In 2023, Meta Platforms had a total annual revenue of over 134 billion U.S. dollars, up from 116 billion in 2022. LinkedIn reported its highest annual revenue to date, generating over 15 billion USD, whilst Snapchat reported an annual revenue of 4.6 billion USD.

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.

As of April 2024, around 16.5 percent of global active Instagram users were men between the ages of 18 and 24 years. More than half of the global Instagram population worldwide was aged 34 years or younger.

              Teens and social media

              As one of the biggest social networks worldwide, Instagram is especially popular with teenagers. As of fall 2020, the photo-sharing app ranked third in terms of preferred social network among teenagers in the United States, second to Snapchat and TikTok. Instagram was one of the most influential advertising channels among female Gen Z users when making purchasing decisions. Teens report feeling more confident, popular, and better about themselves when using social media, and less lonely, depressed and anxious.
              Social media can have negative effects on teens, which is also much more pronounced on those with low emotional well-being. It was found that 35 percent of teenagers with low social-emotional well-being reported to have experienced cyber bullying when using social media, while in comparison only five percent of teenagers with high social-emotional well-being stated the same. As such, social media can have a big impact on already fragile states of mind.

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

As of January 2024, Instagram was slightly more popular with men than women, with men accounting for 50.6 percent of the platform’s global users. Additionally, the social media app was most popular amongst younger audiences, with almost 32 percent of users aged between 18 and 24 years.

              Instagram’s Global Audience

              As of January 2024, Instagram was the fourth most popular social media platform globally, reaching two billion monthly active users (MAU). This number is projected to keep growing with no signs of slowing down, which is not a surprise as the global online social penetration rate across all regions is constantly increasing.
              As of January 2024, the country with the largest Instagram audience was India with 362.9 million users, followed by the United States with 169.7 million users.

              Who is winning over the generations?

              Even though Instagram’s audience is almost twice the size of TikTok’s on a global scale, TikTok has shown itself to be a fierce competitor, particularly amongst younger audiences. TikTok was the most downloaded mobile app globally in 2022, generating 672 million downloads. As of 2022, Generation Z in the United States spent more time on TikTok than on Instagram monthly.

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.

Cristiano Ronaldo has one of the most popular Instagram accounts as of April 2024.

              The Portuguese footballer is the most-followed person on the photo sharing app platform with 628 million followers. Instagram's own account was ranked first with roughly 672 million followers.

              How popular is Instagram?

              Instagram is a photo-sharing social networking service that enables users to take pictures and edit them with filters. The platform allows users to post and share their images online and directly with their friends and followers on the social network. The cross-platform app reached one billion monthly active users in mid-2018. In 2020, there were over 114 million Instagram users in the United States and experts project this figure to surpass 127 million users in 2023.

              Who uses Instagram?

              Instagram audiences are predominantly young – recent data states that almost 60 percent of U.S. Instagram users are aged 34 years or younger. Fall 2020 data reveals that Instagram is also one of the most popular social media for teens and one of the social networks with the biggest reach among teens in the United States.

              Celebrity influencers on Instagram
              Many celebrities and athletes are brand spokespeople and generate additional income with social media advertising and sponsored content. Unsurprisingly, Ronaldo ranked first again, as the average media value of one of his Instagram posts was 985,441 U.S. dollars.

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

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

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, although there is rapid uptake among older age groups. 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 last few years, becoming the most downloaded app between 2020 and 2022, according to Apptopia. The short-form video platform reported that it averaged revenue growth of over 450% between 2019 and 2022. 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 have 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. Revenue is expected to grow by 14.3% in 2024-25, constrained by a slowdown in user growth for most major social media platforms. Over the five years through 2024-25, revenue is forecast to expand at a compound annual rate of 32.8% to reach £9.8 billion. Looking forward, 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 rising prominence of AI will require the introduction of adequate regulations. The Online Safety Bill sets out new guidelines for social media platforms to abide by, with hefty fines in store for those who do not. Operating costs will swell as platforms look to meet consumers’ expectations, weighing on profit. Over the five years through 2029-30, social media platforms' revenue is projected to climb at an estimated 9.4% to reach £15.4 billion.

YouTube gets an average of 14.3 billion total worldwide visits every month.

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

80% of parents say that their children under the age of 11 watch YouTube regularly.

Instagram’s most popular post

              As of April 2024, the most popular post on Instagram was Lionel Messi and his teammates after winning the 2022 FIFA World Cup with Argentina, posted by the account @leomessi. Messi's post, which racked up over 61 million likes within a day, knocked off the reigning post, which was 'Photo of an Egg'. Originally posted in January 2021, 'Photo of an Egg' surpassed the world’s most popular Instagram post at that time, which was a photo by Kylie Jenner’s daughter totaling 18 million likes.
              After several cryptic posts published by the account, World Record Egg revealed itself to be a part of a mental health campaign aimed at the pressures of social media use.

              Instagram’s most popular accounts

              As of April 2024, the official Instagram account @instagram had the most followers of any account on the platform, with 672 million followers. Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo (@cristiano) was the most followed individual with 628 million followers, while Selena Gomez (@selenagomez) was the most followed woman on the platform with 429 million. Additionally, Inter Miami CF striker Lionel Messi (@leomessi) had a total of 502 million. Celebrities such as The Rock, Kylie Jenner, and Ariana Grande all had over 380 million followers each.

              Instagram influencers

              In the United States, the leading content category of Instagram influencers was lifestyle, with 15.25 percent of influencers creating lifestyle content in 2021. Music ranked in second place with 10.96 percent, followed by family with 8.24 percent. Having a large audience can be very lucrative: Instagram influencers in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom with over 90,000 followers made around 1,221 US dollars per post.

              Instagram around the globe

              Instagram’s worldwide popularity continues to grow, and India is the leading country in terms of number of users, with over 362.9 million users as of January 2024. The United States had 169.65 million Instagram users and Brazil had 134.6 million users. The social media platform was also very popular in Indonesia and Turkey, with 100.9 and 57.1, respectively. As of January 2024, Instagram was the fourth most popular social network in the world, behind Facebook, YouTube and WhatsApp.

The Social Media Analytics market is experiencing robust growth, projected to reach $6.00 billion in 2025 and exhibiting a remarkable Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 24% from 2019 to 2033. This expansion is fueled by several key drivers. The increasing reliance of businesses on social media for marketing, customer service, and brand building necessitates sophisticated analytics to understand audience engagement, sentiment, and campaign effectiveness. Further driving market growth is the proliferation of social media platforms themselves, generating ever-larger datasets demanding advanced analytical tools. The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) within these tools enhances the speed and accuracy of insights, allowing businesses to react swiftly to emerging trends and opportunities. Competitive pressures also force companies to adopt these technologies to gain a decisive advantage in market understanding and responsiveness. While data privacy regulations present a restraint, the demand for actionable insights continues to outweigh these concerns, with sophisticated analytics tools incorporating privacy-preserving techniques. Segmentation within the market includes solutions catering to different business sizes and needs, from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to large multinational corporations. Major players like Sprinklr, Synthesio, BrandWatch, Oracle, NetBase Solutions, Meltwater, Talkwalker, Sprout Social, Digimind Social, and Brand24 are shaping the competitive landscape through continuous innovation and strategic acquisitions. The forecast period of 2025-2033 promises even more dynamic growth. As social media usage continues its upward trajectory and businesses become more sophisticated in their application of analytics, we can anticipate increased demand for more advanced features such as predictive analytics, real-time monitoring, and sentiment analysis across multiple languages. The integration of social media analytics with other data sources, such as CRM and website analytics, will further enhance its value, enabling a holistic view of customer behavior and business performance. We expect to see continued investment in research and development, leading to improvements in data visualization, reporting capabilities, and the development of niche solutions tailored to specific industries. The growing adoption of cloud-based solutions will also facilitate accessibility and scalability for businesses of all sizes. Recent developments include: In May 2022, TikTok expanded its Marketing Partners Program, introducing its inaugural group of Content Marketing Partners. The founding member is Brandwatch, and its social suite of the future, which would allow its customers to scale, manage, execute, and optimize the content on TikTok, all while staying within the Brandwatch platform. This officially badged partnership between Brandwatch and TikTok empowers Brandwatch clients to manage, understand, and respond to their community profiles on TikTok in a way that feels native to the world's hottest technology platform., In April 2022, Digimind collaborated with Facelift to give essential tools for effective social media growth. Facelift is a firm that provides social media management tools. This collaboration benefited both industries in monitoring their brand image and effectively managing all social networks.. Key drivers for this market are: Exponential Growth of Number of Social Media Users, Increased Emphasis on Target Marketing and Competitive Intelligence. Potential restraints include: Exponential Growth of Number of Social Media Users, Increased Emphasis on Target Marketing and Competitive Intelligence. Notable trends are: Increased Emphasis on Targeted Marketing and Competitive Intelligence.

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.

The average Facebook user spends about 19.6 per month on Facebook every month. This works out to be about 39 minutes per day.

These datasets consist of qualitative data collected through semi-structured in-depth interviews as well as a focus group from three different companies with seven industry experts.The data collected was to address the use of social media to enhance organisational learning and also to address the gap that exists in terms of the integration of organisational learning (OL) and social media and also address the lack of guidelines for organisations that would like to implement the use of social media to facilitate OL. The data were triangulated by comparing the results from the three companies.