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IRISH ADULTS ARE more likely to have Skype and Viber on their smartphones than Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp, according to new findings.
The latest quarterly report from Ipsos MRBI found that while instant messaging services like Viber, WhatsApp and Snapchat continue to grow in popularity, Skype is still the most popular messaging service in Ireland with more than half of Irish adults (51%) owning an account.
Viber is the second most popular messaging at 40%, having steadily grown over the past six months.
Facebook Messenger saw the biggest fall by dropping from 39% to 34% between November to May while WhatsApp saw its userbase increase from 22% to 30% within the same period.
Snapchat continues to increase in usage with 21% of Irish adults using it, an eight point increase since November, while Vine is virtually unchanged since August, hovering around the 4% mark.
In social networks, Facebook is still by far the most popular social network with 62% of Irish adults having an account, while more than one third of that figure use the site daily.
Twitter is the closest site to matching it with 30% of Irish adults using it and one in ten tweeting daily, while LinkedIn sees 26% of Irish adults using it. All three have seen a steady increase in Irish users over the past six months.
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Amazing to see 4%-5% of people using Bebo in a period when it wasn’t even accessible…
The survey reports account ownership, not use. Yes, I have a Skype account. No, it is not my primary instant messaging service. Had I been asked purely about “account ownership”, they’d have got the same “yes” from me for both.
Skype for calls; Whatsapp for instant messages.
Windows Live Messenger stats don’t quite cut it as that service has been discontinued.
Questionable results. Facebook leading the way when is say reality is different. Yes everybody has a Facebook, but for example I have but do not use it that much at all, pop the head in the door every now and again. Far more active on twitter. Most people I know use whatsapp (mid30s demographic), not many at all use viber. Would love to see what actual questions were asked.
Hi Truth Patrol, I work for MRBI and I can assure you our results are not questionble. Our surveys are designed to give the most precise results!
Fix
The lack of both iMessage and Hangouts as messaging services calls into question this survey.
Nonsense statistics..
An assumption made upon the amount of accounts held, whether active or not.
And if you want to know which apps kids are using, simple. It’ll be the ones that their parents are not.
Only reason most people have a google+ account is because you need one to make a youtube account
Or maybe Gmail account.
You also need a Google account to download apps from the play store. I for instance have a Google account including Gmail and Google+ solely for the purpose of accessing the play store. Surely every android user is in the same boat. I use Viber for messaging and make calls the good old fashioned way.
no iMessage? surprising…
I wonder why Google Hangout isn’t on the list? It’s built into android phones and the vast majority of my friends use it over other messaging apps.
iMessage isn’t there either. it looks like the survey didn’t include the built in apps and focused on the optional downloadable ones.
Amazed BB messenger isn’t even listed. In UK it’s very popular though it was mainly among the ethnic majority.
Because BB was never properly supported by Irish carriers
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