For instance, while 65% of adults ages 18 to 29 say they use Snapchat, just 2% of those 65 and older report using the app – a difference of 63 percentage points.Īdditionally, a vast majority of adults under the age of 65 say they use YouTube. 1 These shares stand in stark contrast to those in older age groups.

Majorities of 18- to 29-year-olds say they use Instagram or Snapchat and about half say they use TikTok, with those on the younger end of this cohort – ages 18 to 24 – being especially likely to report using Instagram (76%), Snapchat (75%) or TikTok (55%). These age differences generally extend to use of specific platforms, with younger Americans being more likely than their older counterparts to use these sites – though the gaps between younger and older Americans vary across platforms. By comparison, a somewhat smaller share of those ages 50 to 64 (73%) say they use social media sites, while fewer than half of those 65 and older (45%) report doing this. Some 84% of adults ages 18 to 29 say they ever use any social media sites, which is similar to the share of those ages 30 to 49 who say this (81%). In a pattern consistent with past Center studies on social media use, there are some stark age differences. When asked about their social media use more broadly – rather than their use of specific platforms – 72% of Americans say they ever use social media sites.

(This was the first year the Center asked about TikTok via a phone poll and the first time it has surveyed about Nextdoor.) Adults under 30 stand out for their use of Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok This represents a broader trend that extends beyond the past two years in which the rapid adoption of most of these sites and apps seen in the last decade has slowed. Similarly, the respective shares of Americans who report using Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Twitter and WhatsApp are statistically unchanged since 2019. Reddit was the only other platform polled about that experienced statistically significant growth during this time period – increasing from 11% in 2019 to 18% today.įacebook’s growth has leveled off over the last five years, but it remains one of the most widely used social media sites among adults in the United States: 69% of adults today say they ever use the site, equaling the share who said this two years prior. Fully 81% of Americans say they ever use the video-sharing site, up from 73% in 2019. YouTube is the most commonly used online platform asked about in this survey, and there’s evidence that its reach is growing. With the exception of YouTube and Reddit, most platforms show little growth since 2019 These findings come from a nationally representative survey of 1,502 U.S. In fact, a majority of 18- to 29-year-olds say they use Instagram (71%) or Snapchat (65%), while roughly half say the same for TikTok. TikTok – an app for sharing short videos – is used by 21% of Americans, while 13% say they use the neighborhood-focused platform Nextdoor.Įven as other platforms do not nearly match the overall reach of YouTube or Facebook, there are certain sites or apps, most notably Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok, that have an especially strong following among young adults. One-quarter say they use Snapchat, and similar shares report being users of Twitter or WhatsApp. When it comes to the other platforms in the survey, 40% of adults say they ever use Instagram and about three-in-ten report using Pinterest or LinkedIn. And YouTube and Reddit were the only two platforms measured that saw statistically significant growth since 2019, when the Center last polled on this topic via a phone survey. YouTube and Facebook continue to dominate the online landscape, with 81% and 69%, respectively, reporting ever using these sites. adults.īeyond the general question of overall social media use, the survey also covers use of individual sites and apps. Here are the questions used for this report, along with responses, and its methodology.ĭespite a string of controversies and the public’s relatively negative sentiments about aspects of social media, roughly seven-in-ten Americans say they ever use any kind of social media site – a share that has remained relatively stable over the past five years, according to a new Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, education and other categories. The survey was conducted by interviewers under the direction of Abt Associates and is weighted to be representative of the U.S. 8, 2021, by cellphone and landline phone. To better understand Americans’ use of social media, online platforms and messaging apps, Pew Research Center surveyed 1,502 U.S.

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