Locals miss out on cash cow that is their use of social media

A majority of Kenyan adults log into multiple social media platforms every day but less than 10 per cent are using them to generate income despite these platforms being cash cows, generating billions of shillings for users globally.

Based on the Old Mutual Group’s Financial Services Monitor, 92 per cent of Kenyan adults are currently active users of different social media platforms, but only nine per cent employ them to make money.

Compared to other countries across the globe, Kenyans spend the most time on social media every day, and are generally better connected to the internet than other Africans.

According to a different report by internet research firm, Meltwater, an average Kenyan spent about three hours and 43 minutes on social media each day last year, more than people in developed countries such as the US, who spend just two and a quarter hours on social platforms every day.

In China, where people spend less than two hours on social media daily, over 1.2 million people already use them to earn an income, and about 60 percent of youth are interested in doing that, according to a recent survey.