Applications
25% of online minutes spent on social networking sites: comScore study
MUMBAI: Google Sites ranked as the top destination in June 2012 reaching nearly 95 per cent of the online population, while social networking reigned as the top online activity accounting for 25.2 per cent of all online minutes, revealed comScore study on the top online sites and activities in India from its comScore Media Metrix service.
In June 2012, Google Sites ranked as the top online destinations in India reaching 57.8 million people age 15 and older accessing the Internet from a home or work computer. Facebook.com followed with 50.9 million visitors (83.4 per cent reach), followed by Yahoo! Sites (65.5 per cent reach) and Microsoft Sites (48.1 per cent reach).
Local web properties secured several spots in the top 10 ranking, including Times Internet Limited, reaching 33.7 per cent of the online population, Network 18 (29.3 percent reach), Rediff.com India (25.2 per cent reach) and NIC.in (21.8 per cent reach).
Among the top properties, visitors were most engaged on Facebook.com, spending an average of nearly four hours on the site in June. Visitors spent two-and-a-half hours on Google Sites, with YouTube accounting for a strong share of time spent on the property. Among local brands, Network 18 led as the most engaging property with visitors averaging 31.6 minutes during the month.
Analysis of the top online activities in India found that social networking accounted for 25.2 per cent of all time spent online in June, an increase of 0.8 percentage points from the previous year, as social media continues to be a primary driver of people‘s daily digital media consumption. Entertainment sites ranked second, accounting for 10 per cent of minutes (up 1.2 percentage points from the previous year), while portals accounted for 8.8 per cent of total minutes. Although it represented just 2.0 per cent of total minutes, time spent on retail sites grew 0.5 points in the past year as online shopping continued to gain adoption.
Applications
With 57 per cent single new users, Ashley Madison rebrands as discreet dating platform
Platform says majority of new members now identify as single
INDIA: Ashley Madison is shedding the “married-dating” label that defined it for two decades, repositioning itself as a platform for discreet dating in what it calls the post-social media age.
The rebrand, unveiled in India on 27 February, 2026, marks a structural shift in business model and identity. Once synonymous with married dating, the company now describes itself as the “premier destination for discreet dating” under a new tagline: Where Desire Meets Discretion.
The pivot is data-driven. Internal figures show that 57 per cent of global sign-ups between 1 January and 31 December, 2025 identified as single: a notable departure from the platform’s married core. The company argues that its community has already evolved beyond its original positioning.
“In an age where our lives have been constantly put on public display, privacy has become the new luxury,” said Ashley Madison chief strategy officer Paul Keable. He framed the platform’s offering as “ethical discretion” for singles, separated, divorced and non-monogamous users seeking private connections.
The shift also taps into wider digital fatigue. A global survey conducted by YouGov for Ashley Madison, covering 13,071 adults across Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US, found mounting discomfort with hyper-public online lives.
Among dating app users, 30 per cent cited constant swiping and messaging as a source of fatigue, while 24 per cent pointed to pressure to curate public-facing profiles and early personal disclosure. Some 27 per cent said fears of screenshots or information being shared contributed to exhaustion; an equal share cited unwanted attention.
The retreat from oversharing appears broader. According to the survey, 46 per cent of adults actively try to keep most aspects of their life private online. Only 8 per cent feel comfortable sharing most aspects publicly, while 35 per cent say they are becoming more selective about what they disclose.
Ashley Madison is betting that this cultural recalibration towards controlled visibility can be monetised. By doubling down on privacy infrastructure and reframing itself around discretion rather than infidelity, the company is attempting to convert reputational baggage into a premium proposition.
