, down two percentage points since 2023.

Under-30s were the most likely to list social media in their top uses (60 percent of 18-29 year olds, compared to 46 percent across all demographics).

While TikTok is a daily habit for fewer compared to other social media platforms – only 15 percent use it once a day or more – its users are more likely to be younger and to spend considerable time on it each day. TikTok’s New Zealand users spend an average of one hour and 42 minutes a day on the platform, amounting to more than one working day per week.

Facebook is similarly time-consuming – its New Zealand users spend an average of one hour and 24 minutes a day on it. Additionally, 58 percent of Facebook users say they use it daily.

Meta’s Messenger also tops in messaging apps: it’s used at least once daily by nearly half of New Zealanders (47 percent). Whatsapp is used daily by a quarter of New Zealanders.

Despite these statistics, four in 10 New Zealanders (42 percent) are extremely or very concerned that the Internet is distracting and a waste of time. Pacific peoples are most likely to agree with this statement, at 64 percent compared to the average of 42 percent. People aged 30-49 are the next most likely to think so, at 48 percent.

InternetNZ chief executive Vivien Maidaborn says this year’s data reflects what most of us intuitively know.

“We’re spending a lot of time on the Internet, and on social media in particular, I don’t think that’s a surprise to anyone.

“But I think it does qualify what we’ve said for a long time, that it’s important that we’re all participating in conversations about how it’s shaped and how it should, and shouldn’t, shape our lives.

“This is particularly important when considering the power held by global social media platforms. New Zealand needs to consider, as a society, what our expectations on platforms operating in our jurisdiction should be, given the massive role they play in our lives.”

• New Zealanders say most of their personal time online is spent on social media – 46 percent say this is one of their top three uses, though this is down by two percentage points from 2023.
• Facebook remains the most frequently used social media channels, 58 percent of respondents use Facebook daily; and Messenger the most frequently used messaging app, 47 percent use Messenger daily.
• TikTok and Facebook are the most time-consuming platforms. Facebook’s users spend an average of 1 hour 24m a day on the platform, and TikTok’s users spend an average of 1 hour 42m.
• Percentage of people who are on this social media platform once a day or more: Facebook: 58% say once a day or more often; Instagram: 31%; TikTok: 15%; Reddit: 7%; LinkedIn: 6%; X (formerly Twitter): 6%; Wechat, Discord, Threads, Telegram, Bluesky & Mastodon all had percentages of 5% or less. 
• • Percentage of people who say they use this messaging platform once a day or more: Messenger: 47% say once a day or more often; WhatsApp: 25%; Snapchat: 12%. 
  • Younger people, Māori and Asian peoples are more likely to use TikTok – 42% of 18-29 year olds use it once a day or more compared to the average of 15%; and 21% of Māori and 20% or Asian peoples compared to the average of 15%.
• Young people (18-29) are the highest users of Instagram too, at 56% compared to the average of 31%. Instagram users are also more likely to be women.
• Asian peoples are the highest users of Whatsapp (55% compared to the average of 25%).

Internet Insights is an annual research report commissioned by InternetNZ | Ipurangi Aotearoa. The 2025 research was carried out by Verian, with interviews conducted between November 25 and December 8, 2025.

The sample size was 1003 and consisted of New Zealanders over the age of 18 sourced using online consumer panels. Results have a margin of error of +/- 3.1 percent.

The research covers a range of topics, including Internet use, social media use, and Internet-related concerns. 

Previous research reports can be found on the InternetNZ website.

InternetNZ | Ipurangi Aotearoa is the home and guardian of the .nz domain. We’re not government-funded – we’re an independent, not-for-profit organisation that operates .nz for the benefit of all New Zealanders, reinvesting domain revenue back into the community. We provide grants, help to fund other organisations, and advocate for an accessible and safe Internet that benefits everyone in Aotearoa.