Many Americans use social media to connect with one another, engage with news content, share information and entertain themselves. Explore the patterns and trends shaping the social media landscape.
To better understand Americans’ social media use, Pew Research Center surveyed 5,626 U.S. adults from Feb. 1 to June 10, 2024. SSRS conducted this National Public Opinion Reference Survey (NPORS) for the Center using address-based sampling and a multimode protocol that included web, mail and phone. This way nearly all U.S. adults have a chance of selection. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race and ethnicity, education and other categories.
Surveys fielded before 2023 were conducted via phone. For more on the mode shift in 2023, read our Q&A.
Here are the questions used for this analysis, along with responses, and its methodology.
Which social media platforms are most common?
YouTube and Facebook are the most-widely used online platforms. Half of U.S. adults say they use Instagram, and smaller shares use sites or apps such as TikTok, LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter) and Snapchat.
Which social media platforms are most popular
% of U.S. adults who say they ever use …
| Year | YouTube | TikTok | Snapchat | X (formerly Twitter) | BeReal | Nextdoor | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8/5/2012 | 54% | 9% | 10% | 16% | 13% | |||||||
| 8/7/2012 | 14% | |||||||||||
| 12/9/2012 | 11% | 13% | 13% | |||||||||
| 12/16/2012 | 57% | |||||||||||
| 5/19/2013 | 15% | |||||||||||
| 7/14/2013 | 16% | |||||||||||
| 9/16/2013 | 57% | 14% | 17% | 17% | 14% | |||||||
| 9/30/2013 | 16% | |||||||||||
| 1/26/2014 | 16% | |||||||||||
| 9/21/2014 | 58% | 21% | 22% | 23% | 19% | |||||||
| 4/12/2015 | 62% | 24% | 26% | 22% | 20% | |||||||
| 4/4/2016 | 68% | 28% | 26% | 25% | 21% | |||||||
| 1/10/2018 | 73% | 68% | 35% | 29% | 25% | 22% | 27% | 24% | ||||
| 2/7/2019 | 73% | 69% | 37% | 28% | 27% | 20% | 24% | 22% | 11% | |||
| 2/8/2021 | 81% | 69% | 40% | 31% | 21% | 28% | 23% | 25% | 23% | 18% | 13% | |
| 9/5/2023 | 83% | 68% | 47% | 35% | 33% | 30% | 29% | 27% | 22% | 22% | 3% | |
| 6/10/2024 | 85% | 70% | 50% | 36% | 33% | 32% | 30% | 27% | 21% | 24% | 3% |
Source: Surveys of U.S. adults conducted 2012-2024.
Note: The vertical line indicates a change in mode. Polls from 2012-2021 were conducted via phone. In 2023, the poll was conducted via web and mail. In 2024, the poll was conducted via web, mail and phone. For more on the mode shift in 2023, read our Q&A. Refer to the topline for more information on how question wording varied over the years. Pre-2018 data is not available for YouTube, Snapchat or WhatsApp; pre-2019 data is not available for Reddit; pre-2021 data is not available for TikTok; pre-2023 data is not available for BeReal. Respondents who did not give an answer are not shown.
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
Who uses each social media platform?
Usage of the major online platforms varies by factors such as age, gender and level of formal education.
% of U.S. adults who say they ever use __ by …
Contents
| Ages 18-29 | 30-49 | 50-64 | 65+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 68 | 78 | 70 | 59 | |
| 76 | 66 | 36 | 19 | |
| 40 | 41 | 30 | 15 | |
| X (formerly Twitter) | 38 | 25 | 15 | 8 |
| 43 | 43 | 33 | 22 | |
| Snapchat | 65 | 32 | 14 | 4 |
| YouTube | 93 | 94 | 86 | 65 |
| 30 | 40 | 28 | 18 | |
| 46 | 35 | 11 | 4 | |
| TikTok | 59 | 40 | 26 | 10 |
| BeReal | 10 | 2 | 1 | <1 |
Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Feb. 1-June 10, 2024.
| Men | Women | |
|---|---|---|
| 61 | 78 | |
| 44 | 55 | |
| 35 | 30 | |
| X (formerly Twitter) | 25 | 17 |
| 19 | 51 | |
| Snapchat | 23 | 31 |
| YouTube | 87 | 83 |
| 28 | 32 | |
| 28 | 20 | |
| TikTok | 26 | 39 |
| BeReal | 2 | 3 |
Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Feb. 1-June 10, 2024.
| White | Black | Hispanic | Asian* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 70 | 73 | 69 | 65 | |
| 45 | 52 | 59 | 62 | |
| 33 | 34 | 24 | 50 | |
| X (formerly Twitter) | 19 | 24 | 22 | 26 |
| 37 | 36 | 35 | 25 | |
| Snapchat | 25 | 28 | 33 | 26 |
| YouTube | 82 | 88 | 89 | 93 |
| 22 | 36 | 56 | 39 | |
| 24 | 18 | 22 | 42 | |
| TikTok | 26 | 50 | 48 | 31 |
| BeReal | 3 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
Note: White, Black and Asian adults include those who report being only one race and are not Hispanic. Hispanics are of any race. Respondents who did not give an answer are not shown.
Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Feb. 1-June 10, 2024.
| Less than $30,000 | $30,000- $69,999 | $70,000- $99,999 | $100,000+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 65 | 73 | 73 | 70 | |
| 41 | 47 | 54 | 58 | |
| 16 | 22 | 34 | 53 | |
| X (formerly Twitter) | 15 | 18 | 24 | 27 |
| 29 | 34 | 39 | 40 | |
| Snapchat | 28 | 32 | 26 | 24 |
| YouTube | 78 | 84 | 87 | 90 |
| 26 | 26 | 30 | 37 | |
| 15 | 22 | 22 | 34 | |
| TikTok | 37 | 39 | 36 | 26 |
| BeReal | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Feb. 1-June 10, 2024.
| High school or less | Some college | College graduate+ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 69 | 71 | 70 | |
| 41 | 51 | 57 | |
| 12 | 31 | 54 | |
| X (formerly Twitter) | 13 | 23 | 27 |
| 29 | 41 | 39 | |
| Snapchat | 28 | 32 | 22 |
| YouTube | 79 | 87 | 90 |
| 23 | 25 | 42 | |
| 14 | 27 | 32 | |
| TikTok | 37 | 37 | 26 |
| BeReal | 2 | 4 | 3 |
Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Feb. 1-June 10, 2024.
| Urban | Suburban | Rural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 67 | 70 | 74 | |
| 51 | 54 | 39 | |
| 32 | 39 | 19 | |
| X (formerly Twitter) | 22 | 23 | 15 |
| 31 | 37 | 39 | |
| Snapchat | 25 | 27 | 30 |
| YouTube | 85 | 87 | 81 |
| 39 | 31 | 19 | |
| 24 | 29 | 14 | |
| TikTok | 36 | 31 | 33 |
| BeReal | 3 | 3 | 2 |
Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Feb. 1-June 10, 2024.
| Rep/Lean Rep | Dem/Lean Dem | |
|---|---|---|
| 72 | 69 | |
| 47 | 55 | |
| 29 | 37 | |
| X (formerly Twitter) | 21 | 22 |
| 36 | 36 | |
| Snapchat | 29 | 27 |
| YouTube | 84 | 86 |
| 24 | 34 | |
| 20 | 29 | |
| TikTok | 30 | 36 |
| BeReal | 3 | 2 |
Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Feb. 1-June 10, 2024.
Find out more
This fact sheet was compiled by Research Assistant Olivia Sidoti and Research Associate Wyatt Dawson. Former Research Analyst Risa Gelles-Watnick, Research Analyst Michelle Faverio, Digital Producer Sara Atske, Associate Information Graphics Designer Kaitlyn Radde and Research Assistant Eugenie Park also provided assistance.
Follow these links for more in-depth analysis of the impact of social media on American life.
- Americans’ Social Media Use (Jan. 31, 2024)
- Americans’ Use of Mobile Technology and Home Broadband (Jan. 31, 2024)
- Q&A: How and why we’re changing the way we study tech adoption (Jan. 31, 2024)
Find more reports and blog posts related to internet and technology.
For more information on the data collected from 2023 to present, refer to the Center’s National Public Opinion Reference Survey (NPORS).