Disparity in User Attention and Ad Spending Between TikTok vs Instagram

A recent report by Insider Intelligence sheds light on the shifting landscape of user attention and ad spending between TikTok and Instagram among US adults. The statistics show a significant rise in time spent on TikTok compared to Instagram, which has consequences for the advertising industry.

In 2023, US individuals aged 18 and up are predicted to devote around 4.43 billion daily minutes to TikTok, surpassing Instagram's 3.91 billion daily minutes. This disparity is especially noticeable given TikTok's lower user base than Instagram. TikTok has an estimated 82.3 million monthly adult users in the United States, trailing Instagram's 118.4 million. Although TikTok claims 150 million monthly active users across all age groups in the United States, Meta Platforms, the platform's owner, claims over 2 billion monthly users globally.

While TikTok's user attention prevails, Instagram maintains its lead in advertising spend. The projected ad revenue per adult user per hour spent on the apps is expected to be six times higher for Instagram than for TikTok in 2023. This can be attributed to Instagram's broader scope and association with Meta and its suite of apps, which advertisers prefer.

TikTok is positioned to close the ad spending gap as it continues to acquire users and improve engagement. The app's substantial daily time spent among US adults, which increased by nearly 547% between 2019 and 2023, demonstrates its growing importance. However, Instagram's feature called "reels," which was created to fight TikTok's attractiveness, may help Instagram maintain its lead.

TikTok surpassed Instagram in daily minutes in 2022, and the estimate is that TikTok will beat Facebook in this aspect by 2025. Despite TikTok's progress, industry experts say it is still not on a level with Meta's extensive services.

The report highlights YouTube's undeniable dominance in terms of the daily time users spend on the app, surpassing both TikTok and Instagram. This showcases YouTube's unrivalled ability to capture and captivate users for extended periods. The undeniable success of YouTube can be attributed to its impressive watch time, which is further boosted by the utilization of longer videos.

This serves as a testament to its dominant position in the online video streaming industry. However, it is worth noting that TikTok users spend more time per day on the platform than YouTube users on their respective platforms. This highlights the remarkable impact and influence TikTok has achieved in a relatively short time.

The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically influenced our online behaviour, leading to a significant increase in the time we spend on social media platforms. This surge can be attributed to the necessity of staying connected and informed during these challenging times. Although Facebook may see a slight decline in daily time spent, other platforms such as Snapchat, X (formerly Twitter), and Reddit are expected to experience significant growth in this aspect. This indicates that users gravitate towards these platforms and spend more time engaging with their content.

In conclusion, the report underscores the dynamic shifts in user behaviour, emphasizing the competition for user attention and advertising dollars between TikTok and Instagram. Instagram's entrenched position, in part due to its affiliation with Meta, presents a challenge for TikTok, but TikTok's continued growth and innovation indicate a promising trajectory in the advertising landscape.

Read next: Threads is Growing at the Same Rate as Meta, New Study Finds
by Rubah Usman via Digital Information World

Instagram Testing "Invisible Mode" to Enhance Chat Privacy

Social media giant Instagram is reportedly testing a new feature that could give users more control over their message visibility. Alessandro Paluzzi, a well-known source for uncovering hidden app features, recently shared a screenshot hinting at the potential introduction of an "Invisible Mode" or "Disable Seen Status" option within Instagram's chat functionality.

This innovative feature could allow users to read messages without the sender being alerted to their activity, addressing a long-standing concern around message visibility and recipient privacy.

The existing system in Instagram displays a "Seen" indicator at the bottom of a conversation thread once a user has viewed a message. This notification serves the purpose of informing the sender that their message has been read. While AI writing assistants offer various benefits, it's crucial to consider the impact on recipient privacy.

One such concern is the "Seen" status feature, which indirectly discloses whether or not someone has been active on the platform, even if they have their Activity Status turned off. This unintended consequence may raise privacy concerns for some users. In addition, the "Seen" status on messaging platforms subtly shows how long it has been since the recipient opened the message. This valuable insight further explains the user's communication behavior and habits.

The proposed "Invisible Mode" would empower users to disable the "Seen" status, allowing them to peruse messages without triggering the acknowledgment notification on the sender's end. In a demo shared by Paluzzi, the feature is showcased as an option that Verified Organizations can enable. With the introduction of the "Invisible Mode" feature, users gain greater control over their online interactions and messaging habits.

By toggling this mode on, senders will no longer receive any notification indicating that their message has been viewed. This straightforward concept empowers users to decide when and how to engage without compromising privacy or inadvertently signaling their activity to others. This game-changing feature lets you take charge of your digital presence and enjoy enhanced control.

Instagram's existing Activity Status feature indicates when a user was last active on the platform, shown through a green dot or a timestamp next to their profile picture. While users can toggle the Activity Status on or off, the "Seen" status feature does not offer such customization. This imbalance in privacy controls is an area where the proposed "Invisible Mode" could fill a crucial gap, allowing users to manage their interactions more nuancedly.

However, it's crucial to note that the feature is still in testing and hasn't been fully rolled out to all users in all locations. Instagram's track record of iterative product rollout implies that the development team is constantly tweaking its offers in response to user input and usage patterns. As a result, the eventual implementation of "Invisible Mode" will most likely consider the platform's different needs and preferences.

Instagram, owned by Meta Platforms Inc., has recently been aggressively investigating potential changes to its platform. In addition to the prospective acquisition of "Invisible Mode," the forum has tested other features.

These include a feature that enables users to tag an entire group at once in their Stories, a move aimed at streamlining the content-sharing experience. Additionally, Instagram has been experimenting with a Meta Verified content feed designed to exclusively showcase content from paying app users.

Instagram is committed to expanding into a comprehensive platform that meets the diverse needs of its users. Elon Musk's platform intends to be the go-to destination for various services, from payments and banking to jobs and dating. The purposeful implementation of features such as "Invisible Mode" matches this ambitious aim, catering to user expectations for greater control over their digital interactions.

While Instagram's "Invisible Mode" may answer the long-standing yearning for a discrete reading experience, it's crucial to remember that the world of technology is constantly changing. The potential influence of the feature on user behavior, interactions, and overall engagement remains to be explored.

As the feature progresses through testing and potential deployment, observing how users embrace this newfound control over their online presence and interactions within the platform will be intriguing. As Instagram continues to expand its offerings, it's clear that the platform is on a path to shape the future of digital communication and social interactions.

Read next: Google Business Profile Scams On the Rise, Reach 17,000 in 2023 Alone
by Rubah Usman via Digital Information World

Just 18% of Consumers Trust Brands With Their Data

Getting access to consumer data is essential for brands because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up allowing them to market more effectively. However, it turns out that the vast majority of customers simply aren’t comfortable with handing over their private and sensitive data to brands. According to a study conducted by CCW Digital, just 18.29% of all consumers trust brands with their data and also expect them to send a moderate number of messages.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that 24.9% said that they trusted brands, but they were concerned that they might start getting far too many messages and emails containing promotions. A similar proportion, or 24.46% to be precise, stated that they have the opposite concern, namely that they’re not worried about getting too many marketing emails and promotions but rather they simply don’t trust brands to do the right thing here.

Meanwhile, 30.35% of consumers said that they neither trust brands with their data nor do they expect brands to send a reasonable number of messages with all things having been considered and taken into account. This just goes to show that there is a startling crisis of trust for consumers, and this makes them less willing to provide their data than might have been the case otherwise.

One thing that bears mentioning is that this indicates 57% of consumers feel like their experiences have been on a downward trajectory. Just 4% are of the opinion that customer experiences have gotten better, which seems to suggest that brands need to do more to ensure that they are satisfied.

Nearly 40% of customers, or 38.96% to be precise, stated that the emails that they are receiving are not personalized. If brands want customer data, they need to put it to good use and personalize any and promotional materials that they are sending out, otherwise customers will have far less of an incentive to allow brands to track and make use of their data for various purposes.

Read next: 56.4 Percent of Social Time Goes Towards Video in 2023, Here’s Why It Won’t Grow Much More
by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

What’s Trending In The SEO Landscape For 2023? This New Report Has The Latest Updates

It wouldn’t be wrong to mention how 2023 has brought forward a long list of changes for those professionals hailing from the SEO industry. And many of the changes served as major hurdles but you cannot forget the great many opportunities that arose as well.

The SEO landscape did undergo quite a bit of reshaping and we saw competition reach new heights while the launch of generative AI boomed like no other technology out there today.

Thanks to the Search Engine Journal, we were able to get the latest insights from over 3800 SEO experts from a wide range of backgrounds. This would unveil the newest trends taking place in the industry. We’re outlining them for our readers below to help them achieve the growth and transition required to enter the next step in their career as an SEO professional.

A total of three integral parameters were outlined from this industry. These were highlighted as causing a major shakeup.

For starters, most professionals reported in detail how much they struggled with content strategy. Then we saw search engine giant Google revamp the guidelines for rating quality where they were left with no choice but to include experience, trust, with authority to the criteria.

Next up, we saw them mention more about how hard it was to prove and even track the values for SEO. A large figure of experts attained budget approvals and even had problems related to client relationships being listed as hurdles. That went on to indicate how much of a struggle it was to communicate the significance and effect of the work in such a competitive industry today.

Thirdly, we saw generative AI be listed down as getting the right kind of help to better content generation. This would execute a distinctive pattern for results but that also means it’s getting harder and harder to produce results that are unique and serve as competition for others. Still, professionals do hold great optimism about them serving as the best source of help to attain great outcomes.

Among the 3800 professionals hailing from the SEO industry, we were provided with more insights regarding how to get better success. Below, we’re unveiling the main highlights explored.

Competition sought for getting new talent onboard seems to be the leading point of interest of experts and they feel that can really cause a major shift in the industry. Secondly, attaining the 5-year milestone is another crucial point of interest in any SEO professional’s career. Stats proved how close to 49% of those in the manager role while 56% in the director position were seen having as much as 5 to 10 years of experience.

Then, close to 27% of those in the manager role had work experience in the 2 to 4-year bracket and that shed light on how much demand there was on nailing your SEO skills. But on the other hand, those having less than 5 years of experience are on the rise to getting better and newer opportunities and they’re doing everything in their power to seek that.

Lastly, close to 78% of those studied from the SEO industry had designated themselves as a freelancer possessing experience of five years or less. Meanwhile, 69% are turning to firms in the hopes of great job opportunities for leading positions. And they are more keen on receiving SEO agency positions than getting the classic in-house role.

Lastly, 48% of experts are seeking higher budgets while 42% don’t see budgets changing must. And in terms of indicators for success, raw traffic isn’t being relied upon much.

Read next: Forecasting SEO Patterns for the Year 2023
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

GPT Models: Trustworthy Companions or Mischievous Tricksters?

Generative AI has undoubtedly brought us a mix of hallucinations, misinformation, and biases, yet this hasn't stopped more than half of the participants in a global study from considering its use in sensitive areas like financial planning and medical advice. The burning question is whether we can entirely rely on large language models (LLMs).

A recent study led by Stanford's Sanmi Koyejo and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's Bo Li, with partners from UC Berkeley and Microsoft Research, investigated the reliability of GPT-3.5 and GPT-4 models. These models are lauded for their talents, but the researchers wanted to unearth the skeletons lurking beneath their digital skins.

The GPT models were rigorously evaluated from eight trust perspectives: toxicity, stereotype bias, adversarial robustness, out-of-distribution robustness, adversarial demonstration robustness, privacy, machine ethics, and fairness. The findings provided insights that might make you look at these models more skeptically.

Koyejo and Li found that while the newer GPT models boast lower toxicity than their predecessors, they are still prone to producing toxic and biased outputs. These models can even inadvertently leak private information from their training data and user conversations. It's like discovering that your favorite intelligent assistant has been eavesdropping on your private chats.

According to Koyejo, the impressive capabilities demonstrated by AI models, such as their ability to engage in natural conversations, have raised people's expectations of their intelligence. As a result, individuals increasingly trust these models with critical decision-making processes despite the sensitivity involved. While AI has made impressive advancements, it still has some way to go. Comparing it to asking a pet goldfish to drive you to work emphasizes the current limitations. However, with further development and improvements, AI has the potential to reach new heights.

These models function similarly to escape artists in a magical show. With their hidden techniques, current GPT models appear to suppress toxicity. However, as Koyejo puts it, "some of the most popular models are close-sourced and hidden behind silos, so we don't know all the details of what goes into training the models." Consider comprehending a magician's tricks while being performed in a concealed box.

When exposed to adversarial prompts, like telling the model to generate toxic language, GPT-3.5 and GPT-4 magically transform into toxic fountains with a probability of 100%. It's like a genie granting your worst wish with an eerie grin.

Bias in AI?GPT-4 appears to be a reformed villain. While it no longer accepts that "Homosexuals have HIV," it continues to favor stereotypes such as "Women have HIV." So it's more like a villain understanding they've crossed a boundary but haven't truly repented.

The models' concern for privacy is analogous to a squirrel guarding its cache. They've learned to be wary of Social Security numbers but more lenient with email addresses. Perhaps they're simply attempting to share their contact list with the rest of the world, one email at a time.

But wait, it gets more hilarious. GPT-4 gets chatty about confidential matters but keeps its lips sealed when the information is shared "in confidence." It's as if the model has a set of invisible confidentiality earmuffs that it activates when necessary.

Koyejo and Li also highlighted the models' sense of humor regarding fairness. They provided them with profiles and asked them to forecast income levels. However, the models can't help but draw odd conclusions depending on gender and ethnicity. It's like asking a psychic to predict your future instead of getting horoscopes.

In a world where AI models are gaining influence, Koyejo and Li's study reminds us to approach them with cautious optimism. They're not flawless and are not the omniscient wizards we sometimes take them for. In fact, Koyejo advises us to stay skeptical and not get "fooled too easily." It's like having a mischievous AI roommate; trust them, but always double-check their pranks.

Read next: Why Do People Express Greater Support For AI Tehcnology Despite Having Low Trust? This New Study Has The Answer
by Rubah Usman via Digital Information World

Google Business Profile Scams On the Rise, Reach 17,000 in 2023 Alone

Google Business Profiles exist to allow business owners to have a central location online, with all of the contact details, address information and other bits of data made more accessible than might have been the case otherwise. In spite of the fact that this is the case, these business profiles are also giving scammers an easier path to hoodwinking others, using the information on these profiles to trick owners into giving them sensitive data.

The way this works is that a malicious actor might call up a business owner and tell them it needs to be verified, or that it has been flagged. Either way, the business profile is ostensibly slated for deletion if the owner does not follow the advice of the malicious actor, and this scam has cost countless dollars.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that there have been 17,000 business profile scams in 2023 alone, coming up to over 2,000 each and every month. Many of these calls are actually robocalls with automated responses, which can make them harder to tell apart than might have been the case otherwise.

This data comes from Hiya, which has been tracking these types of fraud for quite some time now. Based on this research, it was revealed that Kentucky was the worst performing state of all since it had the most scam calls related to Google Business Profiles with all things having been considered and taken into account. Coming in second place was Rhode Island, suggesting that this is not just an issue being faced in the American South. Hawaii came in third, followed by Wyoming.

It’s not surprising that the least wealthy states in the US have the highest number of scam calls, since the people living here might not be aware of the dangers of following the instructions being provided. It is always essential to verify the identity of the individual on the other end, otherwise the chances of getting scammed will become downright absolute, and the problem is clearly getting worse right now.

Read next: 96% of Companies Are Using AI to Fight AI Based Cyber Threat Emails
by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

Microsoft Edge Is Working On A New Auto-Verify Feature For Android That Skips CAPTCHAs

Today, more and more online users are in search of the best browsing experience out there. And that means skipping out on verification systems that demand evidence of their human existence.

We’re sure you’ve come across the term CAPTCHAs at some point in your online journey and they’re said to engage users in some sort of a task like clicking on traffic lights or perhaps identifying stairs in a given picture.

But who knew that we’d soon be getting salvation from such means as there are more and more advancements in progress that help users take a step back from burdens such as there where they’re forced to validate themselves.

We know Google Chrome has rolled out a new endeavor for auto-verification regarding CAPTCHAs but who knew Microsoft Edge would be following in its footsteps with its own offering for Android.

One researcher was kind enough to share their findings regarding this matter and how Microsoft Edge is working on rolling out a new auto-verify feautre across its Canary channel. After getting approval for activation, this sort of setting gives rise to digital tokens that are similar to cookies. Moreover, such stored proofs may receive access by so many other websites to confirm human existence. And that’s done without the worry of users’ browsing history getting exposed.

The difference here is that webpages could confirm that solely through Microsoft Edge. Furthermore, experts noted how the company is also working on a new Android version for verification called ‘On Device Encryption’. This feature encrypts any passwords that would have been saved locally, right before it syncs that into the password manager.

This rollout is currently in its experimental stage but we could soon be seeing it roll out soon for desktops.

As we wait patiently, we must point out that seeing the software giant putting more investments into Android must be appreciated. Remember, Google Chrome already has a lawsuit looming regarding its famous Incognito Mode. Therefore, this makes way for other leading rivals like Microsoft Edge to come forward and use this period to the best of its ability and rid annoying CAPTCHAs which many are already questioning for so long.

In case you didn’t know, new studies claim CAPTCHAs aren’t really effective at all and bots are doing a better job at solving them faster and with greater accuracy than humans. So why have CAPTCHAs in the first place?

Read next: What Country Uses the Most Data on Average? The Answer Might Surprise You
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World