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.

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.

A study held in 2025 revealed that ** percent of X (formerly known as Twitter) users regularly used X for news. By contrast, users of major platforms Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube were less inclined to get their news from those sites, though usage of TikTok for news increased to ** percent in 2025 compared to 2020, with the platform especially popular among younger audiences.

Despite a tumultuous 2018, Facebook is still the top social network in the United States, with 169.76 million mobile users accessing the Facebook app in September 2019. The company’s other properties Instagram and Facebook Messenger ranked second and third with 121 and 106 million users respectively. Cambridge Analytica scandal 2018 The biggest social media company in the world had a difficult 2018. The platform has long been accused of enabling the spread of fake news during the 2016 election and beyond. One of the first and biggest negative Facebook stories of 2018 was the Cambridge Analytica scandal, which unfolded from March 2018. The Guardian, The Observer, and The New York Times simultaneously reported on political data firm Cambridge Analytica harvesting data of millions of Facebook users worldwide without their knowledge before the 2016 election, which led to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg having to testify before Congress in April 2018. Facebook usage behavior changes Due to the revelations about Facebook and the company’s treatment of private user data, many U.S. users are planning to use the social network much less and to be much more careful about what they post . During an April 2018 survey, only 20 percent of respondents stated that their Facebook usage has not changed, and they were planning on continuing to use the social platform as much as they always had in the past.

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.

** percent of U.S. respondents answer our survey on "Most used social media platforms by type" with "Social networks (e.g., Facebook)". The survey was conducted in 2023, among 60,267 consumers. Find this and more survey data on most used social media platforms by type in our Consumer Insights tool. Filter by countless demographics, drill down to your own, hand-tailored target audience, and compare results across countries worldwide.

As of February 2021, YouTube had a global penetration rate of 62 percent, followed closely by Meta's Facebook, with 61 percent. Overall, instant messaging service WhatsApp had a global penetration rate of 52 percent. Additionally, 12 percent of people used TikTok, and one in ten people around the world use messaging service Telegram.

This statistic gives information on the most popular social media sites used by teenage and young adult internet users in the United States as of the third quarter of 2020. During the survey period, it was found that ** percent of responding internet users aged 15 to 25 years used social photo sharing app Instagram.

Despite Snapchat's dominance, Facebook continues to be the more widely used social networking site used by teenagers and young adults7. A total of ** percent of respondents currently use Facebook, compared to ** percent of respondents who stated that they used Snapchat. Yet when teens, whose average age was **, rated their most important social network, Snapchat, Instagram, and Twitter where given more important ratings than Facebook. These social networks are being increasingly visited via mobile devices.

As of March 2024, *************** was the most popular social media platform in Norway, with ** percent of social network users in the country using the service. Overall, Instagram and Snapchat were used by ** percent and ** percent of the online population, respectively. YouTube was also popular, with ** percent of respondents stating that they used the service. Moreover, ***** percent of internet users in Norway were using mobile-first photo platform BeReal.

As of March 2023, ** percent of online users in Norway used social networks, such as Facebook and Instagram, and ** percent used media sharing platforms such as Snapchat and YouTube. Instant messaging services were also widely used in Norway, with a reach of almost ** percent. Additionally, one in five internet users accessed business networks, like LinkedIn. Social networks were also the most popular type of platform in Denmark.

As of the third quarter of 2024, WhatsApp and Facebook were the most used social media platforms in Mexico, reaching **** percent and **** percent of the country's online audiences. Instagram and TikTok followed, being used by **** percent and **** percent of Mexican internet users each. Messenger was accessed by around ****, while X, Telegram, and Pinterest accounted for smaller shares.

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.

The relevance of social media in today’s society is unprecedented, with user penetration reaching high values globally, but especially in Europe. Portugal is no exception, and, in 2024, WhatsApp was the most used social media platform, chosen by over 90 percent of internet users. Close behind was Instagram, selected by a rate of 82.4 percent of respondents. Social media platforms such as TikTok and Pinterest were used by a similar ratio of respondents, between 49 and 40 percent. Threads, on the other hand, was the platform with the lowest usage rate, as it was used by only 11 percent of the online population. In Portugal, social media is mostly for young people and women Social media use is common to all age groups, which exemplifies the democratization of these online platforms. Nevertheless, it is especially between the ages of 25 and 34 that social network penetration is the highest, followed by the age range between 18 and 24 years. Instagram, in particular, is very much used by the youngest generations, and it is women that record the highest usage shares, among all age groups. The Portuguese spend hours on social media daily, especially exchanging messages In Portugal, using social media is among the most time-consuming media activities performed daily. In 2024, the Portuguese spent on average 2 hours and 18 minutes using these social platforms, more than listening to music or reading news online. They mostly dedicated their time on social media sending private messages, and liking and commenting on posts by other users. Posting pictures or videos was performed by less than a half of the population in Portugal, which demonstrates that social platforms are mostly used to communicate with acquaintances.

When asked which social network they were most likely to shop on, ***percent of global online shoppers named Facebook in 2025. Also operated by Meta (formerly Facebook, Inc.), Instagram ranked second, with ***percent of respondents choosing it as the most likely to be used for this type of activity.

According to a survey about internet usage in Saudi Arabia, WhatsApp was the most used social media platform, with **** percent of internet users reporting using it as of the third quarter of 2024. In comparison, Instagram listed second in terms of usage, with **** percent. Saudi Arabia, happier with social media The social media landscape in Saudi Arabia can be characterized by the popularity of WhatsApp, the growing number of social media users, the dominance of Facebook in web traffic referrals, and the high percentage of internet users who watch online video content. Given the latter, it should come as no surprise that potential ad reach on social media is led by platforms like YouTube and TikTok. Consumers primarily use the platforms to keep in touch with their loved ones or to make the most out of their spare time. The majority of the social media users in Saudi Arabia have reported positive sentiments by saying that social media makes them happier. Social media and internet freedom Saudi Arabia has a high internet penetration rate and many young, active social media users. Nevertheless, Saudi Arabia ranks relatively low when it comes to internet freedom. However, internet users in the kingdom generally support necessary social media restrictions.

More than three-quarters of the Russian online population aged 16 years and older used the Telegram messenger, thus making it the most-used social media platform among those listed in the ranking. WhatsApp ranked second, with a penetration rate of nearly 74 percent, followed by VK and TikTok. Social media usage in Russia In 2024, the daily time spent on social media in Russia was recorded at roughly two hours and 20 minutes per user on average. After Facebook, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter) were blocked in Russia at the end of February and the beginning of March 2022, a significant increase in activity was recorded on VK and Telegram. For example, the daily audience on VK increased by almost nine percent, while the number of friends requests and feed views grew by 250 percent and 25 percent, respectively. YouTube From the global perspective, YouTube ranked second after Facebook, which remained the leading social media platform with about three billion active users. The U.S.-based channel MrBeast had the highest number of subscribers on YouTube with around 343 million as of January 2025. India-based T-Series followed with 284 million subscribers as of that month.

This statistic presents the social network membership reach among the online population in the United States. During the February 2017 survey, 27 percent of U.S. internet users accessed the social image sharing platform Pinterest. Facebook was ranked first with a 78 percent usage rate.

WhatsApp was the most popular social media platform in Finland in 2020. ** percent of the respondents reported in a survey that they use WhatsApp, followed by ** percent who use Facebook, and ** percent who use YouTube. Only *** percent of the survey respondents in Finland used the microblogging and social networking website Tumblr. The most common reason to use Facebook in 2019 was to keep contact with friends and family, according to ** percent of Finns. Who is using social media? A survey investigated how often Finns used social networking sites in 2019. ** percent of the surveyed men and ** percent of the surveyed women had followed a social networking site in the past three months. In contrast, ** percent of the men and ** percent of the women said that they were following social media platforms several times a day. Over ** percent of Finns followed social media at least weekly that year. ** percent of the youngest respondents to the survey, aged between 16 and 24 years, were weekly social media users. Finns and social networking over the years A sequence of surveys was conducted between 2011 and 2019, regarding social media participation among Finns. ** percent of all respondents in 2011, and ** percent of all respondents in 2019 used social networks in Finland.

As of the third quarter of 2024, WhatsApp was the most used social media platform in Brazil for 93.7 percent of the country's online audience. Instagram and Facebook followed, each being used by 92 and 81.5 percent of the Brazilian internet users. TikTok and Telegram were accessed by around 63.9 and 57.1 percent of users, while Facebook Messenger, Pinterest, Kuaishou, and LinkedIn accounted for smaller shares.

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