Social Media Usage Statistics - Click ‘Follow’ for more!

Typically, young people are the first to adopt social media apps the moment they pop up. It’s only later on that older people start catching up with the trend. Perhaps due to the lack of any new social media platforms over the last couple of years, social media usage statistics have been stagnating for a while. Even among young people.

And yet, the undeniable monopoly that the most used social apps have over the entire industry necessitate some sort of social media marketing strategy from businesses worldwide. Every business owner, marketer, and researcher needs to research social media stats to know exactly when, where, and how to engage audiences glued to their phones. To help you find your way through the labyrinth, we have compiled a list of the most recent stats.

Global Social Media Usage Statistics

The first section of our social media use statistics deals with some general stats on social media usage around the world. Below you can find how many Americans use social media, global social media demographics in 2020, stats regarding social media growth, social media usage statistics by age and more. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Snapchat, YouTube and  Instagram usage statistics will be in their separate sections below.

1. According to social media statistics worldwide there are over 3.7 billion people using social networks globally.

(Hootsuite)

2. The average time spent on social media per day is two hours and 23 minutes.

(Medium)

3. There are over 4.5 billion internet users in 2020.

(Internet World Stats)

4. Approximately 223 million Americans used social media last year.

(Edison Research)

5. 50% of college graduates and those who live in high-income households use LinkedIn.

(Pew Research Center)

6. 67% of the 18-to-29 demographic in the United States use Instagram.

(Pew Research Center)

7. 38% of Hispanic Americans claim WhatsApp is their most-used social network.

(Convince & Convert)

8. Only 4% of people who discuss gambling brands online actually follow their profiles on social networks in the UK.

(BrandWatch)

Social Media Mobile Use

The next section of social media statistics for 2020 is all about mobile. The largest portion of people use social media on mobile devices. The world’s most used social media platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp thrive on smartphones and tablets, and it's fascinating how much time the average person spends on their phone. Social media consumption on mobile devices is also a key driver for advertising and commerce, as our social media shopping statistics will show.

9. There are more than 3.66 billion active mobile users on social media today.

(Statista)

10. With nearly 500 million combined users, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are the most popular social networks in the United States.

(Statista)

11. By 2021 people in the United States will spend 252 minutes using mobile internet each day.

(Vox)

12. 94% of Facebook’s marketing revenue comes from mobile devices.

(Facebook)

13. A median of 39% of smartphone users looked for or applied for a job on mobile within the past year.

(Pew Research Center)

14. According to Pew Research statistics on social media usage, 32% of people have used their phones to buy or sell goods.

(Pew Research Center)

Facebook Usage Statistics

How many people use Facebook? Nearly 2.5 billion, according to Statista’s social media usage statistics. When it comes to Facebook, the following section will have info on social media demographics, how much time is spent on social media and even a Twitter vs. Facebook comparison in terms of users lost during the past few years. We also have some Facebook mobile usage statistics. A large percentage of people who use social media are still on Facebook, but is its status as the biggest social networking platform endangered? Let’s find out.

15. There are currently 2.45 billion Facebook users worldwide.

(Statista)

16. On average, Facebook had 1.59 billion daily active users in June 2019, an increase of 8% from the previous year.

(Facebook)

17. 15% of people in the United States claim they are using Facebook more now than before.

(Medium)

18. 14% of long-term Facebook users in the United States have left the social network completely.

(Medium)

19. Within the 12-to-34 demographic, Facebook use declined 15% during the past three years.

(Medium)

20. Facebook and Twitter have lost millions of users aged 12 to 34 in the past year.

(CNET)

21. Facebook usage statistics by age  show that the network is still the most-used platform for 12 to 34 year olds in the United States.

(CNET)

22. Nearly three quarters of users on Facebook (74%) visit the site every day, while 51% do so more than once a day.

(Pew Research Center)

Instagram Demographics

When it comes to social media usage statistics worldwide, Instagram is right up there with titans such as Facebook, WhatsApp and WeChat. The next section will feature social media user statistics, answer how many people are using social media to network, and give some general social media usage statistics in the United States.

23. Instagram has one billion monthly users.

(Instagram)

24. Instagram will reach 112.5 million US users in 2020.

(eMarketer)

25. The Instagram Stories feature alone boasts 400 million daily active users.

(CNBC)

26. Instagram increased the percentage of its users aged 12 to 34 from 64% to 66% in the past year.

(MarketingCharts)

27. When it comes to downloads, Instagram is the second most popular free app on Apple’s App Store.

(Apple)

28. Among young Americans, Instagram went from 64% to 66% in the past two years.

(Edison Research)

29. 46.6% of Instagram users have less than 1,000 followers.

(Hubspot)

30. 50% of Instagram users receive less than 100 likes on an average post.

(Hubspot)

31. Video posts on Instagram receive more than two times more comments than other types of posts.

(Hubspot)

32. As many as 89% of people on Instagram are not from the United States.

(Hootsuite)

33. 63% of Instagram users log in at least once per day.

(Pew Research Center)

34. 62% of instagram users say they have become more interested in a brand or product after seeing it in Stories.

(Instagram)

35. 11% of US social media users shop on Instagram.

(eMarketer)

36. Instagram user demographics include 35% of all US adults with 1 billion monthly active users.

(Pew Research Center) (Facebook)

Youtube Usage Statistics

YouTube is a phenomenon. More than a decade ago, when Google bought it for $1.65 billion, people questioned if it was really worth that much money. Youtube daily usage statistics since have dispelled any such concerns. If we consider social media statistics by year, the popular video-sharing social network has been a source of constant growth for Google throughout the past decade.

37. YouTube gets over 2 billion unique logins per month.

(YouTube)

38. YouTube usage statistics by age show that 15-25 year olds are the most active demographic in the United States (81%).

(Statista)

39. YouTube is the second most visited website in existence, according to Alexa.

(Alexa)

40. Over half (51%) of YouTube users claim they visit the site daily, up 6% from 2018.

(Pew Research Center)

41. Relaxation videos are up 70 percent since 2018.

(Google)

42. When it comes to millennials, social media usage statistics show that 70 percent watched a video of instructional nature on YouTube.

(Google)

Twitter Usage Statistics

While not as popular as Facebook, WeChat or Instagram, Twitter statistics on social media usage place it up there with the big boys in the industry. While social media use over time has declined for some networks, Twitter’s user base seems to be as active as ever these days.

43. According to Statista’s social media usage statistics, there are more than 330 million active monthly users on Twitter.

(Statista)

44. Twitter has 145 million monetizable daily active users.

(Twitter)

45. Women tweeting about politics are most likely to be in the top 10% of the most active Twitter users in the United States.

(Pew Research Center)

46. The top 10% most active users account for four-fifths of the posts on Twitter.

(Pew Research Center)

47. 12% of Americans get their news from Twitter.

(Pew Research Center)

48. Tweets with hashtags get 100% more engagement.

(Twitter)

49. Watching videos is the third most popular reason that people use Twitter.

(Statista)

LinkedIn Usage Statistics

How much time do people spend on social media? If it is LinkedIn - not much. When it comes to usage patterns, the business-focused platform is a lot different than most other social networks on our list. How many people are on a social media platform and how many people use that social media site are very different things. This is why you find that LinkedIn is often happy to give total registered user numbers, but is more reluctant when it comes to divulging info about active monthly or worse still, daily users. The differences in social media usage by age are also more pronounced on networks such as LinkedIn and Snapchat, compared to Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

50. There are more than 660 million LinkedIn users around the world.

(LinkedIn)

51. 57% of LinkedIn users are male while 43% are female.

(Statista)

52. 37% of US adults aged between 30 and 49 years old use LinkedIn.

(Pew Research Center)

53. People spend just over six minutes per session on LinkedIn.

(SimilarWeb)

54. According to DataReportal’s social media usage stats, LinkedIn has 310 million active monthly users.

(DataReportal)

55. LinkedIn users spend around 17 minutes on the platform each month.

(DataReportal)

56. 57 percent of LinkedIn’s traffic comes from mobile devices.

(LinkedIn)

Pinterest Usage Statistics

According to the latest social media use stats, Pinterest is growing in popularity, but at a rate that’s not enough to book a spot in the top ten most popular social networks. The time spent on social media by age shows that it’s a network dominated by women. Similarly, according to Pinterest’s social media user stats it’s also generally favored by a population slightly older than the industry norm.

57. Pinterest currently has around 322 million monthly active users.

(Statista)

58. Pinterest users spend an average of 14.2 minutes on the social media platform every day.

(BroadbandSearch)

59. According to social media use by age, around 35% of Pinterest users are aged 30 to 49.

(Pew Research Center)

60. In the United States, 28% of all adult social media users use Pinterest.

(Pew Research Center)

61. Seven out of every 10 Pinterest users are female.

(eMarketer)

Snapchat Usage Statistics

Since its conception, Snapchat has been promoted as a network primarily aimed at young people. Social media usage statistics we’ve come across support this idea, and the majority of its popularity as a social networking platform comes from teenagers who use it regularly. Snapchat was an innovator, with its self-deleting images becoming a popular adopted feature on other big social networks such as Facebook and Instagram. Features such as Snap streaks also promote being active on the platform.

62. There are  210 million daily active users on Snapchat.

(Snap Inc.)

63. Snapchat is used by 62% of those aged 18 to 29 in the United States.

(Pew Research Center)

64. According to Generation Z social media usage statistics, 73% of Snapchat users are under the age of 25.

(Our World in Data)

65. Statistics on social media use show that only 3% of Snapchat users are over the age of 65.

(Our World in Data)

Final Word

The top five social media apps are pretty much holding the monopoly when it comes to the market share and popularity among audiences. So much so, in fact, that some are being investigated for violating antitrust laws. With the immense time spent on social media and the huge influence these platforms have on our everyday lives and decision-making processes, any business would be insane not to cash in on the hype.

Reputable sources such as Ipsos, the Pew Research Center, Statista, HubSpot, and Our World in Data have conducted large-scale projects and surveys to collect and quantify statistics about social media usage worldwide. We have compiled this list of recent data to help you better understand social media demographics in 2020. Hopefully, it will help you decide which social networks to look out for and why, depending on the audiences you are targeting.