Digital 2024 Statshot shows Aussies lag in global gaming trends
The recent Digital 2024: April Statshot, a quarterly update of the Global Digital Report series by Meltwater and socially-led creative agency We Are Social, highlights the increasing popularity and broadening appeal of video games. The report reveals that 84.7% of respondents confirmed gaming activity in Q4 2023, marking a 4.7% increase from the previous year.
However, the figures indicate that Australia, home to a strong gaming industry, falls behind several other countries in terms of gaming participation. The country ranks at the lower end, with a gaming participation rate of 79.7%. Southeast Asian nations such as the Philippines, Indonesia, and Vietnam lead in terms of active gamers.
This recent surge in gaming engagement is the highest observed in the past three years, driven particularly by an increase in smartphone gaming. Besides demonstrating the ongoing popularity of the gaming industry, the data indicates a wider demographic trend. Games now appeal to a broader range of age groups, including older generations; over 70% of internet users aged between 55 to 64 have embraced gaming.
Away from the gaming sphere, the research identified several key findings on internet use in Australia. The report establishes that internet users worldwide have reached a 'supermajority', with over two-thirds of the global population now online, a 3.4% annual increase, equating to 178 million new users from last year.
Aussies spend an average of 6.07 hours daily on the internet, which is slightly beneath the global average of 6.35 hours. Interestingly, Australia ranks among the top five nations globally for internet users who are monthly payers for digital content, with a substantial 74.7% engaging in such transactions, a figure above the global average of 67.7%.
Furthermore, the country ranks seventh in mobile payment services' usage among internet users, with 35.7% using platforms like Apple Pay, exceeding the global average of 24.1%, and leading within English-speaking countries. This digital trend extends to the rising ownership of smartwatches within Australia, as the nation ranks 14th out of 55 countries, with 29.1% Smartwatch ownership amongst its population.
Ultimately, the Digital 2024: April Statshot makes it evident that regardless of gaming participation or internet usage, Australia continues to be deeply integrated into digital culture with an evident embrace of emerging technology trends.
