During a week populated with social media outages and data leaks, a new study shows that while Facebook dominated the 2020 app market in terms of global download figures, public opinion on social media – and its effects on society in general – is far from positive.

Research conducted by app development company Bacancy Technology shows that Facebook-owned apps took up four spots in the Top 10 most downloaded apps of 2020, with a combined total of more than two billion downloads – a figure that accounts for 46% of the total numbers within the top 10 list.

Top 10 Global Apps of 2020

Further research conducted by Techjury.net shows that the average Facebook user spends two hours and 24 minutes each day on the app. In the UK, 57% of adults over 16 used social media apps in 2015, which had increased to 70% [AM1] – around 38 million UK residents – as of last year.

Despite statistics showcasing the monumental popularity and usage of social media apps in general, opinion polls have surfaced in the wake of the recent outages of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, revealing the global “reality” that exists for social media users.

A country-wide poll within the United States suggests that 39% of American adults see social media as having a negative impact on society. Furthermore, 95% of readers of a Washington-based news website voiced the opinion that social media was bad for one’s health. Returning to the UK, a YouGov poll indicates that one third of the country’s adult population – just under 18 million residents – report feeling that social media has had a negative effect on their mental health. This statistic has rested around this percentage since at least 2019, and the most recent figures (drawn from July of this year) indicate that those aged 24-49 represent the highest percentile of this opinion – at almost 50%.