A study on social media usage in 2021 finds more US adults use YouTube than any other social network.
More adults in the US use YouTube than any other social network, according to a study from Pew Research Center.
Of US adults who say they use any kind of social media, 81% say they use YouTube.
Facebook takes second place, with 69% of respondents saying they use it, followed by Instagram which 40% of respondents say they use.
The most popular social networks, ranked by percentage of US adults who say they use them, include:
- YouTube (81%)
- Facebook (69%)
- Instagram (40%)
- Pinterest (31%)
- LinkedIn (28%)
- Snapchat (25%)
- Twitter (23%)
- WhatsApp (23%)
- TikTok (21%)
- Reddit (18%)
- Nextdoor (13%)
Pew Research Center reports that social media use has remained flat over the past couple of years, with the exception of YouTube and Reddit.
“YouTube and Reddit were the only two platforms measured that saw statistically significant growth since 2019,” the reports states.
“YouTube is the most commonly used online platform asked about in this survey, and there’s evidence that its reach is growing. Fully 81% of Americans say they ever use the video-sharing site, up from 73% in 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.”
The report includes a wealth of insight into social media use in 2021, with breakdowns of top demographics for each network.
This article contains highlights from the report, with all statistics grouped together by the social network they pertain to.
Let’s start by looking at YouTube stats.
YouTube Usage Statistics
- 95% of US adults ages 18 to 29 say they use YouTube
- 91% of US adults ages 30 to 49 say they use YouTube
- 49% of US adults ages 65 and older say they use YouTube
- 54% of YouTube users say they visit the site daily
- 36% of YouTube users say they visit the site several times a day
Facebook Usage Statistics
- 70% of US adults ages 18 to 29 say they use Facebook
- 77% of US adults ages 30 to 49 say they use Facebook
- 73% of US adults ages 50 to 64 say they use Facebook
- 50% of US adults ages 65 and older say they use Facebook
- 70% of Facebook users say they visit the site daily
- 49% of Facebook users say they visit the site several times a day
Instagram Usage Statistics
- 71% of US adults ages 19 to 29 say they use Instagram
- 52% of Hispanic Americans say they use Instagram
- 49% of Black Americans say they use Instagram
- 35% of White Americans say they use Instagram
- 59% of all Instagram users say they visit the site daily
- 73% of 18- to 29-year-old Instagram users say they visit the site every day
- 53% of 18- to 29-year-old Instagram users say they visit the site several times a day
Other Usage Statistics
- 46% of Twitter users say they visit the site every day
- 65% of 18- to 29-year-olds say they use Snapchat
- 2% of adults ages 65 and older say they use Snapchat
- 50% of 18- to 29-year-olds say they use TikTok
- Those with higher levels of education are more likely to use LinkedIn than those with lower levels of education
- 51% of US adults with a bachelor’s or advanced degree say they use LinkedIn
- 28% of US adults with only some college experience say they use LinkedIn
- 10% of US adults with a high school diploma or less say they used LinkedIn
- 46% of women use Pinterest, compared to 16% of men
- Adults living in urban (17%) or suburban (14%) areas are more likely to say they use Nextdoor
- 2% of rural Americans say they use Next-door
These findings come from a nationally representative survey of 1,502 U.S. adults conducted via telephone Jan. 25-Feb.8, 2021.
View the full study here.
