---
title: "Men catch up with women on overall social media use"
description: "Some 73% of online men use social media, on par with the 80% of online women who say they do so. But there are still some gender differences on specific platforms."
date: "2015-08-28"
authors:
  - name: "Monica Anderson"
    job_title: "Director, Internet and Technology Research"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/monica-anderson/"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2015/08/28/men-catch-up-with-women-on-overall-social-media-use/"
categories:
  - "Gender"
  - "Gender & LGBTQ"
  - "Gender & Tech"
  - "Social Media"
---

# Men catch up with women on overall social media use

[![Social Media Gender Gap Narrows](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2015/08/FT_15.08.20_SocMedGender_narrows.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2015/08/28/men-catch-up-with-women-on-overall-social-media-use/ft_15-08-20_socmedgender_narrows/)

Historically, women have been more avid users of social media than men – a finding consistent across several Pew Research Center [surveys](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2013/09/12/its-a-womans-social-media-world/). In fact, in November 2010, the gender gap was as large as 15 percentage points.

More recent data, however, show that these differences are no longer statistically significant. A new Pew Research Center analysis finds that a similar share of men and women say they used social networking sites this year, consistent with what we [found in 2014](https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/data-trend/social-media/social-media-user-demographics/). Some 73% of online men use social media, which is on par with the 80% of online women who say they do so.

Although the *overall *percentage of men and women who report using social media is now comparable, there are still some gender [differences ](https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2015/08/19/the-demographics-of-social-media-users/)on specific platforms. Pinterest, Facebook and Instagram have a larger female user base, while online discussion forums like Reddit, Digg or Slashdot attract a greater share of male users. Gender differences on [Twitter](https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2015/08/19/mobile-messaging-and-social-media-2015/2015-08-19_social-media-update_11/), [Tumblr](https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2015/08/19/mobile-messaging-and-social-media-2015/2015-08-19_social-media-update_05/) and LinkedIn are not significant.

Female internet users are roughly three times as likely as their male counterparts to use [Pinterest](https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2015/08/19/mobile-messaging-and-social-media-2015/2015-08-19_social-media-update_08/) (44% vs. 16%). But despite this consistent gap, use by males has increased rapidly [since 2012](https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2013/02/14/the-demographics-of-social-media-users-2012/), when only 5% of online men said they used this online pinboard. (This growth is perhaps a result of the company’s [efforts](http://www.wsj.com/articles/pinterests-problem-getting-men-to-commit-1421944331) to woo more men to the site.)

[![Women More Likely to Use Pinterest, Facebook and Instagram; Online Forums Popular Among Men](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2015/08/FT_15.08.20_SocMedGender_sites.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2015/08/28/men-catch-up-with-women-on-overall-social-media-use/ft_15-08-20_socmedgender_sites/)

Online women are also more likely than online men to use[ Facebook](https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2015/08/19/mobile-messaging-and-social-media-2015/2015-08-19_social-media-update_07/) and[ Instagram](https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2015/08/19/mobile-messaging-and-social-media-2015/2015-08-19_social-media-update_09/). Some 77% of online women are Facebook users, compared with two-thirds of online men. Instagram use follows a similar pattern, with online women being more inclined to use the picture-sharing site than men (31% vs. 24%).

On the other hand, [online discussion forums](https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2015/08/19/mobile-messaging-and-social-media-2015/2015-08-19_social-media-update_04/) are especially popular among men. One-in-five male internet users say they read or comment on sites such as Reddit, Digg or Slashdot, compared with only 11% of online women. A Pew Research [survey](https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2013/07/03/6-of-online-adults-are-reddit-users/) from 2013 that only asked internet users about their Reddit use shows a similar division by gender.

While most of these gender differences tend to be consistent across Pew Research Center surveys, the gender gap for [LinkedIn](https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2015/08/19/mobile-messaging-and-social-media-2015/2015-08-19_social-media-update_10/) has narrowed over time. Today, a roughly equal proportion of internet-using men (26%) and women (25%) use the professional networking site. The share of women who use LinkedIn has steadily increased since 2010, when only 12% of women used the platform.