As of the third quarter of 2023, WhatsApp was the most active social network among internet users in the United Kingdom (UK), with 79 percent of internet users reporting use of the service. Facebook was very close behind, with a rate of 73 percent, followed by Facebook Messenger with 60.1 percent. YouTube’s broad audience in the United Kingdom YouTube reaches a broad audience in the UK, making it an attractive partner for advertisers of almost any product. More than 75 percent of individuals of every income bracket watch YouTube, with the likelihood of watching increasing with the pay-grade. Whether advertising basic items or luxury products, marketers should be able to connect with UK audiences through YouTube. There are almost no people in the UK to not use YouTube at least monthly. According to a survey conducted in the third quarter of 2020, 46 percent of respondents went on YouTube on a daily basis. Facebook in the United Kingdom  Despite an increase in recent months, Facebook still enjoys a healthy market position in the UK, holding an estimated  55 percent share of the market. The service attracted  50.6 million UK users during May 2021, and Facebook UK Limited  generated 1.1 billion British pounds in revenue  during 2019. The UK division of the company  posted an operating profit of 121.9 million British pounds that year. 

The number of social media users in the United Kingdom was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2029 by in total 4.7 million users (+8.92 percent). After the eleventh consecutive increasing year, the social media user base is estimated to reach 57.35 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 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).

As of early 2024, advertising on YouTube had the highest reach in the United Kingdom among the presented social networks, with roughly 91 percent. LinkedIn and Facebook followed, with 72.5 and 68.9 percent, respectively. An ad medium attractive for marketers… The UK is the third-largest social media market worldwide, behind the United States and China. The market was worth 9.8 billion U.S. dollars in 2023 and is expected to grow to 10.9 billion by 2028. In the same period, social media usage is also forecast to increase. Its penetration rate is projected to deepen from an already high 91 percent to 94 percent of internet users. …but not so trusted by consumers Popular as it is, social media advertising was the second-least trusted medium among adults in the UK in 2023. Only influencer ads scored lower. This holds true across all age groups, underscoring the fact that even though social media is especially popular among younger internet users, they do not necessarily trust everything they see there. In the age group of 18 to 34, cinema is the most trusted ad medium; among older adults, TV reigns supreme.

The use of social media platforms continues to increase in the United Kingdom (UK) and is predicted to do so for the foreseeable future. As of 2024, there are a total of 52.7 million social network users in the UK. The number of social media users in the UK is expected to reach 65 million by 2027. Facebook users in the United Kingdom Social media network Facebook, which recently rebranded as Meta in a move towards the metaverse, had 51.34 million users in the United Kingdom as of December 2021, a relatively small increase on the previous year of 0.3 million. Two years prior, the number of FB users in the UK was 44.86 million. Throughout 2021, Facebook’s user numbers declined, sinking to 49.35 in September, however, toward the end of the year, audience figures recovered. Furthermore, Facebook Messenger, Facebook’s instant messaging app, had a total of 35.71 million UK users at the end of 2021. The majority of UK Facebook users at the end of last year belonged to the 25 to 34 year age group which made up 25.1 percent of all users. Overall, 12.5 percent of audiences this age group were women and 12.7 percent were men. Popular social networks in the United Kingdom In 2021, social media app Instagram had a total of 28 million UK users. Instagram was most popular amongst 25 to 34 year olds, accounting for approximately a third of users. In addition, professional online networking platform LinkedIn also finds popularity amongst this demographic, with 57.2 percent of its users being between the ages of 25 and 34 years.

As of June 2023, 28 percent of social media users in the United Kingdom (UK) were aged between 30 and 39 years old. Overall, 22 percent of social networks user in the UK belonged to the 18 to 29 year age group.

Ipsos data on the share of Facebook use among certain age groups in the UK shows that the group between 25 and 34 years of age has the largest share of use and the group between 45 and 54 has the smallest share. All above 55 years of age were in grouped together distorting the data by bringing too many respondents together. Nonetheless the trend is clear: use among the young but not among the youngest is most common and decreases with the age of the respondents group. When compared to the number of Facebook users per age group in the United States as well as to numbers from the Netherlands similar observations can be made.

Facebook is the leading social network worldwide and holds the highest market share of social networks in the UK.

Further information about social media usage in the UK and Facebook can be found in the Dossier: Facebook in the United Kingdom.

During coronavirus lockdowns in 2020, many UK adults resorted to social media. Facebook and Messenger were the apps with the largest audience reach throughout the year. However apps like WhatsApp, Twitter, Pinterest, Houseparty and especially TikTok, saw a steep jump March and April 2020. As of December2020, there were 11.4 million adults in the United Kingdom accessing TikTok.

According to a survey of internet users conducted in June 2023 in the United Kingdom, 80 percent of men reported using YouTube at least monthly, while 70 percent of women reported similar consumption trends. Among women, Facebook was the most used social media platform to consume video content - as approximately 74 percent of women in the UK reported engaging with the platform monthly.

In September 2022, mobile-first video platform TikTok was the most popular social media app on the Google Play Store among Android users in Great Britain, racking up roughly 298 thousand downloads. Instagram ranked second, with almost 167 thousand downloads, while photo app BeReal ranked third with almost 155 thousand downloads from the Google Play Store in the examined period.

Doing it for the gram: the reach of influencers on Instagram Enlisting influencers – personalities with significant followings on Instagram – has become an integral part of modern marketing campaigns. Influencers have dedicated followers that have actively chosen to follow a given account, providing a cost-efficient way to reach a targeted audience. Among UK influencers, none have a following greater than David Beckham (@itsmarziapie). In 2020, the professional footballer and celebrity enjoyed a following of 65.2 million people. By comparison, British social media personality Holly H. ranked first among TikTok influencers in the UK, with 16.7 million followers on the short-video platform.

TikTok in the United Kingdom In the last years, TikTok seems to have taken the global social media scene by storm, and the United Kingdom makes no exception. In January 2022, the popular social video app counted almost nine million active users (MAU) in the UK, up by 27 percent compared to the corresponding month in 2020. In 2021, the most popular TikTok video in the United Kingdom, titled "proving that cats rule," was posted by the user @mmeowmmia and generated nearly 185 million views.

According to a survey of social media users conducted in the United Kingdom between April 2023 and March 2024, 68 percent of Generation Z, those born between 1995 and 2012, were using social media to send private messages. The same was true for around 60 percent of Millennials in the country. Half of Gen Z reported liking content published by influencers and content creators, while only 13 percent of UK Baby Boomers and 36 percent of Millennials reported doing the same.

During the third quarter of 2024, internet users in the United Kingdom (UK) spent an average over five and a half hours per day accessing the internet via any device. UK online audiences spent approximately one hour and 37 minutes per day on social media, while an additional 50 minutes were devoted to using a gaming console daily. Traditional media - is usage declining? Some forms of traditional media in the country are in decline more than others when it comes to usage, which is especially visible in the case of TV. In recent years the number of TV households in the UK has remained fairly unchanged, however, the time spent watching television has been constantly decreasing. Interestingly, radio listenership has not followed this trend. Digital radio format usage is growing as per some studies. Yet, live radio dominates the time spent with any audio in the UK by a large margin.British radio is a showcase for the loyalty of its fans. In mid-2023, after 30 years of employment at BBC, Ken Bruce, one of the highest-earning presenters of the company, left to work at a rival radio station. He took both of his signature programs to his new employer. Even though BBC Radio 2 remains the leading radio station in the UK by audience numbers, Bruce’s departure meant a loss of a million listeners for the BBC between the first and second quarters of 2023.

In the fourth quarter of 2022, TikTok was the most popular social media platform for Gen Z consumers to buy products from in the United Kingdom. Meanwhile, Facebook continued to be the preferred choice for older generations. Additionally, millennials displayed an equal preference for TikTok and Instagram, with 45 percent of respondents stating that they had shopped through each platform.

In 2022, daily time spent on TikTok in the United Kingdom (UK) reached approximately 50 minutes, up by over 110 percent compared to 2019. In comparison, Facebook usage between 2020 to 2022 went down to approximately 43 minutes on a daily basis. In the examined time, Instagram engagement remained at around 30 minutes per day among UK users in the examined period.

A 2024 study on news consumption among children in the United Kingdom found that 55 percent of 12 to 15 year olds used TikTok for news, making this the most popular social media platform among this demographic group. Instagram was most popular among 15 year olds, whilst 12 year olds were more engaged with news on YouTube than their older peers.

According to a survey conducted in the United Kingdom in the third quarter of 2023, the main reason for using social media was to keep in touch with family and friends, with 55.4 percent of internet users choosing this reason. Overall, 40 percent of internet users in the UK said their main reason for accessing social media platforms was to fill spare time.

According to a survey of internet users conducted in June 2023 in the United Kingdom, 77 percent of users aged between 25 and 44 years reported using Facebook at least monthly, while over 85 percent of users in the same age reported using YouTube monthly. Overall, 74 percent of social media users aged between 13 and 17 years reported engaging with TikTok, while 90 percent reported engaging with YouTube, while Instagram was used by 53 percent of respondents in the same demographic.

The ad spending in the 'Social Media Advertising' segment of the digital advertising market in the United Kingdom was forecast to continuously increase between 2023 and 2028 by in total 1.1 billion U.S. dollars (+11.27 percent). After the ninth consecutive increasing year, the indicator is estimated to reach 10.85 billion U.S. dollars and therefore a new peak in 2028. Notably, the ad spending of the 'Social Media Advertising' segment of the digital advertising market was continuously increasing over the past years.Find other key market indicators concerning the average ad spending per internet user (ARPU) and revenue growth. The Statista Market Insights cover a broad range of additional markets.

During an early 2023 survey carried out among among people who run their own business or side hustle in the United Kingdom, nine percent stated they used TikTok as primary social media platforms used by small businesses for sales generation. Facebook ranked first, named by 30 percent of respondents.

According to a survey conducted by Ofcom in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2020, 16 to 24-year-olds made up the largest group of respondents who had used social media sites or apps in the previous week. This was followed by 25 to 34-year-olds, comprising the second largest group. Overall, social media use was the highest among young adults, decreasing steadily within the older age groups.

Women and social media

In the United Kingdom, more women than men had set up their own social network profile according to an ongoing survey conducted from 2010 to 2019. By 2019, 86 percent of women and 78 percent of men had created social media profiles, a rise from 2010 where only 56 and 51 percent respectively claimed to have done the same. Despite social media having a comparatively larger female user base as demonstrated by the previous figures, the share of advertising audience in early 2020 was nearly evenly distributed between males and females, particularly in the largest audience group of 18 to 44-year-olds.

The growth of influencer marketing

Social media advertising spend has been on the rise in the UK, reaching over three billion British pounds by 2018. This was a near 30 percent increase from the previous year. The sector also experienced a 40 percent increase in spend per year between 2015 and 2017, further demonstrating the growth of this marketing niche. With the rise of YouTube and Instagram, influencer marketing has come to play a crucial role in social media advertising with 68 percent of PR professionals having allocated between 10 thousand and over 100 thousand British pounds for the sector in 2018. In collaborating with influencers who have an established follower-base, marketers are able to quickly build trust, increase reach, and engage audiences effectively.

According to a November 2024 study of travelers in the United Kingdom, Instagram had the highest conversion rate for travel visits or travel purchases among the selected social media platforms. Overall, 44 percent of respondents visited a destination or made a travel purchase after seeing travel-related content on Instagram. TikTok and Facebook followed in the ranking, with conversion rates of 42 and 40 percent, respectively.

This statistic presents the results of a survey of adults in the United Kingdom which asked them how they thought about social media's impact on social and political issues. According to data published by Ipsos, 61 percent of people in the United Kingdom thought that social media gave a voice to people who would not normally take part in debates.