Communication between people via digital tools continues to make progress in multiple forms. Text, image and voice constitute the various possibilities, which each person uses according to their age, their context, their needs, etc. How does this work? What tools are favoured and by whom ?

Social media on the lead

Due to the number of people who have accounts, social media is a preferred means of communication on the Internet. According to the Web Observatory survey, the use of instant messaging is the second most common use on social media, just behind watching videos¹.

Charlotte Leboucher, Médiamétrie Director of Research, explains : « Social media is present in almost all Internet uses. They have become platforms on which to publish and view posts and also chat via messaging, buy, watch videos etc. Most people have all of their contacts on their social media, which explains their significant role in communication ».

According to the Total Internet Audience measurement² in France, every day, 61% of French people went on a social media - Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X, LinkedIn, Pinterest, BeReal and many more. This practice is making progress, since this figure stood at 49.3% in 2018. The time they spend on social media has increased even more: an average of nearly 48 minutes each day in November 2023, compared to 20 minutes in 2018. 15-24 year olds are the main users of this means of communication : 86% of them visited at least one social media every day in November 2023. They are followed by 25-49 year olds. This is carried out mainly on mobile phones, whatever the age group.

Bertrand Krug, Médiamétrie’s Digital & Press Director adds : « Facebook remains by far the leading social media in France. While Snapchat is the most popular among young people, Facebook remains the most popular social media on a daily basis by those over 25 ».

Instant messaging is on the rise

Another tool directly intended for written or voice communication, instant messaging services, is increasingly used. Among them, WhatsApp comes first. Facebook Messenger is just behind. Followed by the video conferencing apps Skype, Zoom and Teams¹.

In terms of audience, instant messaging services - including WhatsApp, Messenger, Discord, Telegram, Skype - have experienced very significant growth in 5 years. 49.2% of French people used them every day in November 2023, compared to 18.8% in November 2018. They are more numerous and also spend almost three times longer there: 8 minutes on average per day in 2023 compared to 3 minutes in 2018. It is 25-49 year olds who use them the most: nearly 7 out of 10, followed by 15-24 year olds. Here too, their use is mainly on mobile phones².

On these messaging services, people prefer written messages : this is the case of 97.2% of users. 82.1% make audio calls and 77.6% video calls. Finally, 72.6% record voice messages, particularly 15-24 year olds and women¹.

Charlotte Leboucher says : « audio calls, particularly those made via a mobile operator, are decreasing. The weight of social media and instant messaging is such that today people use them directly to call. Younger people in particular are moving away from this practice, favouring the use of voice messages or texts ».

Email is resilient

Email was a pioneer of internet communications and is still one of the important means of communication. 96.6% of people1 said that they have logged in to their email in the last 30 days. First and foremost on their smartphone, then on computer, and finally on tablet.

The audience for email websites is growing, with 46.1% of French people logging in every day, compared to 34.1% in November 2018. Mobile phones also dominate in terms of device used : 86.5% of visitors use their smartphone to connect to this category every day, although computers still have an important place with 25.3% of visitors. As for the amount of time spent on emails, it has been relatively stable since 2018: 4 minutes per day on average in 2018 and 5 minutes in 2023. The biggest users are 25-49 year olds, 61.3% of whom log in every day, followed by people over 50. Almost 42% of 15-24 year olds check their emails every day².

Laure Osmanian Molinero