Americans' Social Media Use and Tech Adoption
IT News Online Staff
2024-02-07
According to a new Pew Research Center report, U.S. adults continue to use a wide range of sites and apps, especially YouTube and Facebook. Meanwhile, TikTok, a platform that some Congress members previously called to ban, saw growth in its user base.
The new report, based on a survey of 5,733 U.S. adults conducted May 19-Sept. 5, 2023, finds that YouTube by and large is the most widely used online platform measured in our survey. 83 percent of U.S. adults report using the video-based platform. Facebook is also a dominant player in the online landscape, with 68 percent of U.S. adults using it. 47 percent of U.S. adults say they use Instagram.
The other sites and apps asked about are not as widely used, but a fair portion of Americans still use them. Between 27 percent and 35 percent of U.S. adults use Pinterest, TikTok, LinkedIn, WhatsApp and Snapchat. Meanwhile, 20 percent say they use Reddit and Twitter. (Twitter changed its name to "X" while this survey was in the field.)
One platform, TikTok, stands out for growth of its user base. 33 percent of U.S. adults say they use the video-based platform, up 12 percentage points from 2021 (21 percent). The other sites asked about had more modest or no growth over the past couple of years. For instance, while YouTube and Facebook dominate the social media landscape, the shares of adults who use these platforms have remained stable since 2021. Twitter has also stayed stable.
Other key findings include:
Stark age differences in who uses each app or site
Age gaps are especially large for Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok - platforms that are used by majorities of adults under 30. For example:
- 78 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds say they use Instagram, far higher than the 15 percent among those 65 and older.
- 65 percent of U.S. adults under 30 report using Snapchat, compared with just 4 percent of the oldest age cohort.
- 62 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds say they use TikTok, much higher than the 10 percent among adults ages 65 years and older.
- Americans ages 30 to 49 and 50 to 64 fall somewhere in between for all three platforms.
YouTube and Facebook are the only two platforms that majorities of all age groups use. That said, there is still a large age gap between the youngest and oldest adults when it comes to use of YouTube. The age gap for Facebook, though, is much smaller.
Americans ages 30 to 49 stand out for using three of the platforms - LinkedIn, WhatsApp and Facebook - at higher rates. For instance, 40 percent of this age group uses LinkedIn, higher than the 30 percent among those ages 18 to 29 and 50 to 64. And just 12 percent of those 65 and older say the same.
Overall, a large majority of the youngest adults use multiple sites and apps. 74 percent of adults under 30 use at least five of the platforms asked about. This is far higher than the shares of those ages 30 to 49 (53 percent), 50 to 64 (30 percent), and ages 65 and older (8 percent) who say the same.
Other demographic differences in use of online platforms
A number of demographic differences emerge in who uses each platform. Some of these include the following:
Instagram
Race and ethnicity: 58 percent Hispanic and 57 percent Asian adults report using Instagram, somewhat higher than the shares among Black (46 percent) and White (43 percent) adults.
Gender: Women are more likely than their male counterparts to say they use the platform.
Education: Those with some college education and those with a college degree report using it at somewhat higher rates than those who have a high school degree or less education.
TikTok
Race and ethnicity: Hispanic adults are particularly likely to use TikTok, with 49 percent saying they use it, higher than Black adults (39 percent). Even smaller shares of Asian (29 percent) and White (28 percent) adults say the same.
Gender: Women use the platform at higher rates than men (40 percent vs. 25 percent).
LinkedIn
Education: Americans with higher levels of formal education are especially likely to use LinkedIn. For instance, 53 percent of Americans with at least a bachelor's degree report using the platform, far higher than among those who have some college education (28 percent) and those who have a high school degree or less education (10 percent). This is the largest educational difference measured across any of the platforms asked about.
Twitter (renamed "X")
Household income: Adults with higher household incomes use Twitter at somewhat higher rates. For instance, 29 percent of U.S. adults who have an annual household income of at least $100,000 say they use the platform. This compares with 20 percent of those with annual household incomes of $70,000 to $99,999, as well as those with annual incomes of less than $30,000 and those between $30,000 and $69,999.
Pinterest
Gender: Women are far more likely to use Pinterest than men (50 percent vs. 19 percent).
WhatsApp
Race and ethnicity: 54 percent of Hispanic adults and 51 percent of Asian adults report using WhatsApp. This compares with 31 percent of Black adults and even smaller shares of those who are White (20 percent).
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