In a nutshell: A new report on the state of social media use among Americans has arrived. It's good news for Facebook, TikTok, and Reddit, which have seen their usage increase, but Elon Musk probably won't be pleased to see that X is stagnating.
The Pew Research Center's latest Americans' Social Media Use report shows that YouTube remains the most widely used "online platform," which seems like Pew's preferred term for the video-sharing site – the argument over whether YouTube should be classed as a social media company has raged for years.
A massive 84% of US adults say they ever use YouTube, noticeably more than second-place Facebook (71%). However, a higher percentage of adults say they go on the social network several times or at least once per day – 54% – compared to YouTube (48%).
Meta-owned Instagram is third on the list, though its usage hasn't increased compared to last year.
Despite the long-running saga – that could soon be over – surrounding TikTok's potential US ban/takeover of its American operations, ByteDance's app saw a sharp increase in users compared to last year, reaching 37%. WhatsApp and Reddit were also up, to 32% and 26%, respectively.
Like Instagram, the number of US adults who said they use X hasn't changed since last year, holding steady at 21%. The former Twitter platform's monthly active users were reportedly down YoY in September, though owner Musk likely disagrees with that claim.
The only social media platform to decline this year was Snapchat, falling to 25%.
For this year's survey, Pew ask about three new platforms, which are used by about one-in-ten or fewer US adults: Threads, Bluesky, and Truth Social. Threads leads with 8%, followed by Bluesky (4%) and Truth Social (3%).
The survey also examined the ages of platform users. Unsurprisingly, adults under 30 are more likely to use most of these platforms, with Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and Reddit particularly popular with those aged 18 – 29.
Facebook, which has been fighting to lose its "social media for old people" image for years, is more popular with over 30s, as is YouTube, though it's popular across all age groups.
Elsewhere in the findings, Americans with higher levels of formal education are more likely to report using some sites and apps, including Reddit, WhatsApp and Instagram – four-in-ten adults with at least a college degree say they use Reddit. Those with some college or less education are more likely to use TikTok.