53 Stunning Social Media Statistics [2023]: Facts About Social Media Phones In The U.S.

Research Summary. For well over a decade now, social media has permeated our everyday lives. With that in mind, it’s unsurprising that social media usage has only grown over time. According to our extensive research:

As of January 2023, there are 4.76 billion social media users worldwide. That’s just over 59% of the world’s total population.
The average user spends 2 hours and 27 minutes on social media per day.
115.9 million Americans access social media exclusively through mobile (35% of the total U.S. population).
A considerable 75% of social media users research products on social sites.
71% of consumers who have a positive experience with a brand on social media are likely to recommend that brand to others.
At least 73% of marketers agree that social media has been either “somewhat effective” or “very effective” for their business.
As of 2021, there are roughly 1 billion active TikTok users. That’s a 457% year-on-year increase from 2020.

Given that the average user spends more than 2 hours on social media, it’s unsurprising that it has sway on consumer behavior. After all, there’s a reason why Facebook ads seem to read your mind. According to our research:

91% of users visit a brand’s website or app after following them on social media.

That means that if 300 people were to follow your brand on social media, at least 273 people would visit your brand’s website. Understandably, this is why social media is vital for getting eyes on products.
89% of users say they will purchase from a brand they follow on social media.

Again, if 300 people were to follow your brand on social media, that means an average of 267 would make a purchase. Further, 84% of social media users will actually choose that brand over a competitor.
44.8% of internet users rely on social media to research brands.

Nearly half of internet users around the world use social media to research brands, and that number is as high as seven in ten people in the U.S.
49% of social media users report that they depend on influencer opinions for purchasing decisions.

Statistics like this are why it’s common to see brands pay for YouTube sponsorships, as consumers are far more likely to make a purchase when brands are recommended to them by their favorite influencers.
86% of social media users follow at least one brand.

And that number is as high as 90% for Instagram users. That means following brands is actually extremely common for the vast majority of social media users.

Social Media Marketing Statistics

Because so many consumers rely on social media to find and purchase brands, marketers do their best to attract as many people as possible. Here are the facts about social media marketing:

91.9% of U.S. companies with more than 100 employees use social media for marketing purposes.

And you might be surprised to learn that number was as high as 86.2% all the way back in 2013, meaning that marketers have been aware of social media’s uses for a long time.
93% of social media marketers pay for Facebook ads.

This makes sense, as 78% of American consumers have discovered new retail products to buy through Facebook. That’s why you can see Facebook ads for anything under the sun. Talk about personalization.
98% of marketers agree that Instagram is the most influential platform for influencer marketing.

For contact, that’s a whole 44% higher than the number of marketers who’d say the same about Facebook. In part, this is because of Instagram’s image and video-friendly formatting.
Social media ad spending in the U.S. has reached $62.9 million in 2022.

That’s a 66% increase from 2017, when social media ad spending was only $21.4 million. Additionally, ad spending is only expected to increase year after year going forward.
67% of B2B businesses use Twitter for digital marketing.

While advertising numbers are typically lower for twitter when compared to Facebook or Instragam, 67% is still the majority.

Social Media Statistics on Facebook

With over 2.89 billion users around the globe, Facebook holds the title of the largest social media website. With that in mind, we’ve gathered some vital statistics about Facebook specifically:

As of 2022, there are over 60 million active Facebook pages.

However, only 6 million of these pages pay to be ‘active advertisers,’ meaning that they share the vast majority of the 2 billion+ views they receive on the site.
As of 2021, Facebook has 1.93 billion daily active users (DAU).

When compared to other social media sites, Facebook, in particular, shines when it comes to DAU. In fact, 66% of monthly active users on the site are daily active users. For perspective, that means 24% of the world’s total population uses Facebook every single day.
Facebook had 2.89 billion monthly active users throughout 2021.

With that number steadily increasing every quarter, as in the start of 2021, that number was 2.85 billion users, while in the very beginning of 2022, that number has reached 2.91 billion. That’s an increase of 6 billion people in only a year.
As of 2022, 69% of U.S. adults use Facebook.

In 2016, that number was just under 55%. That means Facebook’s popularity has continued to grow, despite its age compared to other social media platforms.
The average engagement rate for a Facebook post is only 0.27%.

This is likely due to the sheer number of users and pages all trying to compete with one another. However, it is worth noting that the highest engagement days on Facebook are Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday.
80.4% of ecommerce referrals through social media come from Facebook.

Facebook is responsible for the vast majority of social media referral traffic, with runner-ups being Instagram at 10.7% and Pinterest at 8.2%.

On average, there are 4.75 billion pieces of content shared on Facebook each day.

That means the average user on Facebook shares at least 2.5 pieces of content every single day. Of course, you probably know at least one person who goes far beyond those numbers too.

Social Media Statistics on Twitter

While not as widely used as Facebook, Twitter is still the 15th largest social media platform in the world. Here are some interesting facts about Twitter:

77% of Twitter users have a better impression of brands who respond to tweets.

As you may have noticed, Twitter’s limited text format has created some interesting marketing pages. It’s not uncommon to see Wendy’s and other massive accounts responding to tweets in an almost slapstick manner.
Twitter is the prime social media account used by 276 heads of state and governments.

In fact, Twitter is the #1 social media platform for 92% of all United Nations (UN) member states and is used across 178 counties.
There are over 500 million tweets sent per day on Twitter.

That’s over 200 billion tweets per year, and as many as 6,000 every single second. That’s especially impressive given that Twitter has 436 million users.
86% of Twitter users access the site via mobile.

While only 14% use Twitter on their desktop/laptop, for context, Facebook has a split of 68/32, with over double the amount of users accessing the site via desktop.
A considerable 92% of US tweets come from only 10% of Twitter users.

There’s a reason why we all felt like former President Donald Trump’s tweets were so numerous. It’s because only a select few on Twitter produce the vast majority of tweets.

Social Media Statistics on Instagram

As the fourth largest social media platform in the world, Instagram plays a key role in not only beauty standards but also corporate advertising. Here are some interesting facts about Instagram:

Instagram has roughly 1 billion monthly active users.

However, only about 500 million use the site every single day. Percentage wise, that means Instagram has far fewer daily active users than Facebook.
As of 2021, there are over 500 million Instagram Stories users.

From 2016 to 2018 alone, the number of Instagram Stories users increased from 100 million to 400 million. That’s a 400% increase.
At least 95 million photos are posted on Instagram each day.

And believe it or not, over 40 billion photos have been shared on the site since its conception. That’s a lot.

Social Media Statistics by Other Platforms

We’ve covered some of the big social media platforms, but there are dozens of others worth mentioning. Here are some interesting facts about other top dogs in the social media sphere:

Network	Number of Users (In Millions)
Facebook	2,895
YouTube	2,291
WhatsApp	2,000
Instagram	1,393
Facebook Messenger	1,300
WeChat	1,251
TikTok	1,000
Douyin	600
QQ	591
Sina Weibo	566
Telegram	550
Snapchat	538
Kuaishou	506
Pinterest	454
Twitter	436
Reddit	430

TikTok currently has around 1 billion monthly active users.

While this number is similar to Twitter, that platform was conceived in 2006, while TikTok was released in 2016. That’s a ten-year difference. To put it another way, TikTok has seen year-on-year growth as high as 123% in the U.S. alone.
As of 2021, Reddit has 430 million monthly active users.

Created in 2005, Reddit is one of the older social media platforms that still maintains a user base. Each day, roughly 13 million people access the site.
As of 2021, Pinterest has 444 million active users.

While 89 million of those users live in the United States, the vast majority (356 million) access the site from other countries.
Facebook is the most popular social media site with over 2.89 billion users worldwide.

This is a considerable lead, given that the second-place title goes to YouTube, which has over 600 million less users (2.29 billion).
WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and WeChat have a combined 4.5 billion users.

These messaging apps have become a vital part of communication in the modern world. Broken down, WhatsApp has 2 billion users, Facebook Messenger has 1.3 billion, and WeChat has 1.2 billion.

Social Media Statistics by Content Type

Given that there are billions of people using social media every single day, it can take a lot for specific posts to stand out from the crowd. Here are some interesting facts about the content we see and produce on these platforms:

Posts with photos get up to 120% more engagement than other posts.

This includes the fact that photo posts receive 53% more likes and 104% more comments. Plus, if you’re trying to get users to click on an external link, photos also lead to 84% more click-throughs on links than text-based posts.
91% of consumers prefer visual content over text-based or static media.

More specifically, interactive content in the form of videos, images, and games draws consumers in the most. That’s why online videos have become such a popular form of advertising.
As of 2021, video content accounts for almost 82% of internet traffic.

Social media platforms like YouTube really drive this statistic. Though, believe it or not, 69% of consumers actually watch online videos with the sound off.
Instagram videos receive 21.2% more interactions than photos.

Despite the popularity of image posts on Instagram, videos really are king here. Not only do they beat out photos, but they also receive 18.6% more interactions than Carousels.
49.9% of all social media posts are link posts.

In fact, they’re the most common type of content used by brands, with 44.2% of all brand posts being link posts. These brands also often use photos or videos to attract people to click on the link.

Social Media Statistics by Penetration

As of 2022, there are very few people around the globe who’ve never heard of or used social media. It’s crazy to think that 20 years ago, these platforms didn’t exist, and now they’re an important part of our everyday lives. According to our research:

93.33% of global internet users use social media.

Plus, as of 2022, 40% of all internet users also use social media for their work (and 27% in the U.S. specifically).
Europe has the highest social media penetration rate at 79%.

And this is closely followed by North America, where the penetration rate is 74%. Asia’s penetration rate is lower than you might think, as some countries have very high social media usage rates, and others don’t. (i.e., Mongolia vs. South Korea).
The UAE (United Arab Emirates) has the highest rate of social media penetration at 99%.

In second and third places are South Korea and Taiwan with 89.3% and 88.1% social media penetration rates respectively.

Country	% Of Population That Uses Social Media
UAE	99%
South Korea	89.30%
Taiwan	88.10%
Netherlands	88%
Malaysia	86%
Hong Kong	85.60%
Canada	84.90%
Singapore	84.40%
Denmark	83.60%
Sweden	82.10%
New Zealand	82%
Switzerland	81.80%
Philippines	80.70%
Spain	80%
Australia	79.90%
Austria	79.90%
Saudi Arabia	79.30%
Argentina	79.30%
Thailand	78.70%
Germany	78.70%
Isreal	78.10%
UK	77.90%
Mexico	77.20%
Portugal	76.60%
Colombia	76.40%
Ireland	76.40%
Belgium	76%
France	75.90%
Japan	74.30%
Vietnam	73.70%
United States	72.30%
Turkey	70.80%
Brazil	70.30%
Poland	68.50%
Italy	67.90%
Russia	67.80%
China	64.60%
Romania	62.60%
Indonesia	61.80%
Morocco	59.30%

Internet users spend over 35% of their time on the internet using social media.

The average person spends 6 hours and 42 minutes online while also spending 2 hours and 27 minutes of that time using social media.

Social Media Statistics by Demographics

Who uses social media, and why? Certain demographics are certainly more drawn to these platforms than others, regardless of their nationality. Overall, our research shows that:

88% of U.S. Millennials use social media every day.

Beat out only by Gen Z, whom 89% use social media every day. Baby boomers actually come in 3rd at 86%, and Gen X is last with only 81%.
In the U.S., those between 18-29 use social media the most, with 84% using at least one site.

Generally speaking, the number goes down more and more as age increases, with 81% of those between 30-49, 73% of those 50-64, and 45% of those 65+ using at least one site.

Hispanic and Latino individuals are the most likely to use social media in the U.S., with 80% using at least one site.

Black Americans come in second place, with 77% using at least one site, while only 69% of White Americans do.
Women are 16% more likely to use social media than men.

78% of American women use at least one social media site, while only 66% of men do. Overall, that means women are far more likely to take an interest in and spend time on social media sites.
Those who make $75K or more per year are more likely to use social media, with 78% using at least one site.

Generally speaking, that percentage goes down more and more as income decreases, with only 69% of those making under $30K per year using at least one social media site.

77% of those who attended or graduated college use at least one social media site.

That number drops off slightly for those who only graduated or didn’t complete high school, as 64% of those individuals use at least one social media site.
Americans living in urban areas are more likely to use social media, with 76% using at least one site.

Meanwhile, 71% of those living in suburban areas use at least one social media site, and only 66% of those living in rural areas do.

Social Media Statistics by Platform

As mentioned previously, not all social media platforms are created equal. While Facebook and messenger platforms dominate worldwide, there are hundreds of sites out there that cover a variety of niches. According to our research:

YouTube is the most common social media platform in the U.S., with 81% of adults using it.

Following behind is Facebook, with 69% of adults using it, then Instagram (40%), Pinterest (31%), LinkedIn (28%), and Snapchat (25%).
Men use LinkedIn more than women, but women use Facebook and Instagram more than men.

77% of women use Facebook compared to only 61% of men, and 44% of women use Instagram, compared to only 36% of men. On the other hand, 31% of men use LinkedIn, compared to only 26% of women.
The average U.S. internet user has 8.4 social media accounts.

This can include accounts across anything from YouTube to TikTok and Facebook to Pinterest. India has one of the higher numbers for this stat, at 11.5 per user, while Japan scores the lowest with 3.8.
Instagram has the highest engagement rate of any social media platform, at 2-7% per post.

While that might not seem like a lot, sites like Facebook often receive less than half of 1% engagement per post, making Instagram’s numbers pretty impressive. After all, if there are 500 million people using the site every day, that means each post could see up to 35 million engagements.

Social Media Statistics Trends and Projections

Social media already dominates much of the world, but that doesn’t mean its use won’t continue to grow. In the U.S. and abroad, we can expect to see social media becoming even more prevalent as time goes on. Here are some interesting trends and predictions:

From 2005 to 2021, the percentage of the population of U.S. adults that use social media has increased by nearly 15 times.

In 2005 only 5% of U.S. adults used social media. However, that number has risen to 72% as of 2021. The largest jump in users was between 2008 and 2010, with an increase from 21% of the population to 48%.
From 2021 to 2022 alone, the number of social media users worldwide has increased by 180 million.

Every year, there are millions of new social media users. In fact, since 2017, there have been almost 2 billion new users (2.86 billion to 4.76 billion).
There are projected to be 4.41 billion social media users by 2025.

That’s an increase of 810,000 million in only five years, as there were 3.6 billion social media users in 2020. Percentage wise, it’s a predicted 19% increase in users.

What percentage of the world is on social media?

About 50% of the world’s population is now on social media as of 2022. That’s 3.98 billion social media users worldwide.

While the United States doesn’t have the highest percentage of social media users compared to other countries, it’s still a considerable 74% of the population. The UAE (United Arab Emirates) has the highest rate of social media penetration at 99%.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of social media?

Social media’s advantages and disadvantages include:

Advantages
- Ability to communicate with communities and reach large audiences
- Ability to create thoughtful and unique content
- Access to education and information
- Marketing and brand awareness
Disadvantages
- Bullying and harassment
- Problems with privacy
- Addiction and sleep disruption
- Access to false information
Is social media harmful?

No, social media isn’t always harmful. Like anything, social media can be harmful when people form unhealthy or addictive habits around it. However, social media has as many useful purposes as well as negative ones.

While vulnerable individuals like children may be ill-suited to use social media on a regular basis, most adults can handle the negative aspects of it without issue. In fact, many adults now make a living off social media (i.e., YouTubers and influencers).
What age group uses social media the most?

Globally, those between 20 to 29 years of age make up the largest group of social media users (32.2%). Regardless of the country, social media is especially popular with young adults.

For instance, in the US alone 84% of those between 18-29 use at least one social media site, compared to 73% of those 30-49 and 45% of those 65+.

Conclusion

From only 5% of the American population using social media in 2005 to now nearly three-quarters of the population and half of the world population, it’s easy to see the immense growth of these platforms. Sites like Facebook and YouTube now dominate the globe, with 2.89 and 2.29 billion users, respectively.

Today, social media is used for everything from communication to marketing. 73% of marketers agree that social media has been either “somewhat effective” or “very effective” for their business, and brands rely on sites like Instagram to receive engagement and funnel customers to their websites.

And social media’s growth and popularity are only expected to continue, as there could be as many as 4.41 billion users by 2025. That, combined with the fact that we’ve seen a 180 million increase in users from 2021-2022 alone, there’s no doubt social media’s growth will continue to grow strong.

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Author

Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.

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