There has been a continued upward trend in the population share of active social media users in Australia. As of February 2022, approximately **** percent of the Australian population were active users compared to just ** percent in 2015. Preferred social media brands and most popular activities Facebook was the most popular social media brand in Australia in 2019, with ** percent saying they used the platform the most often. Elsewhere, ** percent said they used Instagram and six percent used Snapchat. Social media is used by Australians for a variety of activities. The most popular use is as a means of communication, with over **** of users regularly sending private messages and ** percent commenting on posts. Active users also post pictures and videos, with ** percent of users saying they have posted visual content. When do Australians use social media? In 2018, most social media use took place during Australians free time; ** percent said they used social media platforms in the evening, ** percent were first thing in the morning users, and ** percent said they logged on during breaks. Interestingly, when it comes to users being banned from social media, just over **** said in 2019 that they somewhat agree that bans are ineffective.

The number of social media users in Australia was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2029 by in total *** million users (+**** percent). After the ninth consecutive increasing year, the social media user base is estimated to reach ***** million users and therefore a new peak in 2029. Notably, the number of social media users of was continuously increasing over the past years.The shown figures regarding social media users have been derived from survey data that has been processed to estimate missing demographics.The shown data are an excerpt of Statista's Key Market Indicators (KMI). The KMI are a collection of primary and secondary indicators on the macro-economic, demographic and technological environment in up to *** countries and regions worldwide. All indicators are sourced from international and national statistical offices, trade associations and the trade press and they are processed to generate comparable data sets (see supplementary notes under details for more information).Find more key insights for the number of social media users in countries like Fiji and New Zealand.

Social media presence plays an important role in Australia, with more than ** percent of Australians between the ages of 12 to 55 years old claiming to have an account on a social networking site. This high figure applies to senior citizens as well: more than **** the people above the age of 55 years have an account on a social networking platform. Most used social media platform   Australia has one the highest active social media penetration rates internationally, with most of the population holding an account on a social network platform. This is partially due to the country’s high internet penetration rate and heavy influence from the western world with regard to internet and social media trends. For a country of slightly more than 24 million people, it is estimated that more than ** million citizens have an account on a social media. Furthermore, Facebook dominates the market with more than double the number of users compared to the second-placed platform Instagram. Reasons for using social networking sites   There are various reasons that Australians use social networking sites with the main reason being to catch up/keep in touch with family and friends. While this applies to all age groups, the younger generation have more reasons to stay engaged on social media while the elderly mainly uses social media solely for friends and family.

The number of Instagram users in Australia was forecast to continuously decrease between 2024 and 2028 by in total 1.5 million users (-13.94 percent). According to this forecast, in 2028, the Instagram user base will have decreased for the sixth consecutive year to 9.27 million users. User figures, shown here with regards to the platform instagram, have been estimated by taking into account company filings or press material, secondary research, app downloads and traffic data. They refer to the average monthly active users over the period and count multiple accounts by persons only once.The shown data are an excerpt of Statista's Key Market Indicators (KMI). The KMI are a collection of primary and secondary indicators on the macro-economic, demographic and technological environment in up to 150 countries and regions worldwide. All indicators are sourced from international and national statistical offices, trade associations and the trade press and they are processed to generate comparable data sets (see supplementary notes under details for more information).Find more key insights for the number of Instagram users in countries like New Zealand and Fiji.

In Australia in 2024, Facebook was the most popular platform, with 24.2 percent of users expressing a preference for it. Instagram followed closely, with 19 percent of users favoring it.

The number of Facebook users in Australia was forecast to continuously decrease between 2024 and 2028 by in total 1.5 million users (-9.94 percent). After the eighth consecutive decreasing year, the Facebook user base is estimated to reach 13.62 million users and therefore a new minimum in 2028. User figures, shown here regarding the platform facebook, have been estimated by taking into account company filings or press material, secondary research, app downloads and traffic data. They refer to the average monthly active users over the period and count multiple accounts by persons only once.The shown data are an excerpt of Statista's Key Market Indicators (KMI). The KMI are a collection of primary and secondary indicators on the macro-economic, demographic and technological environment in up to 150 countries and regions worldwide. All indicators are sourced from international and national statistical offices, trade associations and the trade press and they are processed to generate comparable data sets (see supplementary notes under details for more information).Find more key insights for the number of Facebook users in countries like Fiji and New Zealand.

The number of LinkedIn users in Australia was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2028 by in total 0.5 million users (+3.74 percent). After the ninth consecutive increasing year, the LinkedIn user base is estimated to reach 13.89 million users and therefore a new peak in 2028. Notably, the number of LinkedIn users of was continuously increasing over the past years.User figures, shown here with regards to the platform LinkedIn, have been estimated by taking into account company filings or press material, secondary research, app downloads and traffic data. They refer to the average monthly active users over the period and count multiple accounts by persons only once.The shown data are an excerpt of Statista's Key Market Indicators (KMI). The KMI are a collection of primary and secondary indicators on the macro-economic, demographic and technological environment in up to 150 countries and regions worldwide. All indicators are sourced from international and national statistical offices, trade associations and the trade press and they are processed to generate comparable data sets (see supplementary notes under details for more information).Find more key insights for the number of LinkedIn users in countries like Fiji and New Zealand.

The number of Youtube users in Australia was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2029 by in total 0.4 million users (+2.6 percent). After the fifth consecutive increasing year, the Youtube user base is estimated to reach 15.81 million users and therefore a new peak in 2029. User figures, shown here regarding the platform youtube, have been estimated by taking into account company filings or press material, secondary research, app downloads and traffic data. They refer to the average monthly active users over the period.The shown data are an excerpt of Statista's Key Market Indicators (KMI). The KMI are a collection of primary and secondary indicators on the macro-economic, demographic and technological environment in up to 150 countries and regions worldwide. All indicators are sourced from international and national statistical offices, trade associations and the trade press and they are processed to generate comparable data sets (see supplementary notes under details for more information).Find more key insights for the number of Youtube users in countries like Fiji and New Zealand.

The number of snapchat users in Australia was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2028 by in total 0.3 million users (+4.02 percent). After the ninth consecutive increasing year, the snapchat user base is estimated to reach 7.74 million users and therefore a new peak in 2028. Notably, the number of snapchat users of was continuously increasing over the past years.The user numbers, depicted here regarding the platform Snapchat, have been estimated by taking into account company filings or press material, secondary research, app downloads and traffic data. They refer to the average monthly active users over the period and count multiple accounts by persons only once.The shown data are an excerpt of Statista's Key Market Indicators (KMI). The KMI are a collection of primary and secondary indicators on the macro-economic, demographic and technological environment in up to 150 countries and regions worldwide. All indicators are sourced from international and national statistical offices, trade associations and the trade press and they are processed to generate comparable data sets (see supplementary notes under details for more information).

70 percent of Australian respondents answer our survey on "Most used websites and online services by type" with "Social media". The survey was conducted in 2025, among 2,393 consumers.

The reach by social network in the 'Total' segment of the digital advertising market in Australia was forecast to continuously increase between 2023 and 2028 by in total two million users (+9.05 percent). After the ninth consecutive increasing year, the indicator is estimated to reach 24.06 million users and therefore a new peak in 2028. Notably, the reach by social network of the 'Total' segment of the digital advertising market was continuously increasing over the past years.Find more information concerning the Philippines and Vietnam. The Statista Market Insights cover a broad range of additional markets.

In Australia in 2024, Facebook had the highest share of users, with **** percent of Australians saying they used the platform. Its counterpart messaging app, Facebook Messenger, was used by just under ** percent of Australians.

Research from AppMagic suggested that Meta continued to dominate the Australian social media landscape by owning two most downloaded social media apps as of May 2025. The number of Facebook downloads amounted to around ***** thousand, followed by Threads, Telegram, and Snapchat. Facebook: The industry giant With over ***** billion monthly active users worldwide as of January 2024, Facebook leads the industry as the most popular social network platform. Besides its core product under the same name, Facebook also owns several major social network services, namely WhatsApp, Instagram, and its standalone instant messaging service, Messenger, each with more than *** billion active users. The number of Australia-based Facebook users is estimated to decrease to around ** million over the next few years, but still accounting for approximately ********** of Australia’s total population. More than just social networking While its business focus lies on private messaging, Facebook seems to have more to offer. Facebook, including Messenger, and Instagram have remained the most widely used platforms for social commerce among Australian online shoppers. Facebook has also been by far the most popular social media channel among small and medium-sized businesses in Australia. In times of the COVID-19 pandemic, apart from television and online newspaper, many Australians have turned to Facebook as their daily source of news.

A survey conducted among Australian social shoppers revealed that Facebook was the most used social commerce platform in 2024, with around **** of respondents. YouTube took second place at approximately ** percent. While Facebook was more popular among Boomers, Snapchat was trendy among Gen Z.

In 2024, TikTok was the most popular social media app in Australia, based on average time spent, with users dedicating 42 hours and 13 minutes per month to the platform. This figure was nearly double the time spent on YouTube, which was 21 hours and 36 minutes, and Facebook, at 20 hours and 15 minutes.

In a September 2024 conducted survey among children and teenagers in Australia regarding their social media usage, around ** percent of 13 to 15 year olds surveyed said they had used YouTube in the period from January to September. Snapchat was the next most commonly used service for children of this age cohort, followed by TikTok.

In Australia in 2024, the most popular social media and messaging platforms for Australian teens were Snapchat, TikTok and Instagram. Snapchat had ** percent of teens using the app, TikTok had ** percent, and Instagram had ** percent.

In 2024, the most popular social media and messaging platforms among adults in Australia were Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram. Facebook was used by ** percent of adults, WhatsApp by ** percent, and Instagram by ** percent. New popular formats of social networks In addition to traditional social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, alternative formats are gaining popularity in Australia. Snapchat, known for its ephemeral content, is steadily growing nowadays. Between 2024 and 2028, the platform's user base is expected to increase by *** million, reaching a peak of **** million users. Similarly, LinkedIn, a prominent platform for professional networking, is projected to expand by *** million users during the same period, reaching a peak of ***** million users by 2028. This consistent growth across both platforms highlights the diverse ways Australians are engaging with social media, whether for personal expression or professional connections. Social media growth increasing In Australia, social media remains a dominant force in digital engagement, with ** percent of respondents in a 2024 survey identifying social media websites and apps as their most used online services. This aligns with the global increase in social media engagement. As of February 2022, about **** percent of Australians were active on social media, a significant increase from ** percent in 2015. This rapid growth shows the expanding role of social media in daily life, indicating its increasing significance and integration into various forms of communication and entertainment.

As of July 2021, users of YouTube had the highest average social media usage time across Australia with an average time of ** minutes and ** seconds on the website. This was followed by Facebook, with an average usage time of around ** minutes and ** seconds.

** percent of Australian respondents answer our survey on "Most used social media platforms by type" with "Social networks (e.g., Facebook)". The survey was conducted in 2023, among ****** consumers.Find this and more survey data on most used social media platforms by type in our Consumer Insights tool. Filter by countless demographics, drill down to your own, hand-tailored target audience, and compare results across countries worldwide.