Towards a Real Comprehension of Social Networks Effects on Cybermedia Web Traffic: Quantitative Impact in the 27 European Union Countries Most Popular Online Journals

Abstract Scientific literature pays considerable attention to the study of development and consolidation of social networks in general and their influence on the information industry and journalism in particular. However, there are no global studies on their quantitative impact on the web traffic of cybermedia. This article focuses on this aspect and examines the impact that social networks have on the overall web traffic generated by the cybermedia of the 27 countries that are currently part of the European Union. For this purpose, the five cybermedia with the highest number of unique visitors in each country were selected and, using a tool such as SimilarWeb that considers flows from desktop and laptop computers, a set of variables referring directly or indirectly to social networks were analyzed, comparing this magnitude with those corresponding to direct traffic and search procedures. The data obtained allow us to conclude that of the total web traffic generated among the European Union cybermedia with the highest number of unique visitors, only 9.858% is directly attributable to social networks, a figure lower than magnitudes such as direct traffic (54.493%) or search procedures (26.041%). With percentage differences, this situation is applicable to all 27 countries examined and calls into question aspects such as the large amount of human and economic resources that the information industry allocate to the management social networks and the constant debate generated around the impact that they have on the shaping of public opinion and their incidence in phenomena such as disinformation or disintermediation.