Americans’ Use of Social Media in 2026
Today YouTube and Facebook are the most-widely used online platforms. Explore the demographic patterns and trends shaping the social media landscape.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Read our research on:
Social Media
What Do Health and Wellness Influencers Post About?
Just over half of health and wellness content on social media focuses on healthy living, while about a third discusses medical topics. And 38% of posts have a product or service promotion.
Online Community and Connection in America
Nearly four-in-ten U.S. adults are in an online community. These virtual third spaces can take many forms, like Facebook groups, online video games or fandom forums on Reddit.
All
Social Media
Publications
-
News Consumption Across Social Media in 2021
About half (48%) of U.S. adults say they get news from social media “often” or “sometimes,” a 5 percentage point decline compared with 2020. More than half of Twitter users get news on the site regularly.
-
Simone Biles by far the most-mentioned Team USA athlete on Twitter during Tokyo Olympics
Here are some key takeaways for how the public engaged with Team USA on Twitter during the Tokyo Olympics.
-
About four-in-ten Americans say social media is an important way of following COVID-19 vaccine news
Roughly half of Americans say that they have been getting some (30%) or a lot (18%) of news and info about COVID-19 vaccines on social media.
-
More Americans now say government should take steps to restrict false information online than in 2018
48% of US adults say the government should restrict false information online, even if it means losing some freedom to access/publish content.
-
How Americans feel about ‘cancel culture’ and offensive speech in 6 charts
Here’s a look at how adults in the United States see cancel culture, political correctness and related issues, based on the Center’s surveys.
-
56% of Americans support more regulation of major technology companies
A majority of Americans (68%) believe major technology companies have too much power and influence in the economy.
-
Members of Congress – especially Republicans – are increasingly discussing China on social media
Republican lawmakers have produced three-quarters of recent congressional social media posts that mention places and people in Asia.
-
56% of Americans oppose the right to sue social media companies for what users post
41% of U.S. adults say people should be able to sue social media companies for content that other users post on these companies’ platforms.
-
On social media, Gen Z and Millennial adults interact more with climate change content than older generations
Among U.S. social media users, 45% of Gen Z adults have interacted with content that focuses on the need for action on climate change.
-
Facebook Posts in Early Days of Biden Administration Reflect Ideological Divide
A new study of posts on popular public Facebook pages about the early days of the Biden administration finds that the focus of these posts, as well as the assessments of the new president, differed widely by the ideological orientation of the pages.
