How many people use social media?

              Social media usage is one of the most popular online activities. In 2024, over five billion people were using social media worldwide, a number projected to increase to over six billion in 2028.

              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 59 percent. This figure is anticipated to grow as lesser 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. Mobile-first market 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 151 minutes per day on social media and messaging apps, an increase of 40 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 one billion registered accounts and currently boasts approximately 2.9 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.

During a 2024 survey among marketers worldwide, around 86 percent reported using Facebook for marketing purposes. Instagram and LinkedIn followed, respectively mentioned by 79 and 65 percent of the respondents.

              The global social media marketing segment

              According to the same study, 59 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 2024. 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.

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

The graph presents information on the share of marketers indicating their brands presence on selected social media in Canada in 2015. When asked on which social media their brands were present that year, 93 percent of responding marketers indicated having a Facebook account and 78 percent said their brand was present on Twitter. Social media marketing in Canada - additional information It is expected that, by the end of 2017, social media ad spend will reach nearly 835 million Canadian dollars. According to recent calculations, this figure will account for 15.2 percent of the country’s total digital advertising expenditures forecasted for that year. In terms of audience reach, social network penetration is predicted to grow from 69 percent in 2015 to 72 percent by the end of 2018. Sources expect a steady growth in user numbers as well, estimating that there will be more than 20 million social media users in Canada by 2018 – up from 18.9 million in 2015. Among North American B2C marketers, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube were the three social media platforms with the highest usage rates in 2015. In line with these results, 93 percent of Canadian brands indicated having a Facebook profile, followed by 78 percent with Twitter account, and 68 percent with a YouTube channel. A 2014 study pinpointed reasons why Canadian companies chose social media over traditional media marketing. The executives surveyed primarily cited better targeting, wider market reach, and real time updates as the key benefits to social network marketing. From the customer point of view, brand social media pages were mostly visited to access attractive deal and sales, research products before purchasing, and explore new product offers. The opportunity to participate in competitions was also one of the reasons why shoppers visited brands’ social accounts in 2014. All in all, it was found that the younger generations in Canada were more prone to making purchases via sponsored links on social networks. More than a fourth of 18 to 24 year old digital buyers in the country admitted that following a sponsored link on social media led them to buy products or services online. The same was true for 21 percent of 18-34 year old digital shoppers.

During a January 2024 global survey among marketers, nearly 60 percent reported plans to increase their organic use of YouTube for marketing purposes in the following 12 months. LinkedIn and Instagram followed, respectively mentioned by 57 and 56 percent of the respondents intending to use them more. According to the same survey, Facebook was the most important social media platform for marketers worldwide.

During a 2024 survey among marketers worldwide, approximately 83 percent selected increased exposure as a benefit of social media marketing. Increased traffic followed, mentioned by 73 percent of the respondents, while 65 percent cited generated leads.

              The multibillion-dollar social media ad industry

              Between 2019 – the last year before the pandemic – and 2024, global social media advertising spending skyrocketed by 140 percent, surpassing an estimated 230 billion U.S. dollars in the latter year. That figure was forecast to increase by nearly 50 percent by the end of the decade, exceeding 345 billion dollars in 2029. As of 2024, the social media networks with the most monthly active users were Facebook, with over three billion, and YouTube, with more than 2.5 billion.

              Pros and cons of GenAI for social media marketing

              According to another 2024 survey, generative artificial intelligence's (GenAI) leading benefits for social media marketing according to professionals worldwide included increased efficiency and easier idea generation. The third place was a tie between increased content production and enhanced creativity. All those advantages were cited by between 33 and 38 percent of the interviewees. As for GenAI's top challenges for global social media marketing,
              maintaining authenticity and the value of human creativity ranked first, mentioned by 43 and 40 percent of the respondents, respectively. Another 35 percent deemed ensuring the content resonates as an obstacle.

The global social media penetration rate in was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2028 by in total 11.6 (+18.19 percent). After the ninth consecutive increasing year, the penetration rate is estimated to reach 75.31 and therefore a new peak in 2028. Notably, the social media penetration rate of was continuously increasing over the past years.

Spending on online advertising has surged, and it has become the preferred advertising medium over traditional channels like TV and print. This has been driven by a significant shift in consumer behaviour towards the internet, social media and online shopping, which consumers became more accustomed to during the pandemic. Advertising agencies are navigating increasing privacy concerns and stricter regulations, highlighted by the $60.0 million fine against Google for misleading data practices. Profitability has expanded as companies adopt artificial intelligence, with more than one-quarter of Google's code now being AI-generated and major companies like Facebook reducing labour costs through significant workforce cuts. Industrywide revenue has been climbing at an annualised 8.2% over the past five years and is expected to total $17.1 billion in 2024-25, when revenue will climb by 5.7%. The Online Advertising industry exhibits high market share concentration because of the substantial barriers to entry and the dominance of major players Google and Facebook. Google leads the search engine market, controlling around 95%, largely because it is the default search engine on popular browsers like Chrome and Safari. Access to large user volumes is crucial for online advertisers, as it encourages companies to increase spending on online ads. Extensive user data is also essential for training algorithms to deliver targeted advertising, enabling firms like Google, REA Group and Facebook Australia to charge higher premiums for their services. This data advantage, international firms' larger budgets and fewer regulatory constraints make it challenging for domestic companies to compete. The Online Advertising industry is on track to continue expanding, although at slower rates. Privacy concerns and stricter data usage regulations are set to limit advertisers' access to consumer data, especially with major web browsers' phasing out of third-party cookies. This will compel advertisers to innovate and emphasise first-party data by creating engaging, interactive experiences to encourage users to share information willingly. Adopting artificial intelligence technologies will enable advertisers to optimise ad placements, better understand user behaviour and reduce labour dependence. Industry revenue is forecast to expand at an annualised 6.8% through 2029-30 to total $23.8 billion.

The market for advertising services has changed massively over the past decade, with online and digital advertising services reaching customers across the web, replacing traditional advertising streams like TV, radio and newspapers. The UK remains Europe's largest digital ad market and is a hotspot for online advertising growth. Major sporting events have aided revenue generated from TV advertising. However, the economic slump caused by the cost-of-living crisis forced businesses to become more cautious when considering marketing budgets, weighing on demand. Over the five years through 2025, advertising services revenue is expected to rise at a compound annual rate of 1.5% to €220 billion. COVID-19 at the beginning of the previous five-year period caused business and consumer confidence to plunge, slashing ad spending as companies looked to save money. Inflationary pressures, economic uncertainty and shaky business confidence eroded growth over 2022 and caused revenue in 2023 and 2024 to dip. In 2025, industry revenue is expected to inch upwards by 0.6%, as demand for digital advertising services is propping up the industry across Europe, despite in-house social media advertising activities eating into the market for advertising services. This growing external competition has also weighed on profitability. Over the five years through 2030, revenue is forecast to climb at a compound annual rate of 4.2% to reach €270.8 billion. Although demand for online advertising services will continue to swell, more companies will deal directly with online providers, curbing revenue. However, increased scrutiny on social media companies may alleviate external competition by banning "behavioural advertising" and selling first-person data to marketers. Mobile advertising will continue to outpace growth in online advertising as consumers increasingly rely on mobile devices to access the internet. The rapid emergence of AI technology has put the industry's future into question as big tech searches for AI operational solutions, threatening traditional advertising agencies. However, as consumers become more distrustful of AI-generated adverts, smaller companies can lean into the human-generated aspect of advertising to grow trust with audiences and clients.

The market for advertising services has changed massively over the past decade, with online and digital advertising services reaching customers across the web, replacing traditional advertising streams like TV, radio and newspapers. The UK remains Europe's largest digital ad market and is a hotspot for online advertising growth. Major sporting events have aided revenue generated from TV advertising. However, the economic slump caused by the cost-of-living crisis forced businesses to become more cautious when considering marketing budgets, weighing on demand. Over the five years through 2025, advertising services revenue is expected to rise at a compound annual rate of 1.5% to €220 billion. COVID-19 at the beginning of the previous five-year period caused business and consumer confidence to plunge, slashing ad spending as companies looked to save money. Inflationary pressures, economic uncertainty and shaky business confidence eroded growth over 2022 and caused revenue in 2023 and 2024 to dip. In 2025, industry revenue is expected to inch upwards by 0.6%, as demand for digital advertising services is propping up the industry across Europe, despite in-house social media advertising activities eating into the market for advertising services. This growing external competition has also weighed on profitability. Over the five years through 2030, revenue is forecast to climb at a compound annual rate of 4.2% to reach €270.8 billion. Although demand for online advertising services will continue to swell, more companies will deal directly with online providers, curbing revenue. However, increased scrutiny on social media companies may alleviate external competition by banning "behavioural advertising" and selling first-person data to marketers. Mobile advertising will continue to outpace growth in online advertising as consumers increasingly rely on mobile devices to access the internet. The rapid emergence of AI technology has put the industry's future into question as big tech searches for AI operational solutions, threatening traditional advertising agencies. However, as consumers become more distrustful of AI-generated adverts, smaller companies can lean into the human-generated aspect of advertising to grow trust with audiences and clients.

 Over the period presented, the share of social media in the total online advertising market in Poland has gradually increased. In 2023, social media accounted for **** percent of the online advertising market in the country.   Social media advertising in Poland     In 2024, the social media advertising expenditure amounted to ****** million U.S. dollars. According to the Statista Digital Market Outlook, the spending will continue to increase and reach *** million U.S. dollars by 2028. Polish users between 18 and 34 years old constituted the highest share of the country’s social media advertising audience; women made up the higher share in each age group. In the same year, YouTube was the leader in terms of social media advertising reach, with a **** percent reach. Facebook and Messenger followed.

Influencer marketing in Poland    As a form of social media advertising, influencer marketing revolves around endorsements and product placements from online creators. Polish influencers mostly choose Instagram as their main communication channel. Facebook and YouTube also figured among the most popular platforms for influencer advertising. Regarding advertising categories, about ***** in ** Polish influencers promoted beauty products; relatively few advertised animal- and literature-related products and services. A survey conducted in 2022 showed that exaggerated and overly pushy product presentation was the leading mistake made by influencers.

A global survey conducted in the third quarter of 2024 found that the main reason for using social media was to keep in touch with friends and family, with over 50.8 percent of social media users saying this was their main reason for using online networks. Overall, 39 percent of social media users said that filling spare time was their main reason for using social media platforms, whilst 34.5 percent of respondents said they used it to read news stories. Less than one in five users were on social platforms for the reason of following celebrities and influencers.

              The most popular social network

              Facebook dominates the social media landscape. The world's most popular social media platform turned 20 in February 2024, and it continues to lead the way in terms of user numbers. As of February 2025, the social network had over three billion global users. YouTube, Instagram, and WhatsApp follow, but none of these well-known brands can surpass Facebook’s audience size.
              Moreover, as of the final quarter of 2023, there were almost four billion Meta product users.

              Ever-evolving social media usage

              The utilization of social media remains largely gratuitous; however, companies have been encouraging users to become paid subscribers to reduce dependence on advertising profits. Meta Verified entices users by offering a blue verification badge and proactive account protection, among other things. X (formerly Twitter), Snapchat, and Reddit also offer users the chance to upgrade their social media accounts for a monthly free.

The market for advertising services has changed massively over the past decade, with online and digital advertising services reaching customers across the web, replacing traditional advertising streams like TV, radio and newspapers. The UK remains Europe's largest digital ad market and is a hotspot for online advertising growth. Major sporting events have aided revenue generated from TV advertising. However, the economic slump caused by the cost-of-living crisis forced businesses to become more cautious when considering marketing budgets, weighing on demand. Over the five years through 2025, advertising services revenue is expected to rise at a compound annual rate of 1.5% to €220 billion. COVID-19 at the beginning of the previous five-year period caused business and consumer confidence to plunge, slashing ad spending as companies looked to save money. Inflationary pressures, economic uncertainty and shaky business confidence eroded growth over 2022 and caused revenue in 2023 and 2024 to dip. In 2025, industry revenue is expected to inch upwards by 0.6%, as demand for digital advertising services is propping up the industry across Europe, despite in-house social media advertising activities eating into the market for advertising services. This growing external competition has also weighed on profitability. Over the five years through 2030, revenue is forecast to climb at a compound annual rate of 4.2% to reach €270.8 billion. Although demand for online advertising services will continue to swell, more companies will deal directly with online providers, curbing revenue. However, increased scrutiny on social media companies may alleviate external competition by banning "behavioural advertising" and selling first-person data to marketers. Mobile advertising will continue to outpace growth in online advertising as consumers increasingly rely on mobile devices to access the internet. The rapid emergence of AI technology has put the industry's future into question as big tech searches for AI operational solutions, threatening traditional advertising agencies. However, as consumers become more distrustful of AI-generated adverts, smaller companies can lean into the human-generated aspect of advertising to grow trust with audiences and clients.

Net-Income Time Series for Inly Media Co Ltd. Inly Media Co., Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides digital marketing services in China, Hong Kong, and internationally. The company offers brand, social media, and integrated marketing; e-commerce marketing and operation; and data consulting, as well as communication strategy, media agency, and advertising services. It also provides cultural communication; marketing planning; software and information technology services; and investment management. Inly Media Co., Ltd. was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Beijing, China.

Context

Shopify is a cloud-based e-commerce platform that allows individuals and businesses to create online stores to sell products and services. It provides a comprehensive suite of tools for building and managing an online business, including website design, inventory management, payment processing, and marketing tools, without requiring technical expertise. Businesses can use Shopify to sell through their own website, social media platforms, and even in-person with its POS system.

Market capitalization of Shopify (SHOP)

Market cap: $203.85 Billion USD

As of November 2025 Shopify has a market cap of $203.85 Billion USD. This makes Shopify the world's 78th most valuable company by market cap according to our data. The market capitalization, commonly called market cap, is the total market value of a publicly traded company's outstanding shares and is commonly used to measure how much a company is worth.

Content

Geography: Canada

Time period: May 2015 -Nov 2025

Unit of analysis: Shopify Stock Data 2025

Variables

Acknowledgements

This dataset belongs to me. I’m sharing it here for free. You may do with it as you wish.

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.

The market for advertising services has changed massively over the past decade, with online and digital advertising services reaching customers across the web, replacing traditional advertising streams like TV, radio and newspapers. The UK remains Europe's largest digital ad market and is a hotspot for online advertising growth. Major sporting events have aided revenue generated from TV advertising. However, the economic slump caused by the cost-of-living crisis forced businesses to become more cautious when considering marketing budgets, weighing on demand. Over the five years through 2025, advertising services revenue is expected to rise at a compound annual rate of 1.5% to €220 billion. COVID-19 at the beginning of the previous five-year period caused business and consumer confidence to plunge, slashing ad spending as companies looked to save money. Inflationary pressures, economic uncertainty and shaky business confidence eroded growth over 2022 and caused revenue in 2023 and 2024 to dip. In 2025, industry revenue is expected to inch upwards by 0.6%, as demand for digital advertising services is propping up the industry across Europe, despite in-house social media advertising activities eating into the market for advertising services. This growing external competition has also weighed on profitability. Over the five years through 2030, revenue is forecast to climb at a compound annual rate of 4.2% to reach €270.8 billion. Although demand for online advertising services will continue to swell, more companies will deal directly with online providers, curbing revenue. However, increased scrutiny on social media companies may alleviate external competition by banning "behavioural advertising" and selling first-person data to marketers. Mobile advertising will continue to outpace growth in online advertising as consumers increasingly rely on mobile devices to access the internet. The rapid emergence of AI technology has put the industry's future into question as big tech searches for AI operational solutions, threatening traditional advertising agencies. However, as consumers become more distrustful of AI-generated adverts, smaller companies can lean into the human-generated aspect of advertising to grow trust with audiences and clients.

The market for advertising services has changed massively over the past decade, with online and digital advertising services reaching customers across the web, replacing traditional advertising streams like TV, radio and newspapers. The UK remains Europe's largest digital ad market and is a hotspot for online advertising growth. Major sporting events have aided revenue generated from TV advertising. However, the economic slump caused by the cost-of-living crisis forced businesses to become more cautious when considering marketing budgets, weighing on demand. Over the five years through 2025, advertising services revenue is expected to rise at a compound annual rate of 1.5% to €220 billion. COVID-19 at the beginning of the previous five-year period caused business and consumer confidence to plunge, slashing ad spending as companies looked to save money. Inflationary pressures, economic uncertainty and shaky business confidence eroded growth over 2022 and caused revenue in 2023 and 2024 to dip. In 2025, industry revenue is expected to inch upwards by 0.6%, as demand for digital advertising services is propping up the industry across Europe, despite in-house social media advertising activities eating into the market for advertising services. This growing external competition has also weighed on profitability. Over the five years through 2030, revenue is forecast to climb at a compound annual rate of 4.2% to reach €270.8 billion. Although demand for online advertising services will continue to swell, more companies will deal directly with online providers, curbing revenue. However, increased scrutiny on social media companies may alleviate external competition by banning "behavioural advertising" and selling first-person data to marketers. Mobile advertising will continue to outpace growth in online advertising as consumers increasingly rely on mobile devices to access the internet. The rapid emergence of AI technology has put the industry's future into question as big tech searches for AI operational solutions, threatening traditional advertising agencies. However, as consumers become more distrustful of AI-generated adverts, smaller companies can lean into the human-generated aspect of advertising to grow trust with audiences and clients.

The global influencer marketing market size has more than tripled since 2020. In 2025, the market was estimated to reach a record of approximately 33 billion U.S. dollars. What is influencer marketing? Influencer marketing is a form of social media marketing that involves product placements and endorsements from online creators. In today’s competitive marketing landscape, brands are collaborating with influencers more firmly than ever, as partnerships with well-known creators can open the door to large potential audiences. In 2024, influencer marketing spending in the United States was forecast to reach an all-time high of 7.1 billion U.S. dollars. Seeing that internet stars can boost brand visibility, drive engagement, and impact purchasing decisions for millions of users, it comes as no surprise that spending on influencer cooperation is expected to pick up even more speed in the future. Top influencer marketing platforms Marketers can choose from an ever-expanding list of social media platforms to bridge the gap between brands and consumers. According to a recent survey, Instagram remains the most popular platform for influencer marketing in the United States, and in 2025, the global Instagram influencer market size was estimated to surpass 22 billion dollars for the first time. Apart from the photo-sharing app, video-based platforms such as TikTok have become popular among brands and marketers. In the first half of 2024, the most successful brands earned over half a billion U.S. dollars in earned media value (EMV) with their TikTok influencer marketing campaigns.

Social media companies are starting to offer users the option to subscribe to their platforms in exchange for monthly fees. Until recently, social media has been predominantly free to use, with tech companies relying on advertising as their main revenue generator. However, advertising revenues have been dropping following the COVID-induced boom. As of July 2023, Meta Verified is the most costly of the subscription services, setting users back almost 15 U.S. dollars per month on iOS or Android. Twitter Blue costs between eight and 11 U.S. dollars per month and ensures users will receive the blue check mark, and have the ability to edit tweets and have NFT profile pictures. Snapchat+, drawing in four million users as of the second quarter of 2023, boasts a Story re-watch function, custom app icons, and a Snapchat+ badge.