Research Highlights Social Media Usage Trends in 2024

What are the latest social media usage trends, and more importantly, has X become less relevant for U.S. adults?

The team from Pew Research has published its latest overview of social media usage, which shows that YouTube remains the most popular social media app by far (though defining it as a social app feels like a stretch), while Facebook and Instagram are also well ahead of other apps.

The data is based on a survey of 5,626 U.S. adults, conducted between February 1st and June 10th this year. Which, of course, is only a small fraction of total social media users, but it’s a broad enough sample size to highlight some indicative trends, which likely point to overall usage.

And as you can see in this chart, while the platform formerly known as Twitter is in decline, it’s not seeing a massive drop-off as yet.

As per Pew Research:

“YouTube and Facebook are the most-widely used online platforms. Half of U.S. adults say they use Instagram, and smaller shares use sites or apps such as TikTok, LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter) and Snapchat.”

Yep, that’s a pretty succinct summary, there’s YouTube, Meta’s apps, then everyone else in terms of regular usage.

The data here doesn’t measure time spent on each, which would probably be a more indicative figure, as reports suggest that TikTok users spend much longer in app than those on, say, Facebook. But in terms of broader usage, these three remain on top of the heap, as they have since 2018.

Interestingly, TikTok usage hasn’t increased in Pew’s data over the past year (dark green line), though Pinterest’s has (light green), which is a worthy point of note. Linkedin (dark orange) and WhatsApp (dark gray) have also seen slight jumps, and Reddit as well (light orange), while Snapchat (apricot, I guess) usage has remained steady.

And yes, X has seen a slight decline, though only slight. It’s not falling away like many seem to expect.

The single marker down the bottom of the chart is BeReal, which was exciting for a few months.

In terms of who’s using social platforms, Facebook remains popular with older users, while TikTok and Snapchat dominate the youngins.

YouTube dominates everyone, though again, I’m hesitant to include it as a comparison to social apps, because YouTube’s usage is primarily video viewing, not engaging with others, thus being the “social” elements.

Then again, I guess TikTok is the same, and arguably Instagram, and even Facebook these days too, so maybe it should be held up against them. But either way, these are some interesting insights into broader social app trends, and which age groups are most interested in each.  

That could help you shape your 2025 strategy, and ensure you’re present where you’re audience is active.

You can check out Pew Research’s full “Social Media Fact Sheet” for 2024 here.