Social media user demographics and adoption in the United States

Many Americans use social media to connect with each other, engage with news content, share information, and have fun. Explore the patterns and trends shaping the social media landscape.

To better understand Americans’ social media use, Pew Research Center surveyed 5,733 U.S. adults from May 19 to September 5, 2023. Ipsos conducted this National Public Opinion Reference Survey (NPORS) for the Center using address-based sampling and a multimode protocol. Includes both web and email. In this way, nearly every American adult has the opportunity to choose. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, education, and other categories.

The polls from 2000 to 2021 were conducted by telephone. For more information about this mode transition, please see our Q&A.

Below are the questions, answers, and methodology used in this analysis.

A note on terminology: The May-September 2023 survey was already in place when Twitter changed its name to “X.”Terms and conditions twitter and X Both are used in this report to refer to the same platform.

YouTube and Facebook are the most widely used online platforms. About half of U.S. adults use Instagram, and a smaller percentage say they use sites and apps like TikTok, LinkedIn, Twitter(X), and BeReal.

Which social media platforms are the most popular

Percentage of U.S. adults who say they have ever used…

Year	YouTube	Facebook	Instagram	pinterest	tick tock	linkedin	whatsapp	snapchat	Twitter (X)	reddit	Bereal	next
August 5, 2012		54%	9%	Ten%		16%			13%
August 7, 2012									14%
December 9, 2012			11%	13%					13%
2012/12/16		57%
2013/5/19									15%
2013/7/14									16%
2013/9/16		57%	14%	17%		17%			14%
2013/9/30									16%
January 26, 2014									16%
September 21, 2014		58%	twenty one%	twenty two%		twenty three%			19%
2015/12/4		62%	twenty four%	26%		twenty two%			20%
April 4, 2016		68%	28%	26%		twenty five%			twenty one%
January 10, 2018	73%	68%	35%	29%		twenty five%	twenty two%	27%	twenty four%
February 7, 2019	73%	69%	37%	28%		27%	20%	twenty four%	twenty two%	11%
February 8, 2021	81%	69%	40%	31%	twenty one%	28%	twenty three%	twenty five%	twenty three%	18%		13%
September 5, 2023	83%	68%	47%	35%	33%	30%	29%	27%	twenty two%	twenty two%	3%

Note: Vertical lines indicate mode changes. The polls from 2012 to 2021 were conducted by telephone. In 2023, the poll was conducted via the web and by mail. Check out our Q&A to learn more about this shift. See Topline for more information on how question wording has changed over the years. Data from 2018 and earlier is not available for YouTube, Snapchat, and WhatsApp. Data prior to 2019 is not available on Reddit. Data prior to 2021 is not available on TikTok. Data prior to 2023 is not available in BeReal. Respondents who did not respond will not be displayed.

Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted from 2012 to 2023.

Pew Research Center

Usage of major online platforms varies by factors such as age, gender, and level of formal education.

% of US adults say they have used __…

	18-29 years old	30-49	50-64	65 years of age or older
Facebook	67	75	69	58
Instagram	78	59	35	15
linkedin	32	40	31	12
Twitter (X)	42	27	17	6
pinterest	45	40	33	twenty one
snapchat	65	30	13	Four
YouTube	93	92	83	60
whatsapp	32	38	29	16
reddit	44	31	11	3
tick tock	62	39	twenty four	Ten
Bereal	12	3	1	<1