Digital 2026: Top digital and social media trends in Singapore

Reports

Our latest report, Digital 2026: Singapore, in partnership with Meltwater, reveals Singapore’s key trends and online behaviours. Here are the top takeaways from the local report.

Social media continues to grow

Social media isn’t slowing down in Singapore — in fact, it’s still finding new ways to grow. According to the report, social media user identities have climbed 3.3% year-on-year, reaching 5.33 million people — that’s a massive 90.6% of the population.

And what’s everyone doing online? Mostly chatting, scrolling, and connecting. Chat and messaging apps remain Singapore’s top go-to platforms, closely followed by social networks.

The ongoing battle for attention

Singaporeans now spend an average of 17 hours each week on social platforms — that’s more than two hours a day. And it’s not just one or two apps competing for that time. We’re now active across 7.4 platforms per month, up 4.2% from last year. The digital juggling act is real.

WhatsApp still reigns supreme as Singapore’s most-used and most-loved app, with four in five people using it every month. Facebook and YouTube follow behind in second and third place.

But when it comes to holding attention, video rules the feed. Singaporeans spend over 10 hours a week watching online videos. TikTok leads for daily engagement — users spend an average of 1 hour and 39 minutes per day scrolling — while YouTube wins for longer sessions, with users sticking around for an average of 13 minutes and 12 seconds each visit.

Social is the new search

It’s no surprise that social media has become one of the top ways Singaporeans discover new brands. Social ads now rank as the third most common source of brand discovery, after search engines and word of mouth.

More than one in four Singaporeans use social media for inspiration — whether it’s what to do this weekend or what to buy next. And around one in five have followed a brand on social media in the past month.

When it comes to driving traffic, Facebook is the clear winner. It now accounts for around half of all social referrals, growing 33% year-on-year. X drives 22.1% of referrals, while Instagram contributes 10.97%.

ChatGPT tops Singapore’s AI charts

AI tools are officially mainstream. More than a third of Singaporeans now use ChatGPT each month — making it one of the top five most visited websites in the country, according to Similarweb and SEMrush. ChatGPT also dominates AI web traffic, accounting for over three-quarters of all AI-related referrals. Perplexity trails behind with 8.46%.

But as AI becomes part of everyday life, so do questions about trust and truth. A striking 71.1% of online adults say they’re concerned about what’s real versus fake online. That’s significant when you consider that finding information is the number-one reason Singaporeans go online, and reading the news is one of the top three reasons they use social media.

For brands, that’s a wake-up call: transparency, credibility, and clarity matter more than ever — especially when AI is involved.

Social & influencer ad spend climbs higher

There’s good news for the industry, too. Singapore’s total ad spend is projected to hit US$2.8 billion in 2025, up 7.6% year-on-year. Digital channels now make up 76% of that spend (US$2.14 billion), a 10.3% jump from last year. And within that, social and influencer marketing are both on the rise:

Social isn’t just where people spend their time — it’s where brands are investing their money, too.

Interested in learning more? Check out the full Digital 2026: Singapore report, our global report and other country reports here.