Market leader Facebook was the first social network to surpass one billion registered accounts and currently sits at more than three billion monthly active users. Meta Platforms owns four of the biggest social media platforms, all with more than one billion monthly active users each: Facebook (core platform), WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram. In the third quarter of 2023, Facebook reported around four billion monthly core Family product users. The United States and China account for the most high-profile social platforms Most top-ranked social networks with more than 100 million users originated in the United States, but services like Chinese social networks WeChat, QQ, or video-sharing app Douyin have also garnered mainstream appeal in their respective regions due to local context and content. Douyin’s popularity has led to the platform releasing an international version of its network, TikTok. How many people use social media? The leading social networks are usually available in multiple languages and enable users to connect with friends or people across geographical, political, or economic borders. In 2025, social networking sites are estimated to reach 5.44 billion users, and these figures are still expected to grow as mobile device usage and mobile social networks increasingly gain traction in previously underserved markets.

With an **** percent user share in 2022, Whatsapp was the most popular social media platform in Saudi Arabia. For that year, the total number of social media users in the country was approximately **** million.  Social media usage in Saudi Arabia In Saudi Arabia, WhatsApp was the most popular social media platform, followed by Instagram and Twitter. The number of WhatsApp users in Saudi Arabia is expected to grow steadily between 2023 and 2028. After the fifth consecutive year of growth, the WhatsApp user base is expected to reach ***** million users, a new high in 2028. Notably, the number of WhatsApp users has been steadily increasing in recent years. In 2022, the primary reason for using social media in Saudi Arabia was to stay in touch with friends and family, followed by filling spare time.   Social media usage during Ramadan       In 2022, Muslim respondents in Saudi Arabia indicated they used social media to learn about new things they were interested in and to send greetings during Ramadan. During Ramadan, a lower percentage fewer respondents used social media to watch live videos by celebrities and publishers. Furthermore, during the same year, Muslim respondents in Saudi Arabia reported using social media to find shopping deals and promotions during Ramadan. In comparison, a lower proportion of respondents used social media to seek shopping advice from others during Ramadan.

Over the five years through 2025-26, industry revenue is forecast to expand at a compound annual rate of 20.3% to reach £12.5 billion. Social media platforms are integral to people's lives, offering ways to communicate, create and view content and share information. According to Ofcom, approximately 89% of UK internet users in 2023 used social media apps or sites. Teenagers and young adults are the biggest users. Advertising is the primary revenue source for social media platforms, although subscription-based services are gaining momentum as platforms seek to diversify their incomes. TikTok is the success story of the past five years, becoming the most downloaded app between 2020 and 2022, according to Apptopia. The short-form video platform has over 30 million monthly users in the UK in 2025. After Musk's takeover, X, formerly known as Twitter, adjusted its content moderation and allowed previously banned accounts to return. As a result, over 600 advertisers pulled their ads from the site because of fears their brand may be associated with malcontent. In response to falling ad revenue, X has introduced a subscription-based service which enables users to verify themselves and boosts the number of people who view their tweets. Meta-owned Facebook and Instagram have responded by introducing a similar service. In 2025, more social media platforms are using AI to boost user engagement. This improves click-through rates and drives higher advertising revenue. Industry revenue is expected to grow by 6.3% in 2025-26. Over the five years through 2030-31, social media platforms' revenue is projected to climb at an estimated 9.2% to reach £19.4 billion. Regulations relating to how data is collected, stored, and shared will force advertisers and platforms to rethink how they can target their desired demographics. The tightening of regulations will raise industry compliance costs, weighing on profit margin. Older age groups present a new revenue opportunity for social media platforms if they can bridge the gap between passive TV consumption and interactive digital engagement. Augmented Reality (AR) technology will move beyond filters to become standard for immersive product trials, interactive ads, and virtual meetups

In March 2025, ******** accounted for ** percent of all social media site visits in the United States, confirming its position as the leading social media website by far. Other social media platforms, despite their popularity, had to make do with smaller shares of visits across desktop, mobile, and tablet devices combined. ********* ranked second with ***** percent of all U.S. social media site visits, while X (previously Twitter) accounted for ***** percent of the total visits in the country. Additionally, the U.S. is home to the third largest social media audience worldwide. Facebook: mobile vs desktop usage At the beginning of 2022, around ** percent of Facebook users across the globe were using the platform’s social networking services exclusively via mobile phone, while only *** percent reported using their desktop or laptop devices. In September 2022, three Facebook Inc. products occupied some of the leading positions as most downloaded social networking apps on the Apple App Store in the United States. WhatsApp’s messaging platform ranked second with more than *** million downloads, while Facebook and the instant-messaging service Messenger followed ranking third and fifth with *** million and **** million downloads respectively. Social media evolution Between 2012 and 2024, the daily time spent on social networks worldwide experienced an almost constant increase, with users reaching an average of *** minutes per day in 2023, with a decrease to *** daily minutes of engagement in 2024. However, users’ favorite platforms have changed since 2019, and the power balance appears to be shifting further from Facebook’s market dominance. Not only Facebook’s user growth rate is estimated to slow down in the next years, but users belonging to Generation Z appear to prefer video-first social platforms like Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube.

According to a survey on social media usage in Indonesia conducted in February 2022, Facebook was the most used social media platform among Indonesian users, as stated by approximately **** percent of respondents. Instagram came in second place, with almost ** percent of respondents using the platform. Indonesia’s digital environment Indonesia is one of the leading mobile-first nations in Asia, boasting more than *** million smartphone users as of 2022. As mobile internet penetration grows across the country, the demand for affordable data prices, greater coverage, and improved quality of service is also increasing. In 2021, 5G mobile technology was launched and gradually introduced in Indonesia. Telkomsel was the first Indonesian internet provider to have rolled out commercial 5G services in some areas of the country, followed by Indosat (IOH) and XL. These operators are now working to expand their 5G data service coverage across the country. Social media as a marketing tool Social media is no longer limited to personal use; many businesses have incorporated social media into their business operations. Having an influencer marketing or social commerce strategy is now considered key in a country with an average daily time spent on social media reaching up to * hours and ** minutes. A recent survey found that around ** percent of social media users in Indonesia would search for more information on the brand or product being endorsed when exposed to influencer marketing content.

How many people use social media? Social media usage is one of the most popular online activities. In 2025, over *** billion people were estimated to be using social media worldwide, a number projected to increase to over *** billion in 2030. Who uses social media? Social networking is one of the most popular digital activities worldwide, and it is no surprise that social networking penetration across all regions is constantly increasing. As of January 2023, the global social media usage rate stood at ** percent. This figure is anticipated to grow as less developed digital markets catch up with other regions when it comes to infrastructure development and the availability of cheap mobile devices. In fact, most of social media’s global growth is driven by the increasing usage of mobile devices. The mobile-first market of Eastern Asia topped the global ranking of mobile social networking penetration, followed by established digital powerhouses such as the Americas and Northern Europe. How much time do people spend on social media? Social media is an integral part of daily internet usage. On average, internet users spend *** minutes per day on social media and messaging apps, an increase of ** minutes since 2015. On average, internet users in Latin America had the highest average time spent per day on social media. What are the most popular social media platforms? Market leader Facebook was the first social network to surpass *** billion registered accounts and currently boasts approximately *** billion monthly active users, making it the most popular social network worldwide. In June 2023, the top social media apps in the Apple App Store included mobile messaging apps WhatsApp and Telegram Messenger, as well as the ever-popular app version of Facebook.

In 2022, Instagram was the most popular social media platform among Asian influencers, with more than ** percent of influencers in the region using the platform. YouTube ranked second, after having been the most popular platform among influencers in Asia in 2020 and 2021.

A survey conducted in August 2022 among gamers in the United States found that approximately six in 10 respondents used YouTube in relation to gaming or gaming content. Facebook was the second most popular social media platform to use in regard to gaming content or activities. VoIP and communication channel Discord was reportedly used by around 40 percent of respondents, while Reddit was used by 23 percent of respondents.

The report provides a snapshot of the social media usage trends amongst online Canadian adults based on an online survey of 1500 participants. Canada continues to be one of the most connected countries in the world. An overwhelming majority of online Canadian adults (94%) have an account on at least one social media platform. However, the 2022 survey results show that the COVID-19 pandemic has ushered in some changes in how and where Canadians are spending their time on social media. Dominant platforms such as Facebook, messaging apps and YouTube are still on top but are losing ground to newer platforms such as TikTok and more niche platforms such as Reddit and Twitch.

The most popular social networking sites among children were YouTube and Facebook in Poland in 2022. TikTok was used by ** percent of minors, and Instagram by ** percent.

During a 2025 survey among marketers worldwide, around 83 percent reported using Facebook for marketing purposes. Instagram and LinkedIn followed, respectively mentioned by 78 and 69 percent of the respondents. The global social media marketing segment According to the same study, 60 percent of responding marketers intended to increase their organic use of YouTube for marketing purposes throughout that year. LinkedIn and Instagram followed with similar shares, rounding up the top three social media platforms attracting a planned growth in organic use among global marketers in 2025. Their main driver is increasing brand exposure and traffic, which led the ranking of benefits of social media marketing worldwide. Social media for B2B marketing Social media platform adoption rates among business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) marketers vary according to each subsegment's focus. While B2C professionals prioritize Facebook and Instagram, both run by Meta, Inc., due to their popularity among online audiences, B2B marketers concentrate their endeavors on Microsoft-owned LinkedIn due to its goal to connect people and companies in a corporate context.

During a 2022 survey carried out in the United Kingdom, Instagram and Facebook emerged neck-to-neck as the most popular social media platforms that the responding B2C marketers use for marketing with a share of mentions of ***** percent and ***** percent, respectively. At a share of **** percent, YouTube came in third position among the respondents.

During a July 2022 survey among B2B marketers who used social media platforms for paid content promotion worldwide, ** percent of respondents stated that they made use of LinkedIn over the previous 12 months. Facebook was ranked second with ** percent of respondents, which was a drop of ** percentage points, compared to 2021, when ** percent stated using it.

According to a survey on influencer marketing conducted in Indonesia, Instagram was the leading social media platform for influencer marketing campaigns with a share of almost ** percent as of October 2022. Meanwhile, Facebook accounted for the least share with around *** percent.

In 2024, Meta Platforms had a total annual revenue of over ****billion U.S. dollars, up from *** billion in 2022. LinkedIn reported its highest annual revenue to date, generating over ***billion USD, whilst Snapchat reported an annual revenue of *** billion USD.

In 2022, the most popular social media platform used by streamers in Poland was Discord.

A survey conducted in August 2022 among gamers in the United States found that approximately 56 percent of respondents aged between 16 and 29 years used YouTube to consume content related to gaming or engage in video gaming activities. Discord was the second most popular social media platform among users in this demographic, followed by the social video platform TikTok. In comparison, Facebook was the most popular social media platform in relation to gaming among users aged between 30 and 49 years, with 65 percent of respondents reporting using the platform for gaming-related activities and content consumption.

According to a study conducted in 2022, Instagram was the most popular social media platform for users to directly purchase fashion items on, with ** percent of respondents reporting using the app for this purpose. Facebook and YouTube ranked second, both reported by ** percent of respondents.

With an **** percent share of internet users in the United Arab Emirates in 2022, YouTube was the most popular social media platform. For that year, the total number of active social media users in the country was approximately **** million.  Social media usage in the UAE The number of social media users in the United Arab Emirates is expected to grow steadily between 2023 and 2028. According to this forecast, the social media user base in the UAE will have increased for the fifth consecutive year in 2028. Notably, the number of social media users has been steadily increasing in recent years, as social networking has become one of the most popular digital activities worldwide. In 2022, the primary reason for using social media in the UAE was to communicate with friends and family, followed by passing the time and reading news stories. In comparison, a lower proportion of respondents indicated that they use social media for live streaming and making new contacts. Social media advertising worldwide   Social media advertising has become one of the most popular digital marketing tools. In 2021, the majority of respondents in India perceived to be somewhat or very trustworthy; ** percent of consumers surveyed in the UAE felt the same way. In comparison, only a small proportion of UK respondents shared the same view on social media advertising at the time. In 2022, most social media advertising audiences in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) were between the ages of ** and **, with approximately ** percent being males.

A report held in June 2022 among Gen Z and millennials in the United States found that these consumers, aged 16 to 40 years old, were using Facebook most often, with ** percent saying they did so daily or more. LinkedIn, Twitch, and Nextdoor were the least used social sites for news, whereas YouTube and Instagram were used almost as often as Facebook in this respect.