Social media companies gain amid India lockdown

Life under lockdown can be tough, where you cannot go out. There is no school, no college and shopping malls are closed as are restaurants and clubs.

You are locked indoors, but who said you cannot go places virtually?

Enter social media.

With one click and scroll, you can cross borders, climb mountains and jam to the latest track. Social media has become India's favourite lockdown pastime.

How are you passing your time under lockdown?

Ask an Indian, he or she will most likely point at the phone. Indians have become hooked to social media and the data is proof.

Number of times apps are being opened:

An average Indian is opening Facebook 20.9 times a day. In February, the number was 13.9.

India went into a lockdown on the March 24 and by March 29, an average Indian was opening Instagram 19 times a day. These numbers are from market intelligence platform, Kalagato.

It says TikTok has emerged as one of the biggest gainers.

It's session time has risen to 56.9 minutes that's almost an hour. TikTok's varied content, despite the security concerns, seems to have worked magic with Indian users.

Live dot me too has seen an uptick in user base. Its time spent has grown 315 per cent between February 2 to March 29 with an average user clicking on the app at least 11.8 times a day.

A daily active user base is not something too many apps can boast of.

Twitter is at number 1. Its daily active users have grown 30 per cent.

Experts say it's courtesy of the lack of newspapers. Live dot me is at number 2.

TikTok has been a gainer but misinformation and fake news remain a matter of big concern for this Chinese app.

The numbers for Facebook and Instagram are not too impressive. That said, one must keep in mind that both these apps already have a loyal fan base. At the end of the day, there is one thing that all of these numbers are pointing at.