Inside the Year's Social Media Shift: What DV's Global Insights on Walled Gardens Mean for Marketers in India

For years, social platforms have promised advertisers scale and precision. Now that promise is being reassessed. A new global study by DV, spanning 22,000 consumers and nearly 2,000 marketers, offers a clear view of how people now behave within walled gardens and how marketers are responding to rising risks around AI-generated content, ad adjacency and suitability.

2025 DV Global Insights: How Consumers and Marketers Use Walled Gardens highlights a dual reality: consumers are spending more time in these environments, yet navigating them has become more complex. This matters because social media remains central to digital advertising; 88% of marketers use it, even as 65% express concerns about brand suitability. Meanwhile, rapidly shifting feeds are affecting spend efficiency and brand suitability.

Below, we break down the most important findings from the report, and what they mean for leaders shaping the next cycle of digital growth.

Consumers Spend More Time Online, but Behaviours Are Splintering

Twenty-eight percent of consumers expect to increase their social media use in the coming year. But how they spend that time is increasingly fragmented. Preferences vary sharply by age and gender:

• Younger audiences gravitate toward fast-paced, creator-driven environments.
• Older audiences prefer familiar, informational formats.
• Men favour video-heavy content, while women lean toward interactive community-led spaces.

Across regions, these patterns intensify. APAC, including India, shows some of the most diverse consumption habits, with audiences spread across multiple formats. For advertisers, this means reach remains high, but consistency is disappearing.

Social Media Is Now a Primary News Source, Especially Among Younger Audiences

A major shift is underway in news consumption. Younger audiences now turn first to social platforms or video sites for updates; over 40% cite social media as their top source.

In contrast, consumers aged 45 to 65 and older still rely heavily on traditional TV news, rising from 38% among those aged 35 to 44 to 71% among those aged 65+. News websites remain relevant but do not surpass social or TV.

This dual ecosystem widens context risk: ads appearing next to fast-moving, unverified news content may inherit bias or sentiment shifts.

Influencers Drive the Social Commerce Boom

Social commerce continues to grow rapidly, with 30% of global consumers having bought directly through a social platform in the past year. APAC leads this shift with 40% of consumers engaging in social commerce, driven by mobile-first habits and content-led discovery in countries such as India. Here, social platforms increasingly serve as sources of inspiration and purchase channels, blurring the line between browsing and buying. As many as 49% of Indian consumers are making purchases on these platforms.

This rise in commerce is strongly linked to creators. Fifty-four percent of consumers say influencers impact their decisions; 31% say the impact is significant and 23% have bought something directly because of an influencer recommendation. APAC shows some of the strongest influence levels globally.

Consumers engage most with micro- and macro-influencers, reinforcing a clear truth: in today’s walled gardens, relevance and authenticity drive conversion more than follower scale.

AI-Generated Content is Increasing Brand Suitability Risks

A critical finding: 57% of consumers say they have seen AI-generated content on social media. As AI accelerates content volume, misalignment risks rise, especially in fast-moving feeds.

Content adjacency effects remain strong:

Positive adjacency

• Lifestyle
• Educational
• Music

Negative adjacency

• Horror
• Reality TV
• Gaming

Context matters more than ever, particularly in AI-dense environments.

Ad Adjacency Remains Marketers’ Biggest Hurdle

Consumers broadly accept ads on social platforms, with 76% saying they are comfortable seeing them and 24% saying they are not. But placement still shapes perception. When an ad appears next to content that consumers consider unsuitable, concern increases, with the share of people calling the situation “unsuitable” rising from 24% to 32%. Whether the content is user-generated, algorithmically surfaced or AI-created, adjacency continues to influence how consumers perceive the brand.

This sensitivity connects to marketers’ biggest hurdle: reaching the right audience in the right context. Forty-six percent say their target audience still feels “just out of reach.” Others struggle with trend shifts, cross-channel management, ROAS/ROI, and suitability — pressures that intensify in larger, more regulated organisations.

Effective reach now depends not just on scale but on ensuring the environment strengthens, rather than compromises, the brand.

Marketers’ Confidence is Rising, but Verification Now Determines Success

Marketers’ confidence in walled-garden advertising is rising, but the report makes it clear that verification is essential. Fifty-one percent prioritise audience targeting and verification, 48% rely on post-bid media-quality checks and 42% depend on pre-bid content alignment controls. With AI-driven content and fragmented behaviour reshaping feeds, independent verification provides the neutral view needed for safe planning.

APAC marketers are moving beyond platform self-reporting and turning to independent measurement partners to reduce ambiguity and manage suitability. More than half of APAC marketers use third-party tools for audience targeting and verification, as well as for content alignment and media quality.

Priorities for 2026 are sharpening:

• Contextual intelligence is essential.
• Strategies must reflect demographic behaviour.
• Verification tools are non-negotiable.
• Social commerce continues to grow.
• Influencer marketing requires relevance and precision.

These shifts signal a new phase of digital maturity, led by transparency, measurement and environment-aware planning.

The Bottom Line

Walled gardens are more powerful and more complex than ever. Consumers are spending more time on social media, while also consuming news, shopping and engaging with creators within those platforms. But risks are rising too, driven by AI-generated content, suitability concerns and fragmented behaviours.

For marketers seeking clarity, the path forward is clear: use independent measurement, prioritise brand suitability and align strategies with demographic reality. DV’s report shows that transparency, verification and contextual intelligence will define the next stage of digital advertising maturity.

If the industry navigates these walls with sharper tools, today’s complexity can become tomorrow’s competitive advantage.

Note to the reader: This article has been produced on behalf of the brand by HT Brand Studio and does not have journalistic/editorial involvement of Mint.