Nearly half of the global population uses social media daily. This routine engagement intersects with significant security risks, including billions in financial losses from scams. These platforms function simultaneously as discovery tools for consumers and vectors for fraud.
Key Takeaways
- 37% of the global population uses social media daily
- 1.6% of U.S. adults report using Threads
- 4.9 billion social media users worldwide are expected to access at least one social network via mobile in 2024 (baseline for 2025 forecasts)
- In 2023, 5,136,000 U.S. adults experienced identity theft, and social media-driven scams are a known delivery mechanism for identity theft attempts
- $6.2 billion was lost to romance scams in the U.S. in 2023 (commonly initiated via social platforms)
- In the UK, 25% of adults who used social media reported encountering scams online in 2023
- Meta removed or restored 1.7 billion pieces of content in the first quarter of 2024, reflecting high enforcement volume
- YouTube’s Transparency Report states it removed or restricted 6.4 million videos in 2023 for harmful content categories it tracks
- In 2023, 67% of organizations in a Gartner survey said they experienced a breach involving their digital assets
- In 2023, 46% of organizations experienced a data breach caused by a third party, often coordinated via social channels
- The average total cost of a data breach was $4.88 million (2024 IBM Cost of a Data Breach report)
- In 2023, 54% of organizations used some form of social media monitoring for risk and reputation
- $45.2 billion social media advertising market size in the U.S. in 2023
- $122.3 billion social media advertising market in Europe in 2023
- $4.2 billion global spend on social media listening and analytics software in 2023 (market estimate)
With billions scrolling daily, social media drives both discovery and scams, while stronger security and AI help protect users.
Related reading
01 · Category
User Adoption4 stats
01
37% of the global population uses social media daily
02
1.6% of U.S. adults report using Threads
03
4.9 billion social media users worldwide are expected to access at least one social network via mobile in 2024 (baseline for 2025 forecasts)
04
56% of global respondents say social media is a place where they discover new brands
Interpretation
User Adoption Interpretation
User Adoption is being driven by massive mobile reach and discovery, with 4.9 billion social media users expected to access at least one network via mobile in 2024 and 56% of global respondents saying they discover new brands there.
02 · Category
Safety & Fraud3 stats
01
In 2023, 5,136,000 U.S. adults experienced identity theft, and social media-driven scams are a known delivery mechanism for identity theft attempts
02
$6.2 billion was lost to romance scams in the U.S. in 2023 (commonly initiated via social platforms)
03
In the UK, 25% of adults who used social media reported encountering scams online in 2023
Interpretation
Safety & Fraud Interpretation
In 2023, social media was a major safety and fraud risk as 5,136,000 U.S. adults experienced identity theft, $6.2 billion was lost to romance scams commonly initiated on social platforms, and in the UK 25% of social media users reported encountering scams online.
03 · Category
Platform Risk5 stats
01
Meta removed or restored 1.7 billion pieces of content in the first quarter of 2024, reflecting high enforcement volume
02
YouTube’s Transparency Report states it removed or restricted 6.4 million videos in 2023 for harmful content categories it tracks
03
In 2023, 67% of organizations in a Gartner survey said they experienced a breach involving their digital assets
04
38% of breaches in the Verizon DBIR 2024 were financially motivated
05
In 2024, 43% of organizations reported using AI to improve cybersecurity detection and response
Interpretation
Platform Risk Interpretation
From the “Platform Risk” perspective, enforcement and security pressures are clearly intensifying as Meta handled 1.7 billion content actions in Q1 2024, while YouTube removed or restricted 6.4 million harmful videos in 2023 and 38% of breaches in Verizon DBIR 2024 were financially motivated.
More related reading
04 · Category
Performance Metrics7 stats
01
In 2023, 46% of organizations experienced a data breach caused by a third party, often coordinated via social channels
02
The average total cost of a data breach was $4.88 million (2024 IBM Cost of a Data Breach report)
03
In 2023, 54% of organizations used some form of social media monitoring for risk and reputation
04
In 2024, 60% of marketers reported using paid social advertising as part of their strategy
05
Instagram’s ad audience reached 2.0 billion monthly active users worldwide (ad reach metric)
06
Facebook ad reach for advertisers was 2.11 billion accounts in 2024 (ad audience metric)
07
YouTube reached 2.7 billion logged-in users globally (reported by Google in its advertising ecosystem context)
Interpretation
Performance Metrics Interpretation
Performance metrics show that social media is becoming a higher-stakes channel as 46% of organizations had third party breaches in 2023 alongside escalating engagement reach, with paid social now used by 60% of marketers in 2024.
05 · Category
Market Size5 stats
01
$45.2 billion social media advertising market size in the U.S. in 2023
02
$122.3 billion social media advertising market in Europe in 2023
03
$4.2 billion global spend on social media listening and analytics software in 2023 (market estimate)
04
$6.9 billion global spend projected for social media management software in 2028 (market forecast)
05
$7.3 billion global spend projected for social media analytics and monitoring software in 2026 (forecast)
Interpretation
Market Size Interpretation
In the Market Size category, social media is expanding from a $45.2 billion U.S. advertising market in 2023 and a $122.3 billion Europe spend in 2023 into rapidly growing adjacent software markets, including $6.9 billion projected for social media management by 2028.
06 · Category
Industry Trends7 stats
01
68% of marketers plan to increase their influencer marketing budget in the next year (industry survey)
02
61% of marketers use TikTok for marketing efforts in 2024 (industry survey)
03
58% of marketers say short-form video has the best ROI compared with other content formats (industry survey)
04
73% of organizations use social media analytics tools to measure performance (industry survey)
05
In 2023, 11% of Europeans said they use social media as their main source of news (Eurobarometer)
06
In 2024, 62% of marketers reported using first-party data strategies to reduce reliance on third-party cookies
07
In 2024, 50% of marketers said they use AI to assist with ad creative variations
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
Industry Trends show marketers are doubling down on platforms and measurement with 68% planning to raise influencer budgets and 73% already using social media analytics tools to track performance.
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Aisha Okonkwo. (2026, February 13). Shocking Social Media Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/shocking-social-media-statistics
MLA
Aisha Okonkwo. "Shocking Social Media Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/shocking-social-media-statistics.
Chicago
Aisha Okonkwo. 2026. "Shocking Social Media Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/shocking-social-media-statistics.
Sources & references
31 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+7 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)