Americans’ Social Media Use
YouTube and Facebook are by far the most used online platforms among U.S. adults. But TikTok’s user base has grown significantly in recent years: 33% of U.S. adults now say they use it, up from 21% in 2021.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
YouTube and Facebook are by far the most used online platforms among U.S. adults. But TikTok’s user base has grown significantly in recent years: 33% of U.S. adults now say they use it, up from 21% in 2021.
YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram remain the most widely used online platforms among U.S. teens. And teens are less likely to be using Facebook and Twitter (recently renamed X) than they were a decade ago.
The landscape of social media is ever-changing, especially among teens who often are on the leading edge of this space. A new survey of American teenagers ages 13 to 17 finds that TikTok has established itself as one of the top online platforms for U.S. teens, while the share of teens who use Facebook has fallen sharply.
More than 44 million #BlackLivesMatter tweets from nearly 10 million distinct users currently exist on Twitter today. Over half of all existing tweets that include the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag were posted from May to September 2020.
Most teens at least sometimes feel happy and peaceful when they don’t have their phone, but 44% say this makes them anxious. Half of parents say they have looked through their teen’s phone.
In recent years, several new options have emerged in the social media universe, many of which explicitly present themselves as alternatives to more established social media platforms. Free speech ideals and heated political themes prevail on these sites, which draw praise from their users and skepticism from other Americans.
Majorities of teens credit social media with strengthening their friendships and providing support while also noting the emotionally charged side of these platforms.
Most think social media has made it easier to manipulate and divide people, but they also say it informs and raises awareness.
The share of Americans who say they are very or somewhat concerned about government use of people’s data has increased from 64% in 2019 to 71% today. Two-thirds (67%) of adults say they understand little to nothing about what companies are doing with their personal data, up from 59%.
Today, 51% of U.S. adults say they support the Black Lives Matter movement – down from 67% in June 2020. A majority of Americans say the increased focus on race and racial inequality in the past three years hasn’t led to improvement for Black Americans.
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