As of January 2025, ** percent of social media users in the United States aged 40 to 49 years were users of Facebook, as were ** percent of ** to ** year olds in the country. Overall, ** percent of those aged 18 to 29 years were using Instagram in the U.S. The social media market in the United States The number of social media users in the United States has shown continuous growth in the past years, and it is forecast to continue increasing to reach *** million users in 2029. As of 2023, the social network user penetration in the United States amounted to an impressive ***** percent, meaning that more than nine in ten people in the country engaged with online platforms. Furthermore, Facebook was by far the most popular social media platform in the United States, accounting for ** percent of all social media visits in 2023, followed by Pinterest with **** percent of visits. The global social media landscape As of April 2024, **** billion people were social media users, accounting for **** percent of the world’s population. Northern Europe was the region with the highest social media penetration rate with a reach of **** percent, followed by Western Europe with **** percent and Eastern Asia **** percent. In contrast, less than one in ten people in Middle Africa used social networks. Facebook’s popularity is not limited to the United States: this network leads the market on a global scale, and it accumulated more than three billion monthly active users (MAU) as of 2024, which is far more any other social media platform. YouTube, Instagram, and WhatsApp followed, all with *** billion or more MAU.

As of April 2025, almost 32 percent of global Instagram audiences were aged between 25 and 34 years, and 29.5 percent of users were aged between 25 and 34 years. Overall, 16.3 percent of users belonged to the 35 to 44 year age group. Instagram users With roughly one billion monthly active users, Instagram belongs to the most popular social networks worldwide. The social photo sharing app is especially popular in India and in the United States, which have respectively 413.85 million and 171.7 million Instagram users each. Instagram features One of the most popular features of Instagram is Stories. Users can post photos and videos to their Stories stream and the content is live for others to view for 24 hours before it disappears. In January 2019, the company reported that there were 500 million daily active Instagram Stories users. Instagram Stories directly competes with Snapchat, another photo sharing app that initially became famous due to it’s “vanishing photos” feature. As of the first quarter of 2025, Snapchat had 460 million daily active users.

Social media usage in the United Kingdom reveals a diverse landscape across age groups, with the ***** bracket leading at ** percent of users in 2024. Surprisingly, the ***** age group accounted for ** percent, challenging the notion that social networks are primarily for younger users. This distribution highlights the widespread adoption of social platforms among various demographics, reflecting the evolving digital habits of UK adults. Younger users drive emerging platform adoption While established networks like Facebook maintain a strong presence, younger users are increasingly drawn to newer platforms. TikTok, for instance, has gained significant traction among the ***** age group, with over a quarter of UK smartphone users in this bracket using the app. Advertising trust varies across age groups and mediums The effectiveness of social media advertising differs across age groups, with trust playing a crucial role. Among consumers aged *****, ** percent reported not buying products promoted by influencers, indicating a potential shift in how younger audiences perceive and respond to social media marketing.

36.6% of Twitter users are aged 25-34 and make up the biggest age group on the platform. Only 2.4% of Twitter users are aged 13-17.

Gen Z and Millennials are the biggest social media users of all age groups.

These are the key social media statistics that you need to know.

According to a survey of internet users in Great Britain (GB) conducted between July 20 and 23, over half of respondents aged 18 to 24 reported having used Facebook in this period. The same amount of users in the age cohort reported having used TikTok, while 81 percent used YouTube in the examined time. Overall, Facebook was the most popular social media platform across the older demographics, with 72 percent of users aged between 50 and 64 reporting to having engaged with the Meta-powered social media in the examined period. The 2024 general election in the United Kingdom was held on July 4, and saw parties and politicians make ample usage of social media channels in the weeks before the country casted its vote.

Global ad spend were expected to reach over $134 billion in 2022. This means that it has increased by over 17% yearly.

I’ve compiled a list of the latest social media user statistics showing just how big social media has become and where it’s likely to go in the future.

Which countries spent the most and least time on social media?

As of September 2024, 46 percent of social media users in the United Kingdom were aged between 30 to 49 years. Overall, one-quarter of social network users in the UK were aged 18 to 29 years. Over 20 percent of social media users in the UK stated that Facebook was their favorite social media platform.

The results might surprise you when looking at internet users that are active on social media in each country.

80% of parents say that their children under the age of 11 watch YouTube regularly.

Facebook is fast approaching 3 billion monthly active users. That’s about 36% of the world’s entire population that log in and use Facebook at least once a month.

The average Twitter user spends 5.1 hours per month on the platform.

As of February 2024, over a third of online users worldwide were aged between 25 and 34 years. Website visitors in this age bracket constituted the biggest group of online users worldwide. Also, 19 percent of global online users were aged 18 to 24 years. The global digital population aged 65 or older represented approximately 4.2 percent of all internet users worldwide. Social media usage and Meta Social media is a major driver of internet use, with a global penetration rate of 62.2 percent. On average, internet users spend 143 minutes per day on social media, highlighting its significant impact on daily online activities. The usage of social media is mostly dominated by Meta platforms, which own four of the largest social media platforms. Facebook leads the ranking with over three billion active users, followed by Instagram and WhatsApp. Instagram's global popularity Meta’s social video platform, Instagram, had long been one of the most engaging social media platforms worldwide, and it was projected to reach 1.44 billion monthly active users. Instagram was particularly favored by users aged 18 to 34, thanks to its ability to offer a variety of interactive content, from images and carousels. This diverse range of content types was a key factor in its popularity among its young user base.

The most significant cohorts of users on Instagram are aged 18 – 24.

56.8% of the world’s total population is active on social media.

TikTok comes in 6th position in a list of the world’s most-used social media sites today.

There are more male LinkedIn users than females – although it is pretty balanced.