Social media usage statistics paint a striking picture for 2025: 5.41 billion people worldwide use these platforms, which represents 65.7% of the global population. The digital world keeps growing faster as 241 million new users have joined since last year.
Users now involve themselves with about 6.84 different social media platforms each month. People spend a massive 11.5 billion hours on social media daily, while individual users dedicate about 2 hours and 21 minutes to these platforms every day. The United States shows similar trends, where 73% of the population (around 253 million people) actively use social media.
This piece will highlight the most popular social media platforms and get into how users spread their time across different sites. We'll break down today's social media users' demographics and why platforms like YouTube and Facebook stay on top. The numbers tell an interesting story – 38% of U.S. adults get their news from Facebook and 35% from YouTube.
How many people use social media in 2025?
Social networks continue their explosive growth in 2025, with 5.41 billion people now using social media platforms worldwide. This massive number represents 65.7% of the global population. Nearly two-thirds of all humans on Earth now have at least one social media account.
Global user count and growth rate
Social media platforms added 241 million new users in the last 12 months—a 4.7% year-over-year growth. The numbers show roughly 7.6 new users every second join social platforms.
The rise to this milestone has been remarkable. Social media users grew from just over 2 billion people globally in 2015 to 3.196 billion by 2018. The number reached 4.88 billion in 2023 and now stands at 5.17-5.41 billion (depending on measurement methodology). This represents a 48.6% increase since 2019.
The stats are even more impressive as 95.7% of all internet users worldwide now use social platforms. Among adults, this number rises to 88.9% of the global adult population.
Social media penetration by region
Regional adoption rates show big differences. Asia leads with the largest user base, making up nearly 60% of global social media accounts. Different regions emerge as leaders when we look at penetration rates.
Europe has 12% of global users, while Africa holds 11.5% and grows faster. South America makes up 8.6%, North America accounts for 6.5%, and Oceania represents just 1.4% of worldwide users.
Growth patterns vary widely. Europe grew the slowest at 3.8% over the last year. Asia managed to keep its position as the fastest-growing region with a 14.1% increase. The gap between regions grows wider.
U.S. and top countries by user count
The United States shows strong social media adoption with 253 million active users as of January 2025. This covers 73% of America's population and 78.5% of all U.S. internet users.
U.S. social media's gender split is almost even – 50.2% female and 49.8% male users.
These countries lead globally in total social media users:
- China: 1.1-1.18 billion users
- India: 462-874 million users
- United States: 239-312 million users
- Indonesia: 203 million users
- Brazil: 160 million users
Some countries show remarkable adoption rates that exceed global averages. Saudi Arabia reports a 102% penetration rate that indicates multiple accounts per person. The UAE (96%), South Korea (94%), and Singapore (88%) also show exceptional adoption.
Experts project social media users worldwide will cross 6 billion by 2028. This digital revolution clearly has more room to grow.
Most popular social media platforms by users
Meta rules the digital world in 2025. Facebook remains the world's most popular social network with 3.07 billion monthly active users. The numbers tell an amazing story – about 37% of people worldwide use Facebook at least once every month.
Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram
The "Big Four" platforms dominate social media today. Facebook stands at the top as the first social network with more than a billion registered accounts. YouTube comes next with 2.53-2.54 billion monthly active users, which makes it the go-to platform for video sharing.
Instagram hit a huge milestone 3 billion monthly active users, according to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg's announcement in September 2025. The platform has grown tremendously since October 2022, when it just reached 2 billion users.
WhatsApp adds to Meta's power with 3 billion monthly active users. This makes it the most used messaging platform worldwide. Meta's grip on social media is remarkable – the company owns four major platforms that each have over a billion monthly active users.
Emerging platforms: TikTok, Telegram, Snapchat
TikTok keeps growing fast and now has 1.94 billion users, making it the fifth biggest platform worldwide. Young people love it – 56% of social media users have TikTok profiles, but this jumps to 82% for Gen Z. Men make up most of TikTok's audience (55.7%), and users between 25-34 years old are its biggest group (35.3%).
Telegram has become a popular choice for privacy-focused users with 950 million to 1 billion users. The platform has grown by 241% in search volume over five years. Users who care about privacy, developers, and specific communities find their home here.
Snapchat stays relevant with 850-900 million monthly active users. Teens and young adults especially like its disappearing content and AR features.
Monthly active users vs. ad reach
Platform size means different things when you look at monthly active users (MAU) versus advertising reach. YouTube leads social media advertising by reaching 2.54 billion users monthly. Facebook follows with 2.36 billion in ad reach.
TikTok shows this difference clearly. The platform has 1.94 billion total users but advertisers can only reach 1.59 billion. This gap shows how total users differ from those available to advertisers.
LinkedIn provides another good example. The platform claims it can reach 1.29 billion people through ads. This number includes all registered members rather than monthly active users, which might make its active audience seem bigger than it really is.
These measurement differences explain why platform rankings vary in different reports. Monthly active users (MAU) give us the most reliable numbers because they show who actually uses a network within 30 days. MAU works better than daily active users, which change more often.
Seven social media platforms now have more than a billion monthly active users. A total of 16 platforms report at least half a billion active users. Mobile devices keep reaching new markets that didn't have access before. Social networking sites should reach 5.42 billion users by the end of 2025.
How people use social media platforms
People now spread their attention across multiple social media platforms. The average person actively uses 6.7 to 6.84 different social networks each month. This has completely changed how we interact with social media in 2025.
Average number of platforms used per person
Most reliable sources point to people using 6.83 platforms monthly. This number has grown slightly over the last several years as users add new platforms to their daily social media mix.
All the same, some fascinating regional patterns emerge. UAE residents lead the world by using 8.62 social platforms monthly. Users in the Philippines and Malaysia come close with 8.36 and 8.12 platforms respectively. Japanese users take a more focused approach with just 3.5 platforms per month.
Age and gender play a big role too. Young women aged 16-24 use 7.76 platforms monthly, while men of the same age use 7.71. Older users over 65 are more selective – women in this group use 3.64 platforms and men use 3.28.
Time spent daily and weekly
The typical social media user dedicates 2 hours and 21 minutes daily (or 18 hours and 46 minutes weekly) to social platforms. This represents a 10-minute drop from peak usage two years ago.
Worldwide, people spend 14.5 billion hours on social media daily – that's about 1.7 million years of human existence. Users will likely spend 4 trillion hours on social networks throughout 2025.
Different platforms command different amounts of attention. TikTok leads with users spending 54-59 minutes daily. YouTube follows at 46-60 minutes daily, while Facebook and Instagram users spend about 31-32 minutes per day on each platform.
Demographics tell an interesting story. Young women aged 16-24 spend nearly 3 hours daily on social platforms, 25 minutes more than men their age. American teens are heavy users, averaging 4 hours and 48 minutes daily. Teenage girls top the charts at 5 hours and 18 minutes.
Top activities: messaging, watching videos, sharing content
People use different platforms for different purposes. Facebook serves mainly as a messaging platform to connect with friends and family. TikTok users care less about messaging and prefer funny and entertaining videos.
Instagram and Snapchat users love to publish their own content, unlike those on TikTok, Reddit, and LinkedIn. Pinterest stands out with its brand-conscious audience who enjoy following or researching brand-related content.
Video dominates modern social media. Short clips rule engagement, with over 70% of social media interactions happening on videos under 60 seconds. Americans watch 17.6 million hours of Instagram Reels daily and spend 35 hours monthly watching TikTok videos just on Android devices.
The main reasons people use social media include keeping in touch with friends and family (48.7%), filling spare time (37.5%), and reading news stories (34.1%).
Who are the social media users?
69.2% of Millennials actively use social media platforms in 2025, making them the dominant force in the social media landscape. Users aren't spread evenly among demographic groups, which creates unique audience profiles for each platform.
Age and gender breakdown
Male users dominate major platforms in 2025. X (formerly Twitter) shows the biggest gender gap with 63.7% male users versus 36.3% female. This male-heavy trend continues on LinkedIn (56.9%), Facebook (56.7%), and TikTok (55.7%). The 25-34 age group leads user numbers on several platforms: Instagram (31.6%), TikTok (35.3%), and Facebook (31.1%).
Platform usage time varies by demographic group. Gen Z women (16-24) spend 2 hours and 59 minutes daily on these platforms, while Millennial women clock in at 2 hours and 50 minutes. Young users follow accounts in more categories than their older counterparts. Users aged 16-24 follow accounts in 4.87 categories, but those 65+ stick to just 2.21 categories.
Education and income levels
Education shapes platform adoption rates. 70% of US adults with college degrees use Facebook, compared to 63% of those with high school diplomas or less. Income plays a big role too. 74% of Americans earning $70,000-$99,999 use Facebook – the highest percentage among all income brackets.
Urban vs. rural usage patterns
Social media habits differ between rural and urban users. Rural teens use these platforms nowhere near as often, with 75% daily users compared to 85% in urban areas. Platform choices vary too. Rural youth prefer Snapchat as their second choice, while urban users pick Instagram.
Location type affects platform popularity. Reddit usage shows clear differences: 29% of suburban Americans use it, compared to 24% in urban areas and 14% in rural communities. Facebook bucks this trend with higher rural adoption – 74% of rural adults use it versus 67% in urban areas.
Why people use social media in 2025
Social media's dominance in 2025 shows clear patterns in why 4.9 billion people log on daily. Research helps us learn about user motivations. Keeping in touch with friends and family stands as the top reason people participate in social platforms (50.8%). These numbers shift based on different demographics.
Staying connected with friends and family
Social media users (67%) say connecting with current friends and family is their main motivation. Women value these family connections more than men do (72% vs. 55%). Adults over 57 use these platforms mostly to stay close to loved ones, spending about an hour each day.
Entertainment and passing time
People worldwide use social media to fill their spare time (39%). This explains why "endless feeds" have become standard features now. Age plays a big role in usage patterns. Gen Z members spend about 3 hours 38 minutes daily, mostly for entertainment. Baby Boomers spend just 1 hour on these platforms.
News consumption and brand discovery
Social media has become a news source for 34.5% of users. U.S. adults (53%) now get their news from these platforms. Facebook (38%) and YouTube (35%) lead the pack as news sources. TikTok's growth is remarkable – it now reaches 20% of Americans, up from just 3% in 2020.
FOMO and trend tracking
Fear of missing out drives 19.5% of social media use. Millennials (69%) deal with FOMO regularly. Users (56%) feel left out after seeing posts from others. Gen Z makes purchase decisions based on what their peers post (41%).
Conclusion
Social media has become the digital heartbeat of modern society. About 5.41 billion people worldwide now use multiple platforms actively. These networks have changed how people communicate, entertain themselves, and consume information.
People split their attention between seven different platforms each month. They spend more than two hours every day scrolling, watching videos, and connecting with others. Facebook and YouTube still lead the pack, even as TikTok grows rapidly.
Users choose specific platforms for different needs – Facebook works best for messaging, TikTok entertains, and many people now rely on these networks for news.
The numbers paint an interesting picture. Millennials use social media the most, but Gen Z spends more time per session. Most platforms have more male users, which goes against early predictions about women's social media use. A person's education and economic status shape their platform choices and usage habits.
People's reasons for using social media haven't changed much over time. Staying in touch with friends and family remains the top priority. Entertainment comes second, and news consumption continues to grow. The fear of missing out drives about 20% of all social media activity. Platform designers know this and encourage engagement to maximize endless scrolling and content discovery.
Social media's growth shows no signs of stopping. The number of users worldwide could reach 6 billion by 2028. We haven't seen peak adoption yet. These platforms keep evolving and blur the lines between watching content, creating it, shopping, and talking to others.
Social media has changed how billions spend their time, build relationships, and see the world. Daily usage might have dropped slightly from its peak, but more people keep joining different platforms. This trend proves that social media remains woven into modern life's fabric.
FAQs
Q1. How many social media users are expected globally by 2025?
By 2025, the number of social media users worldwide is projected to reach 5.41 billion, representing approximately 65.7% of the global population.
Q2. Which social media platforms are the most popular in 2025?
Facebook remains the most popular platform with 3.07 billion monthly active users, followed by YouTube with 2.53-2.54 billion users. Instagram and WhatsApp have also reached 3 billion monthly active users each.
Q3. How much time do people spend on social media daily?
The average social media user spends 2 hours and 21 minutes per day on social platforms, which equates to about 18 hours and 46 minutes weekly.
Q4. What are the main reasons people use social media in 2025?
The top reasons for using social media include keeping in touch with friends and family (50.8%), filling spare time (39%), and consuming news (34.5%).
Q5. How does social media usage vary across different age groups?
Millennials are the most engaged demographic group, with 69.2% actively using social media platforms. Gen Z spends the most time, averaging 3 hours and 38 minutes daily, primarily for entertainment purposes.
