Global file sharing app, SHAREit Lite releases some insights about the trends that’ll shape the file-sharing landscape in 2022 some of which include digital entertainment demands, data consumption amongst others.
According to SHAREit Lite, it’s 2022 and people are still adjusting to what now mirrors life post-COVID. Yet, some lasting impacts of the pandemic remain evident, especially in digital content sharing which has continued to surge.
Although there are speculations of what to expect in 2022, going by the trails of past events, these following key trends will play major roles in shaping the peer-to-peer content sharing landscape in 2022.
Increased digital entertainment demands
The global file sharing app explains that in recent times, content consumption has evolved from what it used to be.
A report by a data-marketing tech company, Teragon Group indicates that 65 percent of internet users in Nigeria now prefer to watch online videos, compared to texts and other forms of content.
Over time, this has increased the rate of digital entertainment and video content sharing among families, friends, and larger peer networks; to date, it remains a continuous trend in human life.
The world’s biggest video platform YouTube consistently records higher numbers of video consumers compared to previous years.
A forecast on Statista reflects that this number will almost double by 2025. Similar consumer behavior is seen in more nuanced peer-to-peer content-sharing apps.
Given the existing trends, SHAREit Lite has it that 2022 will see an uptick in video content sharing as consumer preference will largely remain for videos.
Not to mention that companies are also doubling down on video content for their marketing goals and to establish a better rapport with target demographics. Most importantly, apps like SHAREit Lite will magnify that very basic social habit of sharing among peers offline.
Increased Data consumption, driven by improving Internet infrastructure
Globally, conversations are being held to ensure internet affordability in nations across the world. In recent times, however, the move for internet affordability has expanded beyond advocacy to deliberate initiatives and actions being taken by individuals, corporations, and the Nigerian government to ensure more citizens aren’t deprived of internet possibilities due to data challenges.
Nigeria is said to have one of the most affordable internet plans. Although many people still fall below the red line on a scale of internet affordability, according to the Alliance For Affordable Internet (A4AI), the trends are changing.
Its latest report in 2021 shows Nigeria ranking 4th in Africa and 19th globally on internet affordability.
Similarly, in 2021, Nigeria’s data usage surged by 202 percent compared to three years before. The implication is reflective of users’ digital behavior. Globally, as infrastructure improves, data consumption increases subsequently.
The same is seen in the Nigerian market where internet users are now installing more apps, playing more games, and sharing more files as a result of improved data and internet infrastructure. In Nigeria, users are particularly surging towards applications with faster speed without mobile data consumption.
Putting all these into account, SHAREit Lite says it’s safe to say that this year, access to data and internet affordability will strongly impact the peer-to-peer content sharing landscape in Nigeria.
Smartphone & broadband penetration
In 2018, Pew Research released a study showing that smartphone adoption in Nigeria is at 32 percent compared to counterparts like South Africa, Ghana, and Senegal which stood at 54 percent, 34 percent, and 35 percent respectively.
Although this data largely reflects a slow uptake in smartphone penetration, the bright picture is painted through Data Reportal’s analysis, which reflects that over 90 percent of users access the internet through mobile devices.
Despite the lag when compared to other sub-Saharan African countries, Smartphone and broadband penetration adoption in Nigeria continues to experience significant growth. In Q2 2021, feature phones overall shipment accounted for 51.8 percent while smartphones hit a record of 48.2 percent share.
Nigeria’s broadband penetration has equally increased over the past few years, hitting a record of 45.02 percent, a significant boost given past figures – 37.8 percent (in 2019) and 31.48 percent (in 2018). Combined, smartphone adoption and broadband penetration are significant touchpoints that will shape the content sharing landscape in 2022.
Afrobeats hitting the Mainstream Pop Culture among Gen Z and Millennials
The internet is fast becoming the world of creators. Modern young content creators, influencers, celebrities, as well as organizations are looking to maximize trends to connect with the audience and leverage common pop culture in the categories of entertainment.
In 2021, popular afrobeat from countries like Nigeria, Ghana, and other African nations dominated mainstream social media and had multiple sharing replications within and beyond the continent.
In 2022, more afrobeat will take the center stage, with companies backing talents to create connections with their brands. SHAREit Lite connects with the young population of Nigeria who loves afrobeat through its localized operations and fun activities.
Read also: Afrobeats, Amapiano producers get long over-due credit
The young population can easily share files such as study notes, music, videos, images etc without the internet data charges.
The company also recently organised various activities in the country like campus music stars in association with Boomplay to give the youth an opportunity to showcase their talent to the world.
Another online initiative was taken by the company during the holiday season where users could participate in the exciting activities of the mobile app while engaging with their families and friends.
Overall, more content sharing will happen in 2022, leading to a corresponding surge in Nigeria’s data usage, up from 205,880 terabytes in 2021.
`As we move into a world, where consumers are data, security and privacy-conscious, there’s an urgency to ensure seamless peer-to-peer content sharing, given the volume of files exchanged per second on the internet.
Umebiye is a Regional Marketing Director, SHAREit Lite, Nigeria.
