What WeChat users were doing in 2018, from sleeping to emojis

It sees you when you're sleeping, it knows when you're awake...

Last week, WeChat released its 2018 user data report, dividing its billion-plus users into four age groups. The report provides some telling facts about our habits, including everything from average sleep patterns to reading preferences to our most-preferred emojis. 

Starting with those born after 2000 (the ling ling hou), this group's favourite emoji is . The group gets the least amount of sleep, which isn’t exactly a surprise as their busiest WeChat traffic time is between 10pm and 12.30am. Since 2015, the last time WeChat released a report like this, this group has also seen a 230 percent increase of their sweetened and iced drinks consumption – maybe that’s what is keeping them up at night. 

Millennials’ most-used emoji is . They’re also the ones who take the longest to wake up in the morning and use public transportation the most (25 times per month on average). The report also tracked big changes in their general reading habits over the last three years, from tabloid entertainment news to lifestyle articles and relationship advice. 

Image: via Wechat

The '70s and '80s generations keep things simple, using the  and  most, respectively. These two groups also spend the most time browsing Moments.

Last but not least, people above 55 years old (who are jammed together as one single group in the report) used  the most. They’re also the paragon of healthy living, waking up early and getting to sleep early. 

The report also revealed that, on average, during every single day in 2018, 410 million video and voice chats were sent, almost six times the amount compared to data from three years ago. 

Just before you leave the page, you’re invited to get some insight into your own WeChat habits (if you dare) – extract the QR code below to read the full report, and tap the green button at the bottom of the page to see how many days you’ve spent on WeChat since opening an account. 

For an insight into how to spread the love of WeChat to the older generation, hit 'Read more' below to see our feature on being a WeChat instructor to the elderly. 

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