Social Media Booming in South America

Given comments from your aunt and childhood neighbor that you now see on your latest status update, it may seem like the whole world is on Facebook. But social media penetration is still only 31% of the global population, according to research organization We Are Social. The number of network users has exploded in South America, however, with 50% of the continent’s roughly 390 million people now using social. This puts it second — ahead of even Western Europe — in terms of penetration rate, ranking behind only North America’s 58%. Much of this comes from the 103 million Brazilians who use Facebook alone. If you ask Justin Timberlake, that number may not be as cool as one billion, but the stats spotlight the massive growth in the region and show the vast potential on a continent where everybody wants to be connected.