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.

How much time do people spend on social media? As of 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 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.

During a January 2024 global survey among marketers, nearly 60 percent reported plans to increase their organic use of YouTube for marketing purposes in the following 12 months. LinkedIn and Instagram followed, respectively mentioned by 57 and 56 percent of the respondents intending to use them more. According to the same survey, Facebook was the most important social media platform for marketers worldwide.

The global social media penetration rate in was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2028 by in total 11.6 (+18.19 percent). After the ninth consecutive increasing year, the penetration rate is estimated to reach 75.31 and therefore a new peak in 2028. Notably, the social media penetration rate of was continuously increasing over the past years.

More than 100 social media channels and statistics for the National Archives and Records Administration.

During a 2024 survey among marketers worldwide, around 86 percent reported using Facebook for marketing purposes. Instagram and LinkedIn followed, respectively mentioned by 79 and 65 percent of the respondents.

              The global social media marketing segment

              According to the same study, 59 percent of responding marketers intended to increase their organic use of YouTube for marketing purposes throughout that year. LinkedIn and Instagram followed with similar shares, rounding up the top three social media platforms attracting a planned growth in organic use among global marketers in 2024. Their main driver is increasing brand exposure and traffic, which led the ranking of benefits of social media marketing worldwide.

              Social media for B2B marketing

              Social media platform adoption rates among business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) marketers vary according to each subsegment's focus. While B2C professionals prioritize Facebook and Instagram – both run by Meta, Inc. – due to their popularity among online audiences, B2B marketers concentrate their endeavors on Microsoft-owned LinkedIn due to its goal to connect people and companies in a corporate context.

During a 2024 survey, 77 percent of respondents from Nigeria stated that they used social media as a source of news. In comparison, just 23 percent of Japanese respondents said the same. Large portions of social media users around the world admit that they do not trust social platforms either as media sources or as a way to get news, and yet they continue to access such networks on a daily basis.

              Social media: trust and consumption

              Despite the majority of adults surveyed in each country reporting that they used social networks to keep up to date with news and current affairs, a 2018 study showed that social media is the least trusted news source in the world. Less than 35 percent of adults in Europe considered social networks to be trustworthy in this respect, yet more than 50 percent of adults in Portugal, Poland, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Slovakia and Croatia said that they got their news on social media.

              What is clear is that we live in an era where social media is such an enormous part of daily life that consumers will still use it in spite of their doubts or reservations. Concerns about fake news and propaganda on social media have not stopped billions of users accessing their favorite networks on a daily basis.
              Most Millennials in the United States use social media for news every day, and younger consumers in European countries are much more likely to use social networks for national political news than their older peers.
              Like it or not, reading news on social is fast becoming the norm for younger generations, and this form of news consumption will likely increase further regardless of whether consumers fully trust their chosen network or not.

Social media companies are starting to offer users the option to subscribe to their platforms in exchange for monthly fees. Until recently, social media has been predominantly free to use, with tech companies relying on advertising as their main revenue generator. However, advertising revenues have been dropping following the COVID-induced boom. As of July 2023, Meta Verified is the most costly of the subscription services, setting users back almost 15 U.S. dollars per month on iOS or Android. Twitter Blue costs between eight and 11 U.S. dollars per month and ensures users will receive the blue check mark, and have the ability to edit tweets and have NFT profile pictures. Snapchat+, drawing in four million users as of the second quarter of 2023, boasts a Story re-watch function, custom app icons, and a Snapchat+ badge.

One of the sectors that felt the impact of the Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic was the educational sector. The outbreak led to the immediate closure of schools at all levels thereby sending billions of students away from their various institutions of learning. However, the shut down of academic institutions was not a total one as some institutions that were solely running online programmes were not affected. Those who were running face to face and online modes quickly switched over to the online mode. Unfortunately, institutions that have not fully embraced online mode of study were greatly affected. 85% of academic institutions in Nigeria are operating face to face mode of study, therefore, majority of Nigerian students at all levels were affected by the COVID-19 lockdown. Social media platforms and emerging technologies were the major backbones of institutions that are running online mode of study, therefore, this survey uses the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) model to capture selected Face to face Nigerian University students accessibility, usage, intention and willingness to use these social media platforms and emerging technologies for learning. The challenges that could mar the usage of these technologies were also revealed. Eight hundred and fifty undergraduate students participated in the survey.

The dataset includes the questionnaire used to retrieve the data, the responses obtained in spreadsheet format, the charts generated from the responses received, the Statistical Package of the Social Sciences (SPSS) file and the descriptive statistics for all the variables captured. This second version contains the reliability statistics of the UTAUT variables using Cronbach's alpha. This measured the reliability as well as the internal consistency of the UTAUT variables. This was measured in terms of the reliability statistics, inter-item correlation matrix and item-total statistics. Authors believed that the dataset will enhance understanding of how face to face students use social media platforms and how these platforms could be used to engage the students outside their classroom activities. Also, the dataset exposes how familiar face to face University students are to these emerging teaching and learning technologies.

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.

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.

A concise dataset summarizing platform-level social media statistics and benchmarks across Facebook, Google properties, and Twitter (X).

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.

The global number of Facebook users was forecast to continuously increase between 2023 and 2027 by in total 391 million users (+14.36 percent). After the fourth consecutive increasing year, the Facebook user base is estimated to reach 3.1 billion users and therefore a new peak in 2027. Notably, the number of Facebook users was continuously increasing over the past years. 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).

Percentage of Internet users by selected Internet service and technology, such as; home Internet access, use of smart home devices, use of smartphones, use of social networking accounts, use or purchase of streaming services, use of government services online and online shopping.

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.

About this dataset

Context

The dataset tabulates the population of Media by gender across 18 age groups. It lists the male and female population in each age group along with the gender ratio for Media. The dataset can be utilized to understand the population distribution of Media by gender and age. For example, using this dataset, we can identify the largest age group for both Men and Women in Media. Additionally, it can be used to see how the gender ratio changes from birth to senior most age group and male to female ratio across each age group for Media.

Key observations

Largest age group (population): Male # 25-29 years (332) | Female # 30-34 years (403). Source: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2017-2021 5-Year Estimates.

Content

When available, the data consists of estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2017-2021 5-Year Estimates.

Age groups:

• Under 5 years
• 5 to 9 years
• 10 to 14 years
• 15 to 19 years
• 20 to 24 years
• 25 to 29 years
• 30 to 34 years
• 35 to 39 years
• 40 to 44 years
• 45 to 49 years
• 50 to 54 years
• 55 to 59 years
• 60 to 64 years
• 65 to 69 years
• 70 to 74 years
• 75 to 79 years
• 80 to 84 years
• 85 years and over

Scope of gender :

Please note that American Community Survey asks a question about the respondents current sex, but not about gender, sexual orientation, or sex at birth. The question is intended to capture data for biological sex, not gender. Respondents are supposed to respond with the answer as either of Male or Female. Our research and this dataset mirrors the data reported as Male and Female for gender distribution analysis.

Variables / Data Columns

• Age Group: This column displays the age group for the Media population analysis. Total expected values are 18 and are define above in the age groups section.
• Population (Male): The male population in the Media is shown in the following column.
• Population (Female): The female population in the Media is shown in the following column.
• Gender Ratio: Also known as the sex ratio, this column displays the number of males per 100 females in Media for each age group.

Good to know

Margin of Error

Data in the dataset are based on the estimates and are subject to sampling variability and thus a margin of error. Neilsberg Research recommends using caution when presening these estimates in your research.

Custom data

If you do need custom data for any of your research project, report or presentation, you can contact our research staff at research@neilsberg.com for a feasibility of a custom tabulation on a fee-for-service basis.

Inspiration

Neilsberg Research Team curates, analyze and publishes demographics and economic data from a variety of public and proprietary sources, each of which often includes multiple surveys and programs. The large majority of Neilsberg Research aggregated datasets and insights is made available for free download at https://www.neilsberg.com/research/.

Recommended for further research

This dataset is a part of the main dataset for Media Population by Gender. You can refer the same here

About this dataset

Context

The dataset tabulates the population of Media by gender across 18 age groups. It lists the male and female population in each age group along with the gender ratio for Media. The dataset can be utilized to understand the population distribution of Media by gender and age. For example, using this dataset, we can identify the largest age group for both Men and Women in Media. Additionally, it can be used to see how the gender ratio changes from birth to senior most age group and male to female ratio across each age group for Media.

Key observations

Largest age group (population): Male # 50-54 years (11) | Female # 50-54 years (11). Source: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2017-2021 5-Year Estimates.

Content

When available, the data consists of estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2017-2021 5-Year Estimates.

Age groups:

• Under 5 years
• 5 to 9 years
• 10 to 14 years
• 15 to 19 years
• 20 to 24 years
• 25 to 29 years
• 30 to 34 years
• 35 to 39 years
• 40 to 44 years
• 45 to 49 years
• 50 to 54 years
• 55 to 59 years
• 60 to 64 years
• 65 to 69 years
• 70 to 74 years
• 75 to 79 years
• 80 to 84 years
• 85 years and over

Scope of gender :

Please note that American Community Survey asks a question about the respondents current sex, but not about gender, sexual orientation, or sex at birth. The question is intended to capture data for biological sex, not gender. Respondents are supposed to respond with the answer as either of Male or Female. Our research and this dataset mirrors the data reported as Male and Female for gender distribution analysis.

Variables / Data Columns

• Age Group: This column displays the age group for the Media population analysis. Total expected values are 18 and are define above in the age groups section.
• Population (Male): The male population in the Media is shown in the following column.
• Population (Female): The female population in the Media is shown in the following column.
• Gender Ratio: Also known as the sex ratio, this column displays the number of males per 100 females in Media for each age group.

Good to know

Margin of Error

Data in the dataset are based on the estimates and are subject to sampling variability and thus a margin of error. Neilsberg Research recommends using caution when presening these estimates in your research.

Custom data

If you do need custom data for any of your research project, report or presentation, you can contact our research staff at research@neilsberg.com for a feasibility of a custom tabulation on a fee-for-service basis.

Inspiration

Neilsberg Research Team curates, analyze and publishes demographics and economic data from a variety of public and proprietary sources, each of which often includes multiple surveys and programs. The large majority of Neilsberg Research aggregated datasets and insights is made available for free download at https://www.neilsberg.com/research/.

Recommended for further research

This dataset is a part of the main dataset for Media Population by Gender. You can refer the same here

A. SUMMARY This dataset consists of San Francisco International Airport (SFO) air traffic cargo dataset contains data about cargo volume into and out of SFO, in both metric tons and pounds, with monthly totals by airline, region and aircraft type. B. HOW THE DATASET IS CREATED Data is self-reported by airlines and is only available at a monthly level. C. UPDATE PROCESS Data is available starting in July 1999 and will be updated monthly. D. HOW TO USE THIS DATASET Airport data is seasonal in nature; therefore, any comparative analyses should be done on a period-over-period basis (i.e. January 2010 vs. January 2009) as opposed to period-to-period (i.e. January 2010 vs. February 2010). It is also important to note that fact and attribute field relationships are not always 1-to-1. For example, Cargo Statistics belonging to United Airlines will appear in multiple attribute fields and are additive, which provides flexibility for the user to derive categorical Cargo Statistics as desired. E. RELATED DATASETS A summary of monthly comparative air-traffic statistics is also available on SFO’s internet site at https://www.flysfo.com/about/media/facts-statistics/air-traffic-statistics