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, Facebook 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: a little app called 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 5.42 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.

When it comes to the most well-known social networks in the United States, YouTube and Facebook are leading the pack with a brand awareness of 96 and 95 percent respectively, among internet users. For this study, brand awareness was surveyed employing the concept of aided brand recognition, showing respondents both the brand's logo and the written brand name.

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.

We asked U.S. consumers about "Social network usage by brand" and found that "Facebook" takes the top spot, while "WeChat" is at the other end of the ranking.These results are based on a representative online survey conducted in 2025 among 62,982 consumers in the United States.

In 2024, YouTube was the most popular social video platforms for users in the United States, with an estimated viewership of *** million viewers. Facebook ranked second, while Instagram had approximately *** million users engaging with the platform's Reels and posts on a monthly basis. TikTok was estimated to have a monthly audience of *** million users in the examined period.

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.

As of May 2024, YouTube was the most popular digital platform among Gen Z internet users in the United States. Around nine in 10 respondents reported accessing the platform. Instagram ranked second, as 73 percent of respondents stated to have engaged with the platform. Messaging platform WhatsApp was the least used digital platform, as only around 25 percent of consumers engaged with it as of the examined period.

According to a 2024 study, Facebook ranks as the top social network for shopping in the United States, with ** percent of digital buyers using it for this purpose. TikTok Shop follows with ** percent of U.S. shoppers, while Instagram holds its own with ** percent. TikTok and the boom that won’t stop The rise of TikTok Shop in the United States represents a significant shift in social commerce dynamics. By tapping into its predominantly young user base and their engagement with short-form video content, TikTok is leveraging its platform to facilitate direct sales. The success of health and beauty products, which make most of purchases, underscores the platform's potential as an influential marketplace. Growing users, expanding influence Forecasts suggest that by 2029, the number of U.S. social media users will exceed *** million, showing the growing influence of these platforms on consumer behavior and brand involvement. In 2023 alone, social commerce revenues in the North American country were estimated at nearly ** billion U.S. dollars, and this figure is expected to nearly double by 2028, reflecting the rapidly expanding role of social media in the e-commerce landscape.

According to a survey on digital usage in China, around 91.8 percent of respondents had used WeChat as of the third quarter of 2023. The short video app Douyin, the social commerce site Xiaohongshu, and the Twitter-like site Weibo, were among the most popular social media platforms in China. How successful is WeChat in China? The country’s most popular messaging app, WeChat, boasts over one billion monthly active users. For many Chinese consumers, WeChat is part of daily life, helping them to organize tasks such as paying bills, ordering food delivery, and calling a taxi. On average, WeChat users spent about an hour and 20 minutes per day on the app. Large user base with high engagement The social media scene in China is huge and mobile-centric. In 2023, the social media penetration rate amounted to 74 percent in China, slightly higher than in countries like the United States and Japan. While the user number has shown signs of reaching a saturation point, Chinese consumers have been spending more time online, with a considerable daily usage of social media.

How much time do people spend on social media? As of 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 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.

According to a survey conducted in the United States between July 2023 and June 2024, 65 percent of Generation Z were using Meta's Instagram, and 63 percent were using YouTube. Moreover, 58 percent of Gen Z in the United States were on TikTok, and 56 percent were using Facebook.

According to a May 2024 survey, WhatsApp was the most popular social media platform in Mexico. At that time, ** percent of those interviewed said they had an active account on the messaging app. Also owned by Meta Platforms Inc., Facebook and Instagram ranked second and third, being used by ** and ** percent of respondents, respectively.

Social media penetration and demographics Close to ** percent of the Mexican population was expected to be on Facebook by the end of 2023 (slightly below the estimated ***** percent for the United States during the same period). Its popularity in the North American country relies heavily on young internet users: when it comes to the distribution of Mexican Facebook users by age group, more than ** percent were between 18 and 34 years old. All news just a click away According to a February 2022 survey, half of internet users in Mexico used Facebook for news consumption, while YouTube is used by ** percent of the country's online audiences for the same function. This preference was also observed across all age groups: more than a third of the country's news consumers across all demographics turned to the Meta-owned social network to find, read, watch, share, or comment on the news.

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.

According to a survey conducted between July 2023 and June 2024, the general overall quality of social media mobile apps achieved a score of 83 out of one hundred, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). Additionally, the reliability of social media apps scored 81/100 with U.S. consumers, and ease of navigation scored 78/100. Matters related to ads on these platforms scored the lowest, with personal relevance of ads seen being the worst ranked, with an ACSI score of 66/100 in 2024.

As of February 2025, 5.56 billion individuals worldwide were internet users, which amounted to 67.9 percent of the global population. Of this total, 5.24 billion, or 63.9 percent of the world's population, were social media users. Global internet usage Connecting billions of people worldwide, the internet is a core pillar of the modern information society. Northern Europe ranked first among worldwide regions by the share of the population using the internet in 20254. In The Netherlands, Norway and Saudi Arabia, 99 percent of the population used the internet as of February 2025. North Korea was at the opposite end of the spectrum, with virtually no internet usage penetration among the general population, ranking last worldwide. Eastern Asia was home to the largest number of online users worldwide – over 1.34 billion at the latest count. Southern Asia ranked second, with around 1.2 billion internet users. China, India, and the United States rank ahead of other countries worldwide by the number of internet users. Worldwide internet user demographics As of 2024, the share of female internet users worldwide was 65 percent, five percent less than that of men. Gender disparity in internet usage was bigger in African countries, with around a ten percent difference. Worldwide regions, like the Commonwealth of Independent States and Europe, showed a smaller usage gap between these two genders. As of 2024, global internet usage was higher among individuals between 15 and 24 years old across all regions, with young people in Europe representing the most significant usage penetration, 98 percent. In comparison, the worldwide average for the age group 15–24 years was 79 percent. The income level of the countries was also an essential factor for internet access, as 93 percent of the population of the countries with high income reportedly used the internet, as opposed to only 27 percent of the low-income markets.

During a 2024 global survey, approximately ** percent of responding business-to-consumer (B2C) marketers said Facebook was the most important social media platform. Among business-to-business (B2B) professionals, LinkedIn ranked first, selected by ** percent. According to the same study, YouTube and LinkedIn were the social media in which most global marketers planned to increase their investments throughout that year.

During the first quarter of 2024, TikTok content recorded an average of ****** views, making the platform rank as the most engaging for social and short-form video content. Instagram was the second most popular platform, with its Reels generating ****** average views. Facebook short form videos, also called Reels, ranked third. In comparison, YouTube Shorts ranked the lowest based on average video views - approximately *** as of the examined time. TikTok as a profession: from followers to career goals In 2024, TikTok had an average reach of around ****** users on the platform, though accounts’ reach exhibited an upward trend as the follower count increased. Tiny TikTok accounts with up to *** followers had a reach of 10,000 users, while huge accounts with over ****** followers recorded a reach of ****** users during the same examined year. As of July 2024, Khabane Lame, who is known for his silent comedy about life hacks, held the crown of the most followed TikToker with around *** million followers. American social media star Charli D’Amelio and MrBeast followed with over *** and ** million followers, respectively. As of September 2023, Charli D’Amelio was the highest earning TikTok creator, with estimated annual earnings of ** million U.S. dollars. Khabane Lame’s followed with estimated annual earnings of **** million U.S. dollars. But do TikTok users consider content creation as a job? As of March 2024, *** percent of the TikTok users in the United States reported considering content creation as a full-time job, while ** percent reported planning to adopt content creation as a profession. If TikTok had to face a ban in the country, around ** percent of U.S. TikTok influencers would consider YouTube, and Facebook as their potential alternatives for content creation as of April 2024. Instagram followed, as ** percent of respondents reported they would adopt the platform in the case of the TikTok ban. Who uses TikTok? As of July 2024, over 54 percent of the global TikTok audience were men, while women comprised around 45 percent of the audience share. Men between the ages of 25 and 34 held the largest share of ** percent of total TikTok users during the same examined period. Indonesia was the country with the highest number of TikTok users, as around *** million users based in the region reported accessing the platform as of July 2024. The United States, and Brazil followed with over *** and *** million TikTok users, respectively. In terms of TikTok penetration rate, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Malaysia dominated other regions, as virtually everyone based in these countries registered using the famous short-video platform during the same period.

According to a 2024 survey, ** percent of social media users in the United States used Facebook, and ** percent of left-leaning users used the social network. Overall, ** percent of social media users who were politically left-leaning used Pinterest, compared to ** percent of right-leaning users.

Facebook had the largest market share among social media platforms across India, at roughly ** percent as of October 2024. The Meta-owned social network site has consistently led the country's social media market since 2019. Instagram was the second leading social media platform during that period with a market share of over ** percent, reflecting a fluctuating trend that emerged in the previous year. Commercial social media usage in India Apart from creating user-generated content, Indians have leveraged social media to grow their businesses. As consumption via online channels increased, social media began playing an important role in stimulating the Indian economy. Among the most popularly used social media platforms in India, Facebook was increasingly used for digital marketing. On the other hand, Instagram emerged as the country’s leading platform for influencer collaboration. Meta Platforms Since its launch in 2004, Facebook has quickly gone on to become the social media giant it is today. Having acquired leading social media platforms Instagram and WhatsApp, the company rebranded itself as Meta Platforms Inc. in 2021. The following year, Meta generated a revenue of nearly *** billion U.S. dollars. The company has further set its sights on bringing the metaverse to life to enhance the online experience of over ***** billion Facebook users across the world.

During a 2024 survey carried out among consumers from the United States, half of the respondents stated that they most liked humor about advertising on entertainment apps or social media platforms. "How to" information ranked second, named by ** percent of responding consumers.