With billions of connections being made every second and over half the planet actively scrolling, the world of social media has evolved from a digital novelty into the very fabric of modern society, shaping how we connect, consume, and create.
Key Takeaways
- As of January 2024, there are 5.07 billion social media users worldwide, equating to 62.6% of the global population.
- In 2023, 93.79% of internet users aged 16-64 used social media globally.
- Women represent 50.4% of social media users worldwide as of early 2024.
- Globally, users spend 2 hours 23 minutes daily on social media in 2024.
- YouTube users average 48.7 minutes per day worldwide in Q4 2023.
- Facebook daily time spent is 31.0 minutes globally in early 2024.
- Global users like 6 billion items daily on Facebook in 2023.
- Instagram sees 500 million daily Stories users as of 2023.
- TikTok videos garner 1 billion views every 28 seconds globally.
- Facebook penetration reaches 93.2% among US 16-64s in 2024.
- YouTube used by 83.5% of US internet users 16-64.
- Instagram penetration at 61.0% in the US for 16-64s.
- 68% of social media users prefer short-form video.
- 40% of users report FOMO from social media daily.
- 59% of users under 30 get news from social media.
Social media use is widespread, with billions of users engaging for hours daily across global platforms.
Behavioral Insights
- 68% of social media users prefer short-form video.
- 40% of users report FOMO from social media daily.
- 59% of users under 30 get news from social media.
- 81% of consumers research products on social platforms.
- 71% of users have bought after seeing on Instagram.
- 48% of users complain about brands publicly online.
- Average user switches apps 7 times per day on mobile.
- 69% of users block or mute news on social media.
- Women share more photos on social media than men.
- 54% of users use social media for customer service.
- Gen Z spends 4+ hours daily, checking 100+ times.
- 62% of users say social media worsens mental health.
- 75% of millennials influenced by social media ads.
- Users aged 18-24 post 2x more than older groups.
- 77% of users prefer video over text content.
- 51% of users research brands before following.
- Dark mode preferred by 82% of young users.
- 60% of users engage more with authentic content.
- Average scroll time per session is 28 minutes.
- 73% of users influenced by peer recommendations.
- Nighttime usage peaks at 9-11 PM for 65% users.
- 44% delete apps after poor social experiences.
- Micro-influencers engage 60% higher than macros.
- 80% of users follow brands for promotions.
- Passive scrolling dominates 70% of session time.
Behavioral Insights Interpretation
The modern social media user is a scrolling paradox: we crave snappy videos and authentic brand interactions yet find ourselves trapped in a vortex of FOMO-driven shopping and news avoidance, all while our mental health gently deteriorates one 28-minute session at a time.
Demographics
- As of January 2024, there are 5.07 billion social media users worldwide, equating to 62.6% of the global population.
- In 2023, 93.79% of internet users aged 16-64 used social media globally.
- Women represent 50.4% of social media users worldwide as of early 2024.
- The United States has 251.5 million social media users aged 18+ as of January 2024.
- India leads with 462.0 million social media users aged 18+ in early 2024.
- In the Philippines, 83.9 million social media users aged 16-64 were recorded in January 2024.
- Brazil has 144.1 million social media users aged 16-64 as of early 2024.
- Indonesia counts 182.8 million social media users aged 16-64 in 2024.
- Nigeria has 36.7 million social media users aged 16-64 per January 2024 data.
- In the UK, 48.4 million social media users aged 16-64 exist as of early 2024.
- Globally, social media users aged 16-24 make up 24.3% of the total user base in 2023.
- In the US, 69% of adults aged 18-29 use TikTok as of 2023 Pew data.
- 81% of US adults aged 30-49 use YouTube according to 2023 surveys.
- Facebook penetration among US adults 65+ stands at 59% in 2023.
- Globally, urban social media users outnumber rural by 3.46 billion to 1.61 billion in 2023.
- In China, 1.07 billion social media users aged 18+ were active in early 2024.
- Mexico has 93.0 million social media users aged 16-64 as of 2024.
- South Africa reports 26.0 million social media users aged 16-64 in January 2024.
- In Japan, 74.3 million social media users aged 16-64 per early 2024 stats.
- Germany has 54.0 million social media users aged 16-64 in 2024.
- In 2023, global social media ad reach was 60.9% of those aged 18+.
- US social media users aged 18+ number 188.0 million in January 2024.
- As of 2023, 66% of the world’s population uses social media.
- Gen Z represents 40% of global social media users under 25.
- 54.8% of global social media users are male as per 2023 data.
- In 2024, 4.95 billion people use social media worldwide.
- Europe has 610 million social media users in early 2024.
- Asia hosts 2.78 billion social media users as of 2024.
- Africa’s social media user base is 385 million in January 2024.
- Latin America counts 554 million social media users in 2024.
Demographics Interpretation
With 66% of humanity now digitally engaged—making social media usage more common than not having a toilet in some parts of the world—we've officially reached a point where "logging off" is a radical act of cultural defiance.
Engagement Metrics
- Global users like 6 billion items daily on Facebook in 2023.
- Instagram sees 500 million daily Stories users as of 2023.
- TikTok videos garner 1 billion views every 28 seconds globally.
- Facebook users send 8 billion messages daily via Messenger.
- 95 million photos and videos shared daily on Instagram.
- Snapchatters share 4.5 billion Snaps daily worldwide.
- LinkedIn sees 2 million content posts daily in 2023.
- Pinterest users pin 175 million items daily globally.
- Twitter generates 500 million tweets per day in 2023.
- YouTube uploads 500 hours of video every minute.
- 3.5 billion likes occur daily across Facebook platforms.
- Instagram Reels reach 7 billion views daily in 2023.
- WhatsApp video calls total 1 billion daily minutes.
- Facebook Live videos watched for 3.5 billion minutes daily.
- TikTok users duet 20 million videos daily on average.
- 55% of users share user-generated content on social media.
- 70% of consumers discover products via social media.
- Average engagement rate on Instagram is 0.50% in 2023.
- Facebook post engagement averages 0.09% globally.
- TikTok engagement rate hits 5.7% for brands in 2023.
- LinkedIn sees 0.45% average engagement per post.
- Twitter engagement rate is 0.037% on average.
- YouTube comments average 2.4% engagement interaction.
- Pinterest saves (engagements) total 2.5 billion monthly.
- 82% of social media users engage with live video content.
- Global hashtag uses reach 139 million daily on Instagram.
- Facebook groups number 1.8 billion users monthly active.
- 45% of users unfollow brands for poor responsiveness.
- Instagram Stories swipe-ups average 15% engagement.
- TikTok challenges participate in by 50% of users weekly.
- YouTube Shorts views exceed 70 billion daily in 2023.
- WhatsApp status views total 7 billion daily globally.
- Facebook has 200 billion friend connections worldwide.
Engagement Metrics Interpretation
Our digital existence has become a frenetic, low-yield stock exchange of attention where we collectively trade billions of data-points daily, not for gold, but for the fleeting dopamine of a fractional-percentage engagement rate.
Global Trends
- Social media users grew 4.2% YoY in 2023.
- Short-form video consumption up 25% in 2023.
- Social commerce sales to hit $2.9 trillion by 2026.
- AI content creation used by 27% of marketers in 2024.
- Privacy concerns lead 41% to delete accounts.
- Metaverse users projected 1 billion by 2030.
- Social media ad spend reaches $207 billion in 2023.
- Voice search on social up 30% YoY globally.
- 5G enables 20% faster social media loading.
- User-generated content trusted by 79% consumers.
Global Trends Interpretation
We're simultaneously racing towards a future where a billion people shop in virtual worlds using voice commands, while furiously deleting our accounts in the present because we don't trust who's watching, all while being endlessly fed and entertained by short, possibly AI-generated clips that we paradoxically find more believable than any ad.
Platform Penetration
- Facebook penetration reaches 93.2% among US 16-64s in 2024.
- YouTube used by 83.5% of US internet users 16-64.
- Instagram penetration at 61.0% in the US for 16-64s.
- TikTok reaches 48.5% of US 16-64 internet users.
- Snapchat used by 29.1% of US 16-64s in 2024.
- LinkedIn penetration 32.5% among US 16-64 internet users.
- WhatsApp used by 25.9% of US adults on social media.
- Twitter (X) reaches 22.7% of US 16-64s in 2024.
- Pinterest at 18.3% penetration in US 16-64 demographic.
- Reddit used by 14.4% of US 16-64 internet users.
- In India, WhatsApp penetration is 87.3% among 18+ users.
- YouTube reaches 91.2% of Indian 18+ social media users.
- Instagram used by 75.6% of Indian 18+ population.
- Facebook at 67.8% penetration in India for 18+.
- In Brazil, WhatsApp leads with 93.4% of 16-64s.
- Instagram reaches 91.2% of Brazilian 16-64 internet users.
- Facebook used by 82.5% in Brazil 16-64 demographic.
- TikTok penetration 57.6% among Brazilian 16-64s.
- YouTube at 93.6% in Philippines 16-64 internet users.
- Facebook reaches 95.8% of Philippine 16-64s.
- TikTok used by 81.6% in Philippines 16-64 group.
- Instagram at 77.2% penetration in Philippines.
- LinkedIn reaches 11.3% of global social media users.
- Messenger used by 987 million MAUs worldwide.
- Telegram has 700 million MAUs as of early 2024.
- In China, WeChat dominates with 1.34 billion MAUs.
- Douyin (TikTok China) has 766.5 million MAUs.
- 65% of US adults use Facebook per 2023 Pew.
- 83% of US adults use YouTube in 2023 surveys.
- Instagram used by 47% of US adults aged 18+.
- Pinterest reaches 35% of US adult population.
- LinkedIn used by 30% of US adults in 2023.
- Snapchat penetration 27% among US adults.
- TikTok used by 33% of US adults per Pew 2023.
- WhatsApp at 29% among US social media users.
- BeReal has 20 million daily active users globally.
Platform Penetration Interpretation
In a global game of digital musical chairs, Facebook stubbornly refuses to give up its seat in most markets, YouTube and WhatsApp remain the quiet, indispensable utilities, while TikTok and Instagram jostle for the party's center stage, leaving LinkedIn to politely network in the corner and newcomers like BeReal wondering if they’re even at the right address.
Usage Statistics
- Globally, users spend 2 hours 23 minutes daily on social media in 2024.
- YouTube users average 48.7 minutes per day worldwide in Q4 2023.
- Facebook daily time spent is 31.0 minutes globally in early 2024.
- Instagram users spend 33.1 minutes daily on average in 2024.
- TikTok average daily usage is 53.8 minutes worldwide in 2024.
- Snapchat daily time is 30 minutes per user globally in 2023.
- LinkedIn users average 7 minutes 28 seconds daily in 2023.
- Pinterest daily usage averages 11 minutes 52 seconds worldwide.
- WhatsApp has 2.78 billion monthly active users in early 2024.
- Facebook monthly active users total 3.07 billion in January 2024.
- YouTube MAUs reach 2.50 billion as of early 2024.
- Instagram has 2.00 billion MAUs worldwide in 2024.
- TikTok MAUs stand at 1.58 billion globally in January 2024.
- WeChat monthly users number 1.37 billion in early 2024.
- 93.2% of US internet users aged 16-64 use social media in 2024.
- In the UK, 84.8% of 16-64 year-olds use social media daily.
- Brazil sees 82.7% social media penetration among 16-64s in 2024.
- India has 67.0% of its 18+ population on social media.
- Philippines records 84.5% social media use among 16-64s.
- Average global social media posts per minute total 7,241 in 2023.
- Daily active Facebook users number 3.07 billion in 2024.
- Instagram daily active users hit 2 billion in late 2023.
- TikTok daily active users reach 987 million globally.
- Snapchat DAUs are 414 million as of Q4 2023.
- LinkedIn DAUs average 180 million in 2023.
- Twitter (X) MAUs dropped to 368 million in Q4 2023.
- Reddit MAUs total 267.0 million in 2023.
- Discord has 150 million MAUs as of mid-2023.
- Global social media users increased by 122 million (+2.6%) from 2023 to 2024.
- 95.2% of US 18-29 year-olds use YouTube daily/weekly in 2023.
- Average daily social media time for Gen Z is 4 hours 37 minutes.
- Millennials spend 3 hours 22 minutes daily on social platforms.
- Worldwide, 63.9% of social media users access via mobile in 2023.
Usage Statistics Interpretation
We have officially become the global town square where 3.07 billion people spend, on average, a collective eternity scrolling past cats, careers, and everything in between for a little over two hours a day.
Sources & References
- Reference 1DATAREPORTALdatareportal.comVisit source
- Reference 2PEWRESEARCHpewresearch.orgVisit source
- Reference 3BLOGblog.hootsuite.comVisit source
- Reference 4STATISTAstatista.comVisit source
- Reference 5SENSORTOWERsensortower.comVisit source
- Reference 6SOCIALINSIDERsocialinsider.ioVisit source
- Reference 7LATERlater.comVisit source