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.

Throughout 2022, there were 139 million mentions of the war in Ukraine across social media platforms, making this topic of discussion the highest trending of the year. The FIFA World Cup held in Katar in 2022 amassed over 50 million social media mentions, whilst the 94th Academy Awards was mentioned 25 million times.

In March 2023, Facebook accounted for 45 percent of all social media site visits in the United States, confirming its position as the leading social media website by far. Other social media platforms, despite their popularity, had to make do with smaller shares of visits across desktop, mobile, and tablet devices combined. Pinterest ranked second with 21 percent of all U.S. social media site visits, while Instagram accounted for 14 percent of the total visits in the country. Additionally, the U.S. is home to the third largest social media audience worldwide.

Facebook: mobile vs desktop usage

At the beginning of 2022, around 81 percent of Facebook users across the globe were using the platform’s social networking services exclusively via mobile phone, while only 1.5 percent reported using their desktop or laptop devices. In October 2021, three Facebook Inc. products occupied the leading positions as most downloaded social networking apps on the Apple App Store in the United States. Facebook’s social media platform ranked first with nearly 2.5 million downloads, while Facebook-owned instant-messaging services Messenger and WhatsApp followed with 2.1 million and 1.4 million downloads respectively.

Social media evolution

Between 2012 and 2020, the daily time spent on social networks worldwide experienced a constant increase, with users reaching an average of 145 minutes per day in 2019 and maintaining the same engagement levels throughout 2020. However, users’ favorite platforms have changed since 2019, and the power balance appears to be shifting further from Facebook’s market dominance. Not only Facebook’s user growth rate is estimated to slow down in the next years, but users belonging to Generation Z appear to prefer video-first social platforms like Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube.

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.

In 2022, Instagram was the world's leading social media app, with 547 million downloads WhatsApp ranked second with 424 million downloads, while Telegram surpassed the remaining mobile versions of Meta-owned social media platforms Facebook and Messenger. Newcomer BeReal, a photo-sharing social media app launched in 2020, entered the ranking in tenth position with over 90 million global downloads during the examined year.

With an 87.4 percent user share in 2022, Whatsapp was the most popular social media platform in Saudi Arabia. For that year, the total number of social media users in the country was approximately 29.5 million.

 Social media usage in Saudi Arabia

In Saudi Arabia, WhatsApp was the most popular social media platform, followed by Instagram and Twitter. The number of WhatsApp users in Saudi Arabia is expected to grow steadily between 2023 and 2028. After the fifth consecutive year of growth, the WhatsApp user base is expected to reach 17.29 million users, a new high in 2028. Notably, the number of WhatsApp users has been steadily increasing in recent years. In 2022, the primary reason for using social media in Saudi Arabia was to stay in touch with friends and family, followed by filling spare time.

Social media usage during Ramadan  

 In 2022, Muslim respondents in Saudi Arabia indicated they used social media to learn about new things they were interested in and to send greetings during Ramadan. During Ramadan, a lower percentage fewer respondents used social media to watch live videos by celebrities and publishers. Furthermore, during the same year, Muslim respondents in Saudi Arabia reported using social media to find shopping deals and promotions during Ramadan. In comparison, a lower proportion of respondents used social media to seek shopping advice from others during Ramadan.

According to a survey in Singapore as of July 2022, around 40 percent of respondents stated that they used Instagram the most among other social media platforms. It was followed by Facebook, TikTok, and Telegram, respectively.

A global survey conducted in the third quarter of 2024 found that the main reason for using social media was to keep in touch with friends and family, with over 50.8 percent of social media users saying this was their main reason for using online networks. Overall, 39 percent of social media users said that filling spare time was their main reason for using social media platforms, whilst 34.5 percent of respondents said they used it to read news stories. Less than one in five users were on social platforms for the reason of following celebrities and influencers. The most popular social network Facebook dominates the social media landscape. The world's most popular social media platform turned 20 in February 2024, and it continues to lead the way in terms of user numbers. As of February 2025, the social network had over three billion global users. YouTube, Instagram, and WhatsApp follow, but none of these well-known brands can surpass Facebook’s audience size. Moreover, as of the final quarter of 2023, there were almost four billion Meta product users. Ever-evolving social media usage The utilization of social media remains largely gratuitous; however, companies have been encouraging users to become paid subscribers to reduce dependence on advertising profits. Meta Verified entices users by offering a blue verification badge and proactive account protection, among other things. X (formerly Twitter), Snapchat, and Reddit also offer users the chance to upgrade their social media accounts for a monthly free.

In 2024, Facebook held the largest market share among other social media platforms for mobile devices in Indonesia, with a market share of about 58 percent. This was followed by YouTube, which accounted for approximately 36 percent of the market share in the same period.   Facebook’s dominance in Indonesia  Facebook maintains the largest market share across all social media platforms in Indonesia, except for on desktop devices. The highest market share on desktop devices in Indonesia was held by YouTube, followed by Pinterest. Despite maintaining its position as the market leader among all social media platforms, the number of Facebook users in Indonesia is estimated to decline and reach around 161 million users by 2028. Currently, Facebook is quite popular among those aged between 25 and 34 years. What are the current social media trends in Indonesia? One of the current social media trends in Indonesia is marked by a surge in short-form video content, with TikTok leading the way. The popularity of these videos is driving high engagement, especially among younger demographics, who favor dynamic and visually engaging content. Instagram Reels and YouTube shorts also contribute to this trend, offering a place for creative expression and brand interaction. Brands in Indonesia are also increasingly leveraging short-form videos for marketing, recognizing their impact in reaching a broad audience quickly and effectively. This shift underscores the importance of video content in Indonesia’s digital landscape.

A survey conducted in August 2022 among gamers in the United States found that approximately 56 percent of respondents aged between 16 and 29 years used YouTube to consume content related to gaming or engage in video gaming activities. Discord was the second most popular social media platform among users in this demographic, followed by the social video platform TikTok. In comparison, Facebook was the most popular social media platform in relation to gaming among users aged between 30 and 49 years, with 65 percent of respondents reporting using the platform for gaming-related activities and content consumption.

In 2022, 95 percent of millennials or Generation Ys in Thailand used Facebook the most compared to other social media platforms. Facebook has been one of the leading platforms for social commerce in Thailand.

During a 2022 survey carried out in the United Kingdom, Instagram and Facebook emerged neck-to-neck as the most popular social media platforms that the responding B2C marketers use for marketing with a share of mentions of 20.31 percent and 20.18 percent, respectively. At a share of 16.3 percent, YouTube came in third position among the respondents.

In 2022, Facebook was the most used social media platform among Generation Zs in Thailand, used by 94 percent of respondents. Other popular social media platforms which were used among this age group were Line and YouTube.

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 May 2024 survey, WhatsApp was the most popular social media platform in Mexico. At that time, 96 percent of those interviewed said they had an active account on the messaging app. Also owned by Meta Platforms Inc., Facebook and Instagram ranked second and third, being used by 86 and 81 percent of respondents, respectively. Social media penetration and demographics Close to 70 percent of the Mexican population was expected to be on Facebook by the end of 2023 (slightly below the estimated 71.43 percent for the United States during the same period). Its popularity in the North American country relies heavily on young internet users: when it comes to the distribution of Mexican Facebook users by age group, more than 56 percent were between 18 and 34 years old. All news just a click away According to a February 2022 survey, half of internet users in Mexico used Facebook for news consumption, while YouTube is used by 34 percent of the country's online audiences for the same function. This preference was also observed across all age groups: more than a third of the country's news consumers across all demographics turned to the Meta-owned social network to find, read, watch, share, or comment on the news.

As of September 2023, 29 percent of Facebook users in the United States were aged 30 to 39 years, while a further 29 percent of users were aged 50 to 64 years, making these demographics the biggest audiences of the online network in the country. Meta’s Instagram was also popular among users aged 30 to 39 years, who accounted for 32 percent of the audience of the photo-based platform, while those aged 18 to 29 years accounted for another third of the network’s U.S. users. Overall, TikTok and Snapchat were the most popular social media platforms amongst younger audiences, while LinkedIn was the least used platform by those aged 18 to 29 in the United States as of 2023.

The social media market in the United States

The number of social media users in the United States has shown continuous growth in the past years, and it is forecast to continue increasing to reach 342 million users in 2029. As of 2023, the social network user penetration in the United States amounted to an impressive 91.56 percent, meaning that more than nine in ten people in the country engaged with online platforms. Furthermore, Facebook was by far the most popular social media platform in the United States, accounting for 45 percent of all social media visits in 2023, followed by Pinterest with 21.2 percent of visits.

The global social media landscape

As of April 2024, 5.07 billion people were social media users, accounting for 62.6 percent of the world’s population. Northern Europe was the region with the highest social media penetration rate with a reach of 80.2 percent, followed by Western Europe with 78.2 percent and Eastern Asia 74.9 percent. In contrast, less than one in ten people in Middle Africa used social networks. Facebook’s popularity is not limited to the United States: this network leads the market on a global scale, and it accumulated more than three billion monthly active users (MAU) as of 2024, which is far more any other social media platform. 272014 YouTube, Instagram, and WhatsApp followed, all with two billion or more MAU.

A global survey conducted in the fourth quarter of 2023 found that the main reason for using social media was to keep in touch with friends and family, with over 49 percent of social media users saying this was their main reason for using online networks. Overall, 38 percent of social media users said that filling spare time was their main reason for using social media platforms, whilst 34.3 percent of respondents said they used it to read news stories. One in five users were on social platforms for the reason of following celebrities and influencers. The most popular social network Facebook dominates the social media landscape. The world's most popular social media platform turned 20 in February 2024, and it continues to lead the way in terms of user numbers. As of January 2024, the social network had over three billion global users. YouTube, WhatsApp, and Instagram follow, but none of these well-known brands can surpass Facebook’s audience size. Moreover, as of the final quarter of 2023, there were almost four billion Meta product users. Ever-evolving social media usage The utilization of social media remains largely gratuitous; however, companies have been encouraging users to become paid subscribers to reduce dependence on advertising profits. Meta Verified entices users by offering a blue verification badge and proactive account protection, among other things. X (formerly Twitter), Snapchat, and Reddit also offer users the chance to upgrade their social media accounts for a monthly free.

According to a 2022 survey of social media users in the United States, 38 percent of Americans had heard of Parler, making it the most popular among selected alternative and alt-tech platforms. Truth Social and Telegram ranked second, with 27 percent of respondents stating they had heard of them. Rumble followed with a 20 percent awareness among respondents. Overall, 56 percent of the respondents indicated that they had heard of at least one of these platforms.

Social media usage in Romania continues to evolve, with Facebook maintaining its dominance while newer platforms gain traction. As of May 2024, 90 percent of Romanian respondents reported using Facebook, solidifying its position as the most popular social media platform in the country. Instagram and TikTok followed, with 57 and 47 percent of users respectively, highlighting the growing diversity in social media preferences among Romanians. TikTok the new trendsetter in Romania TikTok's popularity in Romania has surged in recent years, as evidenced by its significant revenue growth. The platform's monthly revenue skyrocketed from approximately 10 thousand U.S. dollars in October 2020 to an impressive two million U.S. dollars by September 2024. This substantial increase reflects the platform's growing user base and engagement levels in the country. However, it's worth noting that TikTok's monthly downloads have fluctuated, peaking at over 834 thousand in August 2022 before decreasing to 162 thousand in September 2024. Social media usage increases steadily As of January 2024, Romania boasted 13.3 million social media users, with over half of respondents following friends, family, and acquaintances on these platforms. The primary reasons for social media use in Romania include staying connected with loved ones and filling spare time. This trend partially explains the rise in TikTok users, with the platform poised to potentially surpass Facebook in the near future. Looking ahead, the number of social media users in Romania is forecast to increase by 18.75 percent between 2024 and 2029, reaching an estimated 17.69 million users by 2029. This growth trajectory underscores the continued importance of social media in Romanian society.

The number of social media users in the United States was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2029 by in total 26 million users (+8.55 percent). After the ninth consecutive increasing year, the social media user base is estimated to reach 330.07 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).