How Many Social Media Users are There?

Now that’s answered, lets look into:

• Updates for 2022
• 5 Social media usage statistics
• 5 Social media usage by device stats
• 10 General global and US social media statistics
• Social media popularity
• Most popular social media sites
• 4 Social Media growth stats and trends

2022 Updates on Social Media Users and Usage

• When it comes to growth percentages, numbers have surged by 9.9% in the world over the past 12 months (Oct 2020-2021).
• 9 in 10 users use mobile to go on social media.
• In 2021, number of social media users grew by 9.9%
• 95.8% of internet used a social networking sites at least once a month
• Facebook with 11.2 billion visitors per month is the 3rd most visited website in the world
• Internet users on average use 6.7 social media platforms.
• WhatsApp is the most liked social media platform in general
• Instagram is the most popular amongst 16-24 age group.

Social Media Usage Statistics

• In 2021, number of social media users grew by 9.9%. From October 2020 to October 2021, the number of social media users grew by 409 million. Just to put this in perspective – it is more than a million users are signing up to some social media channel every day
• 4.55 billion people use social media globally
• 83.36% of internet users are active on social media; however, 90.71% of mobile internet users are active on social networks. (review42)
• Globally, the typical time an individual spends on social media each day is 2 hours 24 minutes; if someone signed up at 16 and lived to 70, they might spend 5.7 years of their life on it. 

Social Media Usage Via Devices

• 91% of social media users access the social media platform via mobile devices.
• 80% of the total time spent on social media platforms are from mobile devices (lyfemarketing). If you are keen on knowing how much time we spend on our phones on the whole, I curated some numbers on that too. Check them out!
• 760 million or 20% of the users use both mobiles and desktops to access social media. 

Global Social Media Statistics

• Out of 3.81 billion social media users, 98.68% access the websites or apps through a mobile device, with only 1.32% access platforms exclusively via desktop. (wearesocial)

• The social media growth rate in 2015 was around 12.5% year on year. In 2019-2020, it has shown a 9.2% increase which is a slight decline in the growth. 

• India was the country with the most significant social media growth in 2020 according to Keipo’s study. There were 130 million new users every day – equivalent to 9.6% of the total population. 

New users by Country:

• China – 15 million
• Indonesia – 12 million
• Brazil – 11 million
• Iran – 9.4 million 
• USA – 6.9 million

New users by Region:

• North America: +6.96%
• South America: +8.00%
• Europe: +4.32%
• Africa: +13.92%
• Asia: +16.98%
• Australasia: +4.9%

(backlinko)

How Many People In The USA Use Social Media?

• 70% of the entire population in the US have social network accounts, totaling a variety of 231.47 million people and growing 3.1%. (hootsuite)
• In the US, 70% of people have social media accounts active. People who are well educated and wealthier are more likely to use social media. (talkwalker)
• In the US, 76% of all females would use social media when compared to 72% of all men. (pew)
• The most popular social media network in the USA for adults is Facebook with 68% of the population. The other platforms take around an average of 25%. 
• Americans spend an average of 3 hours on social media every day, and 8 hours on the internet. 239 million people use mobile devices to access the internet in America. (slideshare)

Estimated US social media growth

• In the US, estimated users in 2022 could be around 255 million. 
• In the US, estimated users in 2023 could be around 257.4 million.

Social Media Popularity

Social Media is the most popular type in the top types of websites people use.

Based on the 2021 numbers from GWI.COM, 95.8% of internet used a social networking sites at least once a month. Same way, 95.5% of internet users used a chat or messaging platform at least once in a month.

Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are in the top 10 of most visited websites globally.

We saw in the previous stat, that social media is the most popular type of websites. Here are some numbers that support that statement.

• Facebook with 11.2 billion visitors per month (September 2021),
• Instagram with 2.8 billion visitors per month (September 2021),
• Twitter with 2.4 billion visitors per month (September 2021), are in the top 10 most visited websites in 2021.

Internet users on average use 6.7 social media platforms.

We all use multiple social media sites and apps. If we put this to average ever internet user on average is using 6-7 social media sites.

WhatsApp with 23.3% of internet users liking it is the most LIKED social media platform.

Following it is Facebook with 22.2% of internet users between 16-64 liking it. Instagram with 20.6% and Twitter with 4.2% are in the following positions.

Instagram is the most popular amongst 16-24 age group.

37.6% of women, 31.2% of men in this age group like Instagram. The second best app in this demographic is WhatsApp with 17.3% women and 21.1% men considering it a favourite.

Most Popular Social Media Platforms  

In 2020, Facebook is the leading social network with 2.6 billion monthly active users. Following it are YouTube (2 billion), WhatsApp (1.6 billion), FB Messenger (1.3 billion), and WeChat / Weixin (1.1 billion users).
1. Facebook

• Headquarters: Menlo Park, CA
• Founded: 2004
• Active Monthly Users: 2.7 billion

2. Twitter

• Headquarters: San Francisco, CA
• Founded: 2006
• Active Monthly Users: 330 million

3. LinkedIn

• Headquarters: Mountain View, CA
• Founded: 2003
• Active Monthly Users: 310 million
• 44% of LinkedIn users have an income above the national median. 
• Also, LinkedIn is used by 50% of Americans with a college degree. 

4. Instagram

• Headquarters: Menlo Park, CA
• Launched: 2010
• Active Monthly Users: 400 billion
• Instagram is known for eye-catching visuals and inspiring creativity.
• 63% of users are between the ages of 18 to 34, with virtually even split between male and female users.

5. Snapchat

• Headquarters: Los Angeles, CA
• Founded: 2011
• Active Monthly Users: 46 million

6. Pinterest

• Founded: 2010
• Headquarters: San Francisco, CA
• 81% of Pinterest users are female

In fact, 40% of new Pinterest signups are male.
7. Reddit

• Founded: 2005
• Headquarters: San Francisco, CA
• Active Monthly Users: 430 million
• According to Alexa rankings, Reddit is one of the top 20 most-visited sites.
• Reddit has a unique blend of content and community, with more than 150,000 communities dedicated to every topic imaginable.

Social Media Growth Trends

In 2021, number of social media users grew by 9.9%

From October 2020 to October 2021, the number of social media users grew by 409 million. Just to put this in perspective – it is more than a million users are signing up to some social media channel every day

In 2019-2020 Asia social media usage grew by 16.98%, Africa by 13.92%, South America by 8%, North America by 6.96%, Europe by 4.32%, and Australia by 4.9%. 

In the US, monthly active users are up 1-2% from Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn in 2019-2020. Though, Pinterest, Twitter, WhatsApp, and Snapchat reduced by 1-3%. 

Why do people use social media.

Staying in touch with family and friends is the primary reason why people use social media.

48% of global internet users in the age groups 16-64 in 2021 said they use social media sites and apps to connect with family and friends. Following it are ‘Filling Up The Spare Time’. ‘Getting News Updates’, and ‘Finding Entertaining Content’ are next popular reasons why people use social media.