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.

This statistic presents the weekly social media access in selected countries as of October 2015 sorted by age group. During the survey period, 74 percent of U.S. respondents from the 18-24 age group stated that they accessed social media at least once per week.

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

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Social media statistics for the various members and parties of the American Congress including stats about number of active users, party member, max number of followers, social media platform used, etc.

This statistic presents the information on the average hours spent on social media per day among Millennials in the United States as of June 2015, sorted by ethnicity. During the survey period, it was found that African-American Millennials spent on average *** hours on social media per day.

Malaysia Internet Usage: Social Media/Online Community data was reported at 89.300 % in 2016. This records an increase from the previous number of 80.000 % for 2015. Malaysia Internet Usage: Social Media/Online Community data is updated yearly, averaging 87.100 % from Dec 2014 (Median) to 2016, with 3 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 89.300 % in 2016 and a record low of 80.000 % in 2015. Malaysia Internet Usage: Social Media/Online Community data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Malaysia – Table MY.TB003: Telecommunication Statistics: Internet.

Morocco ICT Usage: Individuals: Social Media data was reported at 96.400 % in 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 94.300 % for 2017. Morocco ICT Usage: Individuals: Social Media data is updated yearly, averaging 89.450 % from Dec 2015 (Median) to 2018, with 4 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 96.400 % in 2018 and a record low of 82.100 % in 2015. Morocco ICT Usage: Individuals: Social Media data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Telecommunication Regulatory Agency. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Morocco – Table MA.TB001: Internet Statistics.

The statistic shows the social network user growth rate on social networks in China between 2016 and 2021. As of 2021, the number of social network users increased by *** percent compared to the previous year. Chinese internet users have about ***** social media accounts on average.

The General Social Survey (GSS) gathers data on social trends in order to monitor changes in the living conditions and well-being of Canadians over time, and to provide immediate information on specific social policy issues of current or emerging interest. This survey monitors changes in time use to better understand how Canadians spend and manage their time and what contributes to their well-being and stress. The data collected provides information to all level of governments when making funding decisions, developing priorities and identifying areas of concern for legislation, new policies and programs. Researchers and other users use this information to inform the general Canadian population about the changing nature of time use in Canada such as: o Are we working too many hours and spending too much time commuting? o Do we have flexible work schedules? o Do we have enough time to play sports, participate in leisure activities or volunteer? o Are we spending enough quality time with our children, our families and our friends? o How has the internet and social media affected the way we spend our time? o Are we satisfied with our lives? New elements were introduced to the GSS cycle for 2015. First, the survey frame has changed. Previous GSS cycles on Time Use were conducted as Random Digit Dialling (RDD) surveys and did not include cellular numbers. In 2015,the survey was implemented using the redesigned GSS frame created in 2013, which integrates data from sources of telephone numbers (landline and cellular) available to Statistics Canada and the Address Register (AR). Second, there is a new weighting strategy and bootstrap weights have also been changed from mean bootstrap to standard bootstrap weights.

As of February 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 usage Currently, 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 and friends. Global impact of social media Social 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 polarization in politics, and heightened everyday distractions.

This statistic shows the share of North American campers from 2015 to 2018, by how they use social media on a camping trip. During the 2018 survey, ** percent of the respondents stated that they share photos or videos on social media while camping.

According to a survey conducted in Japan in fiscal year 2024, people on average spent **** minutes per weekday using social media. The usage time decreased compared to the previous year due to the inclusion of an additional age group in the survey.

In 2022, around ** percent of the New Zealand population were active social media users. The social media penetration rate has continued to increase, in-line with the growing digitalization of the country. While not the most active country in the Asia Pacific region, New Zealand still ranked in the top ten in terms of social media penetration out of countries from Asia Pacific. How are Kiwis using social media? Most of the population use social media on a mobile device. With increasing smartphone usage and accessibility, current global trends look set to establish the standard for mobile-only social media usage in the near future. In fact, many social media services are better experienced on a mobile device. An average of *** hour and ** minutes per day were spent on social media by internet users in the country in 2020. This is much lower than the approximate **** hours per day spent by online users in the Philippines. Which social media are the most popular? The most popular social networks in the country included YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. YouTube and Facebook dominated the market, both with over ** percent penetration rates. Facebook was popular among all age groups, with the highest number of Facebook users in the 25 to 34-year age group. Instagram has gained popularity with younger generations in the country.

In 2019, nearly ***** out of ten respondents from Belgium's Dutch-speaking region Flanders said they had used Facebook during the past month. In 2019, over ************* people in Belgium used Facebook, a number that makes up around ** percent of the country's population. Downloads of the Facebook app in Belgium decreased in 2018, especially in on the Google Play Store. It was downloaded approximately ******* times through the Apple App Store and roughly ******* times on the Google Play Store.

As of October 2025, 6.04 billion individuals worldwide were internet users, which amounted to 73.2 percent of the global population. Of this total, 5.66 billion, or 68.7 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 2025. 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 10-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 considerable usage penetration, 98 percent. In comparison, the worldwide average for the age group of 15 to 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.

With the ease of internet access, the number of social media users in India stood at 518 million in 2020. Furthermore, the social network users in the country were expected to be almost 1.5 billion in 2040. Facebook remained the popular choice among the social media platforms as of 2020. What was the attraction and who was attracted to it? The Indian Premier League, an annual cricket tournament conducted across major cities in the country might hold the answer. The IPL, one in many cricketing events followed religiously in India, had the highest attendance among all cricket leagues worldwide. Apart from the attendance, fans seemed to be keen on updates about their favorite teams. The IPL teams registered over 59 million likes on Facebook alone and more than 81 million followers on Twitter. Most of the Facebook usage came from the younger generation, aged between 18-24 years to be precise, with over 97 million users in 2018. How was this achieved? Increased availability of internet connections and access in recent years, propelled by the central government's Digital India initiative was directly proportional in the growth of social media users. Internet penetration had been on the rise with over 34 percent of the Indians being able to access the internet in 2017, which made the South Asian country the second largest market globally after China.

The total number of active social media users has noticeably increased in Russia, except for 2017, when the audience dropped in volume across the country. By January 2023, there were *** million active users of social media platforms in Russia.  

Popular social media platforms in Russia

VK (Vkontakte) was the leading social media platform in the country with a penetration rate of over ** percent as of the third quarter of 2022. The platform in question gained momentum after Meta platforms Facebook and Instagram were banned in Russia on the grounds of extremism in March 2022. By *************, VK counted nearly ** monthly users.

Social media usage in Russia

The increasingly interconnected world means that more and more Russians use social media these days. In August 2021, the most frequently employed devices for connecting to social networks were mobile appliances. This was particularly the case of Instagram and Telegram, where ** percent and ** percent used only mobile phones to access the social networks in question, respectively. Among the most frequent activities on social media were sending private messages, with every six in ** Russians reporting doing it in 2022.

In Portugal, the share of people aged 18 years old who use social media for six hours or more per day totaled **** percent, during weekdays, and **** percent during the weekend. By 2023, ** percent of young individuals used social media for six hours or more per day.

According to a survey conducted in the United States in 2023, ** percent of social media users aged between 13 and 17 years used YouTube, down from ** percent in 2022. As for TikTok, ** percent of U.S. teens used the app, down from ** percent in 2022. Additionally, Snapchat, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), and Twitch all saw a slight ******* in usage amongst teens in the United States. Facebook and WhatsApp saw increases in usage among this demographic.

The statistic gives the results of a survey regarding the average time spent per day by young adults on social media in Delhi in 2015. Approximately ** percent of young adults in the capital city spent between *** and **** hours on social media daily on an average.

The daily social media access of internet users in Asia Pacific as of *********, broken down by country can be found here.