As of February 2021, YouTube had a global penetration rate of 62 percent, followed closely by Meta's Facebook, with 61 percent. Overall, instant messaging service WhatsApp had a global penetration rate of 52 percent. Additionally, 12 percent of people used TikTok, and one in ten people around the world use messaging service Telegram.

During a 2021 survey, over 47 percent of responding social media users aged 16 to 34 from the United States had purchased products or services on Instagram. Facebook was the platform named most often, used for purchases by nearly 51 percent of respondents. The phenomenon of making purchases via social channels is called social commerce. Estimates suggest there were over 90 million U.S. social commerce buyers in 2021.

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.

Over 90 percent of surveyed marketing executives in Russia used Instagram in their campaigns as of 2021. The next most popular platforms for social media marketing in the country were Facebook and YouTube.

As of 2021, Facebook, recently rebranded as Meta, was the social media platform used most often by 47 percent of social networking users in the United States. In 2015, Facebook was the most used platform by 65 percent of social media users, demonstrating a decrease of almost 20 percent. During the same time frame, Instagram has continued to grow in popularity, with 18 percent of users saying it was their most often used platform in 2021, an increase of 11 percent since 2015. Snapchat was the most used platform by 14 percent of respondents in 2018 and has since continued to decline. In 2020, TikTok was the most accessed platform for three percent of users and by 2021 it had more than doubled to seven percent.

According to a survey conducted in July 2021, Facebook was the the most popular social media platform in Ukraine, used by over 60 percent of the survey participants. Measuring at 46 percent, YouTube was the second-leading social network in the country. The share of users of Vkontakte (VK), Odnoklassniki (Ok.ru), LinkedIn, and TikTok did not exceed five percent.

An analysis of over 1,800 influencer campaigns showed that Instagram was the most popular platform for such purposes. It was incorporated into 94 percent of analyzed campaigns. Facebook ranked second, used by 43 percent of campaigns.

Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram were reported to be the most actively used social media platforms in Ukraine among those aged 18 to 39 years in January and February 2021. One third of respondents between 40 and 49 years old had an Instagram account. Furthermore, about 70 percent of participants in the age category of 60 years and older did not use social networks at all.

VK was the most popular social media app among Russian Generation Z representatives, occupying over 40 percent of the total app traffic spent on social networks in the first half of 2021. The second-leading platform was Instagram, accounting for approximately one third of social media app traffic of Gen Z users.

In 2021, global social media advertising spending stood at around 116 billion U.S. dollars. The source projected that this figure would more than double and exceed an all-time high of 262 billion by 2028.

Where to advertise in a sea of social media platforms?

While there are many regional differences when it comes to social media usage and accessibility, some platforms reign supreme among users and advertisers alike. As of 2022, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram were the most popular social networks worldwide. Thanks to their massive audiences, these Meta-owned properties also ranked among the leading social media platforms for marketers. What makes advertising via these channels so appealing is not only the prospect of boosting brand awareness and generating leads but also the possibility to strengthen brands’ relationships with consumers via direct communication.

Spotlight on influencer marketing

In addition to posting photos and videos on their social media accounts and interacting with followers, companies can also enlist the help of content creators to drive visibility and potentially unlock new audiences. Over the past few years, the global influencer marketing market value has expanded rapidly and is now sized at an estimated 16.4 billion U.S. dollars. Instagram remains the primary playground for this creator-driven form of online marketing, though apps like TikTok are also becoming more appealing to brands from around the world.

Social media users were the highest across India as of February 2021 for messaging app Whatsapp, at 530 million. YouTube followed during the same time, with Facebook ranking third. The government in the country introduced new rules under its IT-law earlier that year with the aim of social media platforms self-regulating by focusing on stronger guidelines.

In 2021, according to a survey conducted among French marketers, TikTok was the most preferred new social media platform where both brands and agencies were willing to launch influencer campaigns. Twitch followed with 18 percent of agencies' shares, as well as 14 percent of brand shares. At the same time, 29 percent of agencies were not willing to try out any new platform for influencer campaigning.

Market leader Facebook was the first social network to surpass one billion registered accounts and currently sits at more than three billion monthly active users. Meta Platforms owns four of the biggest social media platforms, all with more than one billion monthly active users each: Facebook (core platform), WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Instagram. In the third quarter of 2023, Facebook reported around four billion monthly core Family product users. The United States and China account for the most high-profile social platforms Most top ranked social networks with more than 100 million users originated in the United States, but services like Chinese social networks WeChat, QQ or video sharing app Douyin have also garnered mainstream appeal in their respective regions due to local context and content. Douyin’s popularity has led to the platform releasing an international version of its network: a little app called TikTok. How many people use social media? The leading social networks are usually available in multiple languages and enable users to connect with friends or people across geographical, political, or economic borders. In 2022, Social networking sites are estimated to reach 3.96 billion users and these figures are still expected to grow as mobile device usage and mobile social networks increasingly gain traction in previously underserved markets.

Social media usage in New Zealand is dominated by Facebook, with around 81 percent of the population claiming to use the platform each month. WhatsApp users were around half of this figure, with 40 percent saying they used the messaging service.

Active users

There has been a steady year-on-year increase in active internet use in New Zealand; in 2022, almost 90 percent of the population were active on social media. Mobile social media use has also seen a year-on-year increase, with around 97 percent of the population as active users in 2021.

YouTube content and advertising

Kids’ content made up three of YouTube’s most popular media-ran channels in 2020, with Cartoon Network Australia having the largest number of views at almost 900 thousand, and ABC News with just over 278 thousand views.

Additionally, YouTube is proving lucrative for advertisers with three separate FMCG areas attracting large numbers of advertisement views. In 2019, Nescafe advertising had just over 5.7 million views on the platform, Coca-Cola had approximately 5.9 million and Canon Australia around 37 thousand.

Among Russians who employed social media to find a job, more than 60 percent reported to have used Vkontakte, or VK in 2021. The second most popular social network for employment search was Instagram, as per 28 percent of respondents.

In 2022, Instagram was the most popular social media platform among Asian influencers, with more than 38 percent of influencers in the region using the platform. YouTube ranked second, after having been the most popular platform among influencers in Asia in 2020 and 2021.

As of 2021, roughly 92 percent of the respondents aged 14-22 years old in the Netherlands indicated they actively use WhatsApp, making What's App and Instagram the most used app in this generation in 2021. Since the previous year, TikTok has become increasingly used by this age group, increasing by 19 percent compared to 2020.

TikTok saw an exceptional increase of monthly active users worldwide from 2019 to 2021, at 38 percent. The short-form video sharing app was used by 689 million individuals monthly as of 2021, compared to 500 million in 2019. Other leading social networks that increased with over 30 percent were Pinterest and Reddit.

The coronavirus pandemic is one of the factors that have resulted in an increased interest in social networking, with billions of people in lockdown, working and studying from home, and in need of socializing.

During a 2021 survey, 93 percent of responding marketers and agency professionals from the United States stated that they were planning to use Instagram for influencer marketing. More specifically, Instagram Stories was named by 83 percent and Instagram Reels by 36 percent of respondents. TikTok ranked second, mentioned by 68 percent of interviewees.

YouTube was the most popular social media app among Android smartphone users in Ukraine in September 2021, with its reach exceeding 97 percent. Facebook was the second-leading app in that category, reaching approximately 95 percent of users.