Findings reveal social platforms’ growing influence on advertising, commerce, and news consumption — as brands prioritize transparency, addressability, and trust

DoubleVerify (“DV”) (NYSE: DV), a leading software platform to verify media quality, optimize ad performance, and prove campaign outcomes, today released 2025 Global Insights: How Consumers and Marketers Use Walled Gardens – a comprehensive report that includes platform level insights and examines how social media continues to shape digital advertising, news consumption, and commerce.

“The appeal of advertising across social media platforms lies in their ability to blend entertainment, community and personalized experiences across both user-generated content and ads,” said Mark Zagorski, CEO of DoubleVerify. “As advertisers ramp investments across these platforms, they’re also demanding campaign effectiveness and accountability. That’s why maximizing media quality, efficiency and performance across video-centric walled gardens remains a top priority for DV — evidenced by our recent innovations like DV Authentic AdVantage™. Ultimately, the takeaway from our Global Insights Report is clear: while walled gardens promise scale and performance, sustainable value ultimately depends on transparency and trust.”

For the report, DV surveyed 22,000 consumers across 21 countries to understand how people of all ages engage with these platforms, consume news, interact with influencers, and respond to advertising. DV also surveyed 1,970 marketing and advertising decision-makers worldwide to identify the key challenges and opportunities within walled gardens.

Global takeaways include the following:

• Social Media to Dominate Time Spent: 28% of consumers expect to spend more time on social media over the next 12 months, followed by 22% who plan to increase time spent streaming user-generated content. In comparison, only 15% expect to watch more broadcast TV.
• Younger Audiences Turn to Social for News: When asked how they prefer to get their news, there was a clear generational divide. Consumers aged 18–44 favor online, digitally native video platforms (42%) or social media sites and apps (40%). In contrast, those aged 45–65+ prefer traditional sources such as TV news channels (59%) or legacy news websites and apps (37%).
• Social Media’s Shopping Influence: 27% of consumers responded that social media is one of their top three pre-purchase research tools. More than half (54%) say social media influencers impact their purchase decisions, and 30% have made a purchase directly through a social platform in the past year.
• AI Content Surges Across Social Platforms: Fifty-seven percent of consumers say they’ve encountered AI-generated content on social media—more than double the share who reported seeing it on search (26%). This blurring of human and AI-created content presents new challenges for marketers navigating authenticity and brand suitability.
• Marketers Cite Reach as Top Challenge: Nearly half (46%) of social media advertisers say reaching their target audience is their biggest hurdle. As algorithms increasingly personalize what users see—limiting how widely ads are shown—marketers cited the need for third-party measurement to maintain transparency and effectiveness.

The full 2025 Global Insights: How Consumers and Marketers Use Walled Gardens report is available for download here, or by contacting sales@doubleverify.com.

About DoubleVerify

DoubleVerify (“DV”) (NYSE: DV) is the industry’s leading media effectiveness platform that leverages AI to drive superior outcomes for global brands. By powering media efficiency and performance, DV strengthens the online advertising ecosystem, preserving the fair value exchange between buyers and sellers of digital media. Learn more at www.doubleverify.com.

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