Social Media Fact Sheet

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	U.S. adults
3/21/2005	5%
12/8/2005	8%
8/31/2006	11%
5/11/2008	21%
8/10/2008	26%
8/31/2008	25%
12/4/2008	27%
12/20/2008	26%
4/19/2009	36%
9/14/2009	37%
12/27/2009	42%
1/19/2010	43%
5/30/2010	48%
9/13/2010	46%
11/24/2010	45%
11/28/2010	46%
12/21/2010	47%
5/22/2011	50%
8/26/2011	50%
2/19/2012	53%
8/7/2012	59%
12/9/2012	54%
5/19/2013	61%
7/14/2013	60%
9/30/2013	63%
1/26/2014	62%
7/12/2015	65%
11/6/2016	69%
1/10/2018	69%
2/7/2019	72%
2/8/2021	72%

Pew Research Center

As more Americans have adopted social media, the social media user base has also grown more representative of the broader population. Young adults were among the earliest social media adopters and continue to use these sites at high levels, but usage by older adults has increased in recent years.

	18-29	30-49	50-64	65+
3/21/2005	7%	6%	4%	3%
12/8/2005	16%	9%	5%	2%
8/31/2006	41%	6%	3%	0%
5/11/2008	60%	21%	7%	2%
8/10/2008	65%	27%	10%	3%
8/31/2008	68%	27%	9%	2%
12/4/2008	67%	30%	12%	2%
12/20/2008	59%	28%	8%	3%
4/19/2009	70%	42%	20%	5%
9/14/2009	67%	44%	21%	6%
12/27/2009	78%	47%	25%	8%
1/19/2010	76%	51%	26%	7%
5/30/2010	82%	53%	37%	11%
9/13/2010	80%	52%	31%	9%
11/24/2010	74%	54%	33%	11%
11/28/2010	78%	54%	33%	14%
12/21/2010	76%	55%	36%	12%
5/22/2011	79%	61%	38%	14%
8/26/2011	82%	59%	36%	12%
2/19/2012	81%	64%	39%	16%
8/7/2012	88%	68%	48%	22%
5/19/2013	87%	72%	50%	24%
7/14/2013	87%	72%	49%	21%
9/30/2013	89%	74%	54%	27%
1/26/2014	84%	77%	52%	27%
7/12/2015	90%	77%	51%	35%
11/6/2016	86%	80%	64%	34%
1/10/2018	88%	78%	64%	37%
2/7/2019	90%	82%	69%	40%
2/8/2021	84%	81%	73%	45%

Pew Research Center

	White	Black	Hispanic
3/21/2005	5%	4%
12/8/2005	8%	7%
8/31/2006	9%	11%
5/11/2008	19%	21%
8/10/2008	21%	32%
8/31/2008	22%	25%
12/4/2008	26%	25%
12/20/2008	24%	27%
4/19/2009	35%	33%
9/14/2009	39%	33%
12/27/2009	42%	42%
1/19/2010	41%	44%
5/30/2010	46%	51%
9/13/2010	47%	41%	40%
11/24/2010	45%	43%	39%
11/28/2010	47%	40%	44%
12/21/2010	48%	41%	44%
5/22/2011	50%	46%	51%
8/26/2011	51%	49%	45%
2/19/2012	53%	48%	51%
8/7/2012	59%	58%	58%
12/9/2012	54%	50%	53%
5/19/2013	60%	64%	61%
7/14/2013	56%	57%
9/30/2013	62%	58%	66%
1/26/2014	59%	61%	66%
7/12/2015	65%	56%	65%
11/6/2016	69%	63%	74%
1/10/2018	68%	69%	72%
2/7/2019	73%	69%	70%
2/8/2021	69%	77%	80%

Pew Research Center

	Men	Women
3/21/2005	6%	4%
12/8/2005	10%	8%
8/31/2006	13%	10%
5/11/2008	21%	22%
8/10/2008	25%	27%
8/31/2008	25%	24%
12/4/2008	26%	29%
12/20/2008	25%	26%
4/19/2009	33%	38%
9/14/2009	36%	37%
12/27/2009	38%	45%
1/19/2010	39%	46%
5/30/2010	44%	52%
9/13/2010	42%	49%
11/24/2010	39%	50%
11/28/2010	42%	50%
12/21/2010	44%	50%
5/22/2011	47%	54%
8/26/2011	50%	50%
2/19/2012	50%	56%
8/7/2012	54%	64%
12/9/2012	50%	58%
5/19/2013	59%	63%
7/14/2013	57%	62%
9/30/2013	60%	66%
1/26/2014	60%	63%
7/12/2015	62%	68%
11/6/2016	66%	72%
1/10/2018	65%	73%
2/7/2019	65%	78%
2/8/2021	66%	78%

Pew Research Center

	Less than $30,000	$30,000-$49,999	$50,000-$74,999	$75,000+
3/21/2005	3%	6%	8%	7%
12/8/2005	5%	9%	9%	15%
8/31/2006	8%	16%	9%	10%
5/11/2008	23%	23%	19%	25%
8/10/2008	27%	28%	28%	30%
8/31/2008	22%	26%	33%	28%
12/4/2008	24%	34%	27%	35%
12/20/2008	26%	29%	27%	32%
4/19/2009	30%	39%	43%	47%
9/14/2009	32%	40%	43%	50%
12/27/2009	37%	43%	47%	53%
1/19/2010	39%	43%	48%	49%
5/30/2010	42%	54%	50%	60%
9/13/2010	38%	48%	54%	63%
11/24/2010	39%	46%	53%	57%
11/28/2010	40%	50%	50%	58%
12/21/2010	39%	52%	59%	60%
5/22/2011	42%	60%	56%	66%
8/26/2011	42%	54%	55%	64%
2/19/2012	46%	58%	57%	68%
8/7/2012	55%	59%	61%	73%
12/9/2012	48%	56%	60%	65%
5/19/2013	57%	63%	69%	68%
7/14/2013	52%	59%	63%	71%
9/30/2013	58%	64%	70%	73%
1/26/2014	58%	64%	67%	74%
7/12/2015	56%	69%	72%	78%
11/6/2016	60%	71%	73%	78%
1/10/2018	63%	74%	74%	77%
2/7/2019	68%	70%	83%	78%
2/8/2021	69%	76%	65%	78%

Pew Research Center

	High school or less	Some college	College graduate
3/21/2005	3%	5%	10%
12/8/2005	5%	10%	13%
8/31/2006	9%	17%	9%
5/11/2008	18%	29%	21%
8/10/2008	22%	32%	29%
8/31/2008	19%	28%	32%
12/4/2008	20%	38%	33%
12/20/2008	19%	35%	32%
4/19/2009	27%	44%	44%
9/14/2009	27%	44%	48%
12/27/2009	29%	53%	55%
1/19/2010	32%	54%	50%
5/30/2010	37%	58%	59%
9/13/2010	34%	55%	57%
11/24/2010	33%	55%	56%
11/28/2010	36%	54%	56%
12/21/2010	35%	56%	60%
5/22/2011	39%	58%	63%
8/26/2011	39%	64%	59%
2/19/2012	41%	65%	64%
8/7/2012	48%	68%	69%
12/9/2012	44%	62%	62%
5/19/2013	52%	67%	69%
7/14/2013	47%	67%	71%
9/30/2013	51%	70%	73%
1/26/2014	50%	71%	69%
7/12/2015	54%	70%	76%
11/6/2016	59%	73%	78%
1/10/2018	60%	72%	79%
2/7/2019	64%	74%	79%
2/8/2021	64%	76%	77%

Pew Research Center

	Urban	Suburban	Rural
3/21/2005	6%	5%	3%
12/8/2005	10%	8%	6%
8/31/2006	14%	10%	10%
5/11/2008	24%	22%	16%
8/10/2008	30%	25%	19%
8/31/2008	29%	24%	18%
12/4/2008	30%	28%	21%
12/20/2008	24%	19%	14%
4/19/2009	29%	33%	21%
9/14/2009	33%	31%	28%
12/27/2009	45%	43%	34%
1/19/2010	45%	43%	35%
5/30/2010	53%	50%	39%
9/13/2010	48%	50%	32%
11/24/2010	48%	46%	40%
11/28/2010	50%	46%	41%
12/21/2010	51%	49%	39%
5/22/2011	53%	52%	44%
8/26/2011	53%	51%	42%
2/19/2012	56%	54%	45%
8/7/2012	60%	61%	50%
12/9/2012	56%	55%	47%
5/19/2013	64%	61%	56%
7/14/2013	64%	60%	49%
9/30/2013	66%	63%	55%
1/26/2014	63%	64%	53%
7/12/2015	64%	68%	58%
11/6/2016	69%	71%	60%
1/10/2018	75%	69%	59%
2/7/2019	76%	72%	66%
2/8/2021	76%	71%	66%

Pew Research Center

YouTube and Facebook are the most-widely used online platforms, and its user base is most broadly representative of the population as a whole. Smaller shares of Americans use sites such as Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and LinkedIn.

	Facebook	Pinterest	Instagram	LinkedIn	Twitter	Snapchat	YouTube	WhatsApp	Reddit	TikTok	Nextdoor
8/5/2012	54%	10%	9%	16%	13%
8/7/2012					14%
12/9/2012		13%	11%		13%
12/16/2012	57%
5/19/2013					15%
7/14/2013					16%
9/16/2013	57%	17%	14%	17%	14%
9/30/2013					16%
1/26/2014					16%
9/21/2014	58%	22%	21%	23%	19%
4/12/2015	62%	26%	24%	22%	20%
4/4/2016	68%	26%	28%	25%	21%
1/10/2018	68%	29%	35%	25%	24%	27%	73%	22%
2/7/2019	69%	28%	37%	27%	22%	24%	73%	20%	11%
2/8/2021	69%	31%	40%	28%	23%	25%	81%	23%	18%	21%	13%

Pew Research Center

Usage of the major social media platforms varies by factors such as age, gender and educational attainment.

% of U.S. adults in each demographic group who say they ever use …

	Facebook	Instagram	LinkedIn
Total	69%	40%	28%
Men	61%	36%	31%
Women	77%	44%	26%
Ages 18-29	70%	71%	30%
30-49	77%	48%	36%
50-64	73%	29%	33%
65+	50%	13%	11%
White	67%	35%	29%
Black	74%	49%	27%
Hispanic	72%	52%	19%
Less than $30K	70%	35%	12%
$30K-$49,999	76%	45%	21%
$50K-$74,999	61%	39%	21%
More than $75K	70%	47%	50%
High school or less	64%	30%	10%
Some college	71%	44%	28%
College graduate	73%	49%	51%
Urban	70%	45%	30%
Suburban	70%	41%	33%
Rural	67%	25%	15%

Note: Respondents who did not give an answer are not shown. White and Black adults include those who report being only one race and are not Hispanic. Hispanics are of any race.
Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Jan. 25-Feb. 8, 2021.

Pew Research Center

% of U.S. adults in each demographic group who say they ever use …

	Twitter	Pinterest	Snapchat
Total	23%	31%	25%
Men	25%	16%	22%
Women	22%	46%	28%
Ages 18-29	42%	32%	65%
30-49	27%	34%	24%
50-64	18%	38%	12%
65+	7%	18%	2%
White	22%	34%	23%
Black	29%	35%	26%
Hispanic	23%	18%	31%
Less than $30K	12%	21%	25%
$30K-$49,999	29%	33%	27%
$50K-$74,999	22%	29%	29%
More than $75K	34%	40%	28%
High school or less	14%	22%	21%
Some college	26%	36%	32%
College graduate	33%	37%	23%
Urban	27%	30%	28%
Suburban	23%	32%	25%
Rural	18%	34%	18%

Note: Respondents who did not give an answer are not shown. White and Black adults include those who report being only one race and are not Hispanic. Hispanics are of any race.
Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Jan. 25-Feb. 8, 2021.

Pew Research Center

% of U.S. adults in each demographic group who say they ever use …

	YouTube	WhatsApp	Reddit
Total	81%	23%	18%
Men	82%	26%	23%
Women	80%	21%	12%
Ages 18-29	95%	24%	36%
30-49	91%	30%	22%
50-64	83%	23%	10%
65+	49%	10%	3%
White	79%	16%	17%
Black	84%	23%	17%
Hispanic	85%	46%	14%
Less than $30K	75%	23%	10%
$30K-$49,999	83%	20%	17%
$50K-$74,999	79%	19%	20%
More than $75K	90%	29%	26%
High school or less	70%	20%	9%
Some college	86%	16%	20%
College graduate	89%	33%	26%
Urban	84%	28%	18%
Suburban	81%	23%	21%
Rural	74%	9%	10%

Note: Respondents who did not give an answer are not shown. White and Black adults include those who report being only one race and are not Hispanic. Hispanics are of any race.
Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Jan. 25-Feb. 8, 2021.

Pew Research Center

% of U.S. adults in each demographic group who say they ever use …

	TikTok	Nextdoor
Total	21%	13%
Men	17%	10%
Women	24%	16%
Ages 18-29	48%	5%
30-49	22%	17%
50-64	14%	16%
65+	4%	8%
White	18%	15%
Black	30%	10%
Hispanic	31%	8%
Less than $30K	22%	6%
$30K-$49,999	29%	11%
$50K-$74,999	20%	12%
More than $75K	20%	20%
High school or less	21%	4%
Some college	24%	12%
College graduate	19%	24%
Urban	24%	17%
Suburban	20%	14%
Rural	16%	2%

Note: Respondents who did not give an answer are not shown. White and Black adults include those who report being only one race and are not Hispanic. Hispanics are of any race.
Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Jan. 25-Feb. 8, 2021.

Pew Research Center

Today around seven-in-ten 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 over the past decade below.

For many users, social media is part of their daily routine. Seven-in-ten Facebook users – and around six-in-ten Instagram and Snapchat users – visit these sites at least once a day.

Platform	Less frequently	Weekly	Daily
Facebook	12%	17%	70%
Snapchat	19%	21%	59%
Instagram	20%	21%	59%
Twitter	27%	27%	46%
YouTube	16%	29%	54%

Pew Research Center

Find out more

Follow these links for more in-depth analysis of the impact of social media on American life.

Social Media Use in 2021 April 7, 2021
Partisan differences in social media use show up for some platforms, but not Facebook April 7, 2021
10 facts about Americans and Facebook June 1, 2021
7 facts about Americans and Instagram October 7, 2021

All reports and blog posts related to social media.

CORRECTION (Jan. 11, 2022): A figure from a 2012 survey was previously incorrect in the “Who uses social media” chart. In February 2012, 81% of U.S. adults ages 18-29 said they use at least one social media site. No report of the Pew Research Center was affected by this change.

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Social Media Fact Sheet

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Social media use over time

Who uses social media

Which social media platforms are most common

Who uses each social media platform

How often Americans use social media sites

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