Many Americans use social media to connect with each other, engage with news content, share information, and be entertained. Explore the patterns and trends shaping the social media landscape.
To better understand Americans’ social media use, the Pew Research Center surveyed 5,733 US adults from May 19 to September 5, 2023. Ipsos conducted this National Public Opinion Reference Survey (NPORS) for the Center using stratified sampling in address and a multimode protocol that included both web and mail. That way almost all American adults have a chance of selection. The survey is estimated to be representative of the US adult population by gender, race and ethnicity, education and other categories.
Surveys from 2000 to 2021 were conducted by telephone. For more on this mode change, read our Q&A.
Here are the questions used for this analysis, along with its answers and methodology.
A note on terminology: Our May-September 2023 survey was already on the ground when Twitter changed the name to “X”. conditions Twitter AND X both are used in this report to refer to the same platform.
YouTube and Facebook are the most used platforms on the Internet. About half of American adults say they use Instagram, and smaller shares use sites or apps like TikTok, LinkedIn, Twitter (X) and BeReal.
Which social media platforms are most popular?
% of US adults who say they ever use…
| YEAR | to YouTube | TikTok | Snapchat | Twitter (X) | BeReal | near | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8/5/2012 | 54% | 9% | 10% | 16% | 13% | |||||||
| 8/7/2012 | 14% | |||||||||||
| 12/9/2012 | 11% | 13% | 13% | |||||||||
| 16.12.2012 | 57% | |||||||||||
| 19.5.2013 | 15% | |||||||||||
| 14.7.2013 | 16% | |||||||||||
| 16.9.2013 | 57% | 14% | 17% | 17% | 14% | |||||||
| 30.9.2013 | 16% | |||||||||||
| 26.1.2014 | 16% | |||||||||||
| 21.9.2014 | 58% | 21% | 22% | 23% | 19% | |||||||
| 4/12/2015 | 62% | 24% | 26% | 22% | 20% | |||||||
| 4/4/2016 | 68% | 28% | 26% | 25% | 21% | |||||||
| 1/10/2018 | 73% | 68% | 35% | 29% | 25% | 22% | 27% | 24% | ||||
| 2/7/2019 | 73% | 69% | 37% | 28% | 27% | 20% | 24% | 22% | 11% | |||
| 2/8/2021 | 81% | 69% | 40% | 31% | 21% | 28% | 23% | 25% | 23% | 18% | 13% | |
| 9/5/2023 | 83% | 68% | 47% | 35% | 33% | 30% | 29% | 27% | 22% | 22% | 3% |
Note: The vertical line indicates a change in mode. Surveys from 2012-2021 were conducted over the phone. In 2023, the survey was conducted online and by mail. For more details on this change, please read our questions and answers. Refer to the main line for more information on how question wording has changed over the years. Pre-2018 data is not available for YouTube, Snapchat or WhatsApp; pre-2019 data not available for Reddit; data before 2021 is not available for TikTok; Data before 2023 is not available for BeReal. Respondents who did not respond are not shown.
Source: Surveys of US adults conducted 2012-2023.
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
The use of major online platforms varies by factors such as age, gender and level of formal education.
% of US adults who say they ever use __ of…
| Age 18-29 | 30-49 | 50-64 | 65+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 67 | 75 | 69 | 58 | |
| 78 | 59 | 35 | 15 | |
| 32 | 40 | 31 | 12 | |
| Twitter (X) | 42 | 27 | 17 | 6 |
| 45 | 40 | 33 | 21 | |
| Snapchat | 65 | 30 | 13 | 4 |
| to YouTube | 93 | 92 | 83 | 60 |
| 32 | 38 | 29 | 16 | |
| 44 | 31 | 11 | 3 | |
| TikTok | 62 | 39 | 24 | 10 |
| BeReal | 12 | 3 | 1 | <1 |
Source: Survey of US adults conducted May 19-Sept. 5, 2023.
| MEN | Women | |
|---|---|---|
| 59 | 76 | |
| 39 | 54 | |
| 31 | 29 | |
| Twitter (X) | 26 | 19 |
| 19 | 50 | |
| Snapchat | 21 | 32 |
| to YouTube | 82 | 83 |
| 27 | 31 | |
| 27 | 17 | |
| TikTok | 25 | 40 |
| BeReal | 2 | 5 |
Source: Survey of US adults conducted May 19-Sept. 5, 2023.
| White | Black | Hispanic | asian* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 69 | 64 | 66 | 67 | |
| 43 | 46 | 58 | 57 | |
| 30 | 29 | 23 | 45 | |
| Twitter (X) | 20 | 23 | 25 | 37 |
| 36 | 28 | 32 | 30 | |
| Snapchat | 25 | 25 | 35 | 25 |
| to YouTube | 81 | 82 | 86 | 93 |
| 20 | 31 | 54 | 51 | |
| 21 | 14 | 23 | 36 | |
| TikTok | 28 | 39 | 49 | 29 |
| BeReal | 3 | 1 | 4 | 9 |
Note: White, Black, and Asian adults include those who report being of only one race and are not Hispanic. Hispanics are of every race. Respondents who did not respond are not shown.
Source: Survey of US adults conducted May 19-Sept. 5, 2023.
| Less than $30,000 | $30,000-$69,999 | $70,000-$99,999 | $100,000+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 63 | 70 | 74 | 68 | |
| 37 | 46 | 49 | 54 | |
| 13 | 19 | 34 | 53 | |
| Twitter (X) | 18 | 21 | 20 | 29 |
| 27 | 34 | 35 | 41 | |
| Snapchat | 27 | 30 | 26 | 25 |
| to YouTube | 73 | 83 | 86 | 89 |
| 26 | 26 | 33 | 34 | |
| 12 | 23 | 22 | 30 | |
| TikTok | 36 | 37 | 34 | 27 |
| BeReal | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 |
Source: Survey of US adults conducted May 19-Sept. 5, 2023.
| High school or less | Some college | College graduate+ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63 | 71 | 70 | |
| 37 | 50 | 55 | |
| 10 | 28 | 53 | |
| Twitter (X) | 15 | 24 | 29 |
| 26 | 42 | 38 | |
| Snapchat | 26 | 32 | 23 |
| to YouTube | 74 | 85 | 89 |
| 25 | 23 | 39 | |
| 14 | 23 | 30 | |
| TikTok | 35 | 38 | 26 |
| BeReal | 3 | 4 | 4 |
Source: Survey of US adults conducted May 19-Sept. 5, 2023.
| UrbaN | Periphery | Rural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 66 | 68 | 70 | |
| 53 | 49 | 38 | |
| 31 | 36 | 18 | |
| Twitter (X) | 25 | 26 | 13 |
| 31 | 36 | 36 | |
| Snapchat | 29 | 26 | 27 |
| to YouTube | 85 | 85 | 77 |
| 38 | 30 | 20 | |
| 29 | 24 | 14 | |
| TikTok | 36 | 31 | 33 |
| BeReal | 4 | 4 | 2 |
Source: Survey of US adults conducted May 19-Sept. 5, 2023.
| Rep/Lean Rep | Taurus/Lean Taurus | |
|---|---|---|
| 70 | 67 | |
| 43 | 53 | |
| 29 | 34 | |
| Twitter (X) | 20 | 26 |
| 35 | 35 | |
| Snapchat | 27 | 28 |
| to YouTube | 82 | 84 |
| 25 | 33 | |
| 20 | 25 | |
| TikTok | 30 | 36 |
| BeReal | 4 | 4 |
Source: Survey of US adults conducted May 19-Sept. 5, 2023.
Find out more
This fact sheet was compiled by Research Assistant Olivia Sidoti, with assistance from Research Analyst Risa Gelles-Watnick, Research Analyst Michelle Faverio, Digital Producer Sara Atske, Associate Information Graphics Designer Kaitlyn Radde, and Interim Researcher Eugenie Park.
Follow these links for a deeper analysis of the impact of social media on American life.
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