Social Media by the Numbers

A lot of anecdotal information gets passed around about social media. That can be helpful in eyeing trends, but it is best to check with an authoritative data source to know the real numbers. For me, that is Pew. Here’s their latest snapshot.

Today around seven-in-ten Americans use social media to connect with one another, engage with news content, share information and entertain themselves. In all, 72% of Americans use some type of social media.

The social media user base is representative of the broader population. Young adults were among the earliest social media adopters and continue to use these sites at high levels, but usage by older adults has increased in recent years.

YouTube and Facebook are the most-widely used online platforms. Smaller shares of Americans use Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and LinkedIn.

For many users, social media is part of their daily routine. Roughly three-quarters of Facebook users – and around six-in-ten Instagram users – visit these sites at least once a day. Frequency is less on other platforms.