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.

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

Users spend an average of 19.6 hours per month on TikTok alone. This works out to be approximately 39 minutes per day.

YouTube boasts an average of 23.7 hours per month spent by users.

Social media addiction statistics show that over 210 million people worldwide suffer from social media addiction.

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

There are over 2 billion registered users on Instagram in 2025.

59% of adults in the united states are using Instagram daily.

In 2023, the number of Facebook users in Canada amounted to 28 million and is projected to grow to over 34 million million by 2029. The current Facebook usage penetration in Canada is about 77 percent of the population. Social media in CanadaSocial networking is a popular online activity in Canada. Most recently, 68.5 percent of the population accessed social networks via any device on a monthly basis. Unsurprisingly, Facebook was ranked first in terms of popularity among Canadian internet users, with 25 to 34-year-olds constituting the biggest user group. Mobile social media in CanadaMobile social media access is also increasingly popular, with mobile websites and social apps generating a significant amount of Canadian social traffic. In March 2019, Facebook generated more than half of mobile social website visits in Canada. The most downloaded social apps in Canada include WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Facebook and Pinterest, again highlighting Facebook’s dominance in the Canadian social media market.

Snapchat now boasts over 319 million daily active users. That means it’s one of the most engaging platforms. Snapchat currently has a total user base of 800 million.

In 2024, Threads was the most downloaded app on iOS worldwide. The text-based conversation app gained more than 156 million downloads worldwide during the examined year. WhatsApp Messenger ranked second with approximately 107.58 million downloads globally during the examined period. Email app by Google, Gmail, followed closely with 99.26 million downloads on iOS from global users.

A survey conducted in Japan during fiscal year 2023 showed that the messaging app LINE was used by almost ** percent of the respondents. While globally leading networks such as Instagram, X, and Facebook do get their fair share of popularity within the Japanese social media market, the only platform able to compete with LINE in terms of penetration rates is YouTube, which was used by almost ** percent of the respondents. What makes LINE so popular?The success story of the messaging service LINE started back in 2011 during the Great East Japan Earthquake. While conventional communication channels in affected areas had broken down to a large degree due to damages brought about by the earthquake and the subsequent tsunami, official sources as well as private individuals turned to online options for communicating news and confirming the safety of friends and family members. The LINE app, which was initially developed for communication between employees at NHN Japan, a Japanese subsidiary of the South Korean internet powerhouse Naver, was released for public use later that year. It appealed greatly to Japanese consumers due to its unique and customizable design, which allowed for both private and business usage. Today, the app is operated by LY Corporation, which is part of a joint venture between SoftBank Group and Naver.How do Japanese use social networks?As a comparison of social network penetration rates of different countries shows, a vast majority of people in Japan use social networks. People in Japan on average spend several dozen minutes per weekday on social media, making social media one of the most time-consuming online activities. According to a survey, the leading reasons for using social media are communicating with already existing acquaintances as well as searching for information.

As of the third quarter of 2024, internet users in South Africa spent more than **** hours and ** minutes online per day, ranking first among the regions worldwide. Brazil followed, with roughly **** hours of daily online usage. As of the examined period, Japan registered the lowest number of daily hours spent online, with users in the country spending an average of over **** hours per day using the internet. The data includes the daily time spent online on any device. Social media usage In recent years, social media has become integral to internet users' daily lives, with users spending an average of *** minutes daily on social media activities. In April 2024, global social network penetration reached **** percent, highlighting its widespread adoption. Among the various platforms, YouTube stands out, with over *** billion monthly active users, making it one of the most popular social media platforms. YouTube’s global popularity In 2023, the keyword "YouTube" ranked among the most popular search queries on Google, highlighting the platform's immense popularity. YouTube generated most of its traffic through mobile devices, with about 98 billion visits. This popularity was particularly evident in the United Arab Emirates, where YouTube penetration reached approximately **** percent, the highest in the world.

There are over 875 million registered users on LinkedIn in 2024.