According to a global survey conducted in 2021, respondents who belonged to Generation Z reported spending on average three hours per day on social media. Overall, Millennials stated that they spent 2.25 hours per day on online social platforms. Those belonging to the Baby boomer generation spent an average one hour on social media, daily.

According to a survey of users in aged between 15 and 24 conducted in the United Kingdom in August 2023, respondents spent approximately *** minutes daily engaging with TikTok. The most popular social media platforms was Instagram, with a reach of approximately ** percent across the examined demographic, despite users engaging with the platform for less than ** minutes per day on average.

In August 2022, social media users aged between 18 and 24 years in the United States spent over ***** minutes on average watching content on YouTube. TikTok was the second most used platform for Gen Z users in the U.S., generating *** minutes on average in engagement during the examined month. Instagram ranked third, with *** minutes spent by Gen Z users on the popular photo and video-sharing platform.

Picture a high school hallway during lunch break. Heads down, thumbs scrolling, earbuds in. This isn’t boredom, it’s engagement. For Generation Z, social media isn’t just a way to stay connected; it’s how they navigate identity, find entertainment, and even make purchasing decisions. Born between 1997 and 2012, Gen Z...

According to a 2022 online survey conducted in the United States, ** percent of Generation Z respondents stated they used social media for **** or more hours per day. Overall, just **** percent of respondents said they used it for less than *** hour daily, and *** percent reported they did not use social media.

It starts with a familiar flick of the thumb. A notification pops up during breakfast, a reel plays in the background while brushing teeth, and before we know it, half the morning has disappeared into a scroll. This isn’t just anecdotal, it’s a digital behavior woven into the daily routine...

According to a survey of social media users aged between 16 and 24 years in the United Kingdom, ** percent of respondents reported spending between one and two hours per day using TikTok, while ** percent reported spending between three and four hours per day on the social video app. Video platform ******* commanded the second highest engagement in terms of time spent, with ** percent of respondents reporting spending between one and two hours on the platform, and ** percent of respondents reporting spending five or more hours on YouTube daily. Approximately *** in ** respondents reported spending ** minutes or less daily engaging with the social and photo app BeReal.

As of February 2025, the average daily social media usage of internet users worldwide amounted to 141 minutes per day, down from 143 minutes in the previous year. Currently, the country with the most time spent on social media per day is Brazil, with online users spending an average of 3 hours and 49 minutes on social media each day. In comparison, the daily time spent with social media in the U.S. was just 2 hours and 16 minutes. Global social media usage Currently, the global social network penetration rate is 62.3 percent. Northern Europe had an 81.7 percent social media penetration rate, topping the ranking of global social media usage by region. Eastern and Middle Africa closed the ranking with 10.1 and 9.6 percent usage reach, respectively. People access social media for a variety of reasons. Users like to find funny or entertaining content and enjoy sharing photos and videos with friends, but mainly use social media to stay in touch with current events and friends. Global impact of social media Social media has a wide-reaching and significant impact on not only online activities but also offline behavior and life in general. During a global online user survey in February 2019, a significant share of respondents stated that social media had increased their access to information, ease of communication, and freedom of expression. On the flip side, respondents also felt that social media had worsened their personal privacy, increased polarization in politics, and heightened everyday distractions.

According to a survey conducted in June 2023, adults in the United States spent more time per day on TikTok than on any other leading social media platform. Overall, respondents reported spending an average of 53.8 minutes per day on the social video app. YouTube and Twitter ranked second and third, each with an average of 48 minutes and 34 minutes spent on the platforms per day, respectively.

U.S. teens have time for certain platforms

Different social media platforms attract different demographics, with teenagers in the United States being more drawn to TikTok and YouTube over Facebook. In 2023, teenagers in the United States spent an average of almost two hours on YouTube and 1.5 hours on TikTok every day, 1451257 while Facebook was used by teens for less than half an hour per day. Furthermore, social media habits differ between genders, as teen girls were more likely to spend more time than boys on Instagram.

TikTok is king for teens and Gen Z

Although spending 1.5 hours on the Generation Z app of choice may sound rather modest, some TikTok users devote much more of their time to the platform . According to a survey conducted in the United States in 2022, around eight percent of teenagers in the United States spent over five hours a day on TikTok. 1417187 whereas another 22 percent reported spending between two and three hours daily on the video-based app.

In 2008, the average human attention span was 12 seconds. Fast forward to 2025, and many studies suggest it's now hovering around 8 seconds, shorter than that of a goldfish. It’s no coincidence that during this same period, social media platforms surged to dominate how we consume content. Whether you're...

How much time do people spend on social media?

              As of 2024, the average daily social media usage of internet users worldwide amounted to 143 minutes per day, down from 151 minutes in the previous year. Currently, the country with the most time spent on social media per day is Brazil, with online users spending an average of three hours and 49 minutes on social media each day. In comparison, the daily time spent with social media in
              the U.S. was just two hours and 16 minutes. Global social media usageCurrently, the global social network penetration rate is 62.3 percent. Northern Europe had an 81.7 percent social media penetration rate, topping the ranking of global social media usage by region. Eastern and Middle Africa closed the ranking with 10.1 and 9.6 percent usage reach, respectively.
              People access social media for a variety of reasons. Users like to find funny or entertaining content and enjoy sharing photos and videos with friends, but mainly use social media to stay in touch with current events friends. Global impact of social mediaSocial media has a wide-reaching and significant impact on not only online activities but also offline behavior and life in general.
              During a global online user survey in February 2019, a significant share of respondents stated that social media had increased their access to information, ease of communication, and freedom of expression. On the flip side, respondents also felt that social media had worsened their personal privacy, increased a polarization in politics and heightened everyday distractions.

As of September 2024 in the United Kingdom, 98 percent of Generation Z, those born between 1995 and 2012, were using social media. The same was true for 97 percent of millennials in the country. Overall, 92 percent of Gen X were on social networks, as were 86 percent of Baby boomers.

In February 2024, adults in the United States aged between 18 and 24, spent 186 minutes per day engaging with social media platforms. In comparison, respondents aged 65 and older dedicated approximately 102 minutes of their day to social media. TikTok was the most engaging social media platform for U.S. consumers aged between 18 and 24 years. The popular video was also the most engaging among users aged 35 and 54 years, commanding between 45 and 50 minutes of users' daily attention. Respondents aged between 55 and 65, reported to spending between 45 minutes daily on Facebook.

Snapchat has a reach into 75% of the millenial and Gen Z audience.

Gen Z's media consumption habits in the United States reveal a strong preference for digital and on-demand content. A 2023 survey found that nearly half of Gen Z respondents watch video streaming services daily, with ** percent streaming music and ** percent playing video games. Digital platforms are undeniably at the core of younger audiences’ media diet. Online media consumption leads to higher ad acceptance The prevalence of streaming services in Gen Z's daily routine is complimented by their receptiveness to advertisements on these platforms. Approximately ** percent of Gen Z adults reported being open to ads on streaming TV – a result significantly higher than that for ads on traditional cable and broadcast TV. This trend aligns with the finding that ** percent of Gen Z consumers engage with ad-supported video streaming services, indicating a willingness to trade ad exposure for content access. Multiplatform engagement and customization Gen Z's media consumption extends beyond passive viewing, with a focus on personalization and multiplatform engagement. The average Gen Z consumer uses over *** video streaming platforms to access TV shows and movies, demonstrating a diverse content appetite across a number of streaming services. Additionally, ** percent prefer watching content on smartphones, highlighting the popularity of on-the-go video viewing behavior. Gen Z also shows a higher propensity for using subtitles or closed captions when watching shows or movies compared to older generations, which indicates a need for customizable tools to enhance the viewing experiences.

As of September 2023, it was found that 42 percent of adults in the United States aged between 18 and 29 years used X (formerly Twitter). This age group was the microblogging service’s biggest audience in the United States, followed by a 27 percent usage reach among 30 to 49-year-olds. X users in the United StatesAs of the first quarter of 2019, Twitter had 68 million monthly active users in the United States. In the fourth quarter of 2020, the number of monetizable daily active Twitter users in the country amounted to 37 million. As of January 2021, 61.6 percent of U.S. Twitter audiences were male and 38.4 percent were female. According to a February 2019 survey of social media users in the United States, Twitter was the most popular social network for news consumption. X usage in the United StatesTwitter is popular among users looking to catch up and chime in on current and trending topics and live-tweet about events and media. Live-tweeting television series or sporting events is a popular user activity and in 2018, the most popular television series based on average number of Twitter interactions per episode was ABC’s ‘The Bachelor’. In terms of global sporting events, it does not get much bigger than the Olympic Games. During the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang 2018, Twitter accounted for 50 percent of stakeholder posts during the Winter.

In the third quarter of 2024, on average, Vietnamese internet users spent * hours and ** minutes using social media on all devices. In that year, Facebook was the leading active social media apps in the country.

Representatives of Generation Z spent nearly **** hours on social media daily in Norway, as of 2019. Survey respondents from the older generations were spending less time on social media, and the Matures (aged 72 years or older) were spending just over an hour on average.

According to data collected during the first quarter of 2020, adults aged 18 to 34 spent more time browsing the web via smartphone than any other age group in the United States. Overall media consumption was highest among adults aged 50 to 64 during that period. Traditional media Traditional media is gradually losing its appeal to younger, more tech-savvy generations. While television consumption is ******* among adults who have not grown up with the internet or other digital channels, young Millennials and Gen Z tend to prefer non-linear forms of news and entertainment. Data on the median age of media users in the U.S. showed that the average age of TV viewers and print magazine readers was higher than that of internet users in 2020, and similar generational trends can be observed in many digitally developed markets globally. Impact of COVID-19 on media usage The onset of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic boosted media consumption across the United States and worldwide in 2020. While the average time spent with traditional media ********* for the first time in over a decade, digital media consumption saw a particularly impressive spike that year due to remote working and schooling setups. In the following years, the gap between traditional and digital media consumption is expected to widen even further.

Social media usage in Canada has seen a notable shift, with the average time spent on platforms decreasing to *** hour and ** minutes in early 2024, down from *** hours and **** minutes in 2023. Platform preferences and demographics Facebook Messenger remains the most popular messaging app among Canadian consumers, while YouTube has overtaken Facebook as the leading social media platform for news consumption. In 2024, ** percent of Canadians surveyed reported using YouTube weekly for news updates. Meta's social media platforms, including Facebook, are particularly popular with users aged 25 to 34, who make up the largest share of the company's audience in Canada. This age group accounts for approximately one-quarter of Facebook users in the country. Increasing social media usage Facebook currently has around **** million users in Canada, a number expected to grow to over **** million by 2029. This growth aligns with the overall trend of increasing social media adoption in the country, despite the recent decrease in average daily usage time.