Who isn’t on social media these days? Thanks to mobile technology, every phone comes with social media channels to connect with others, engage and share content and entertain.
Companies around the world are tapping into the benefits of engaging social media channels in their strategies. But which channel is the best for your company? Finding this out will depend on your audience. Therefore, understanding who are social media users is critical for success.
Here we prepared a guide with the top statistics and figures you need to understand your social media users in 2022. This updated guide on demographics will give you the figures you need to define an informed strategy, such as usage, age, gender, country, and behavior.
Follow our 2022 Guide to Social Media Demographics and discover who is the audience on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Linkedin, Pinterest, YouTube, Snapchat, and Tiktok. Bookmark this page to have it handy.
So, How Many People Use Social Media?
Let’s start from the basics: how many social media users are in the world? Is social media really everywhere?
According to studies, more than half the world’s population — 4.33 billion people — use social media.
That suggests that 9 in 10 Internet users use social media each month.
As of April 2021, there were 521 million new social media users from last year, indicating an annual growth of 13.7%.
Mobile access is a great part of social media growth, as 99% of social media users access via their mobile phones.
How often people use social media?
The average user spends 2hrs 22 minutes a day on social media. This varies according to the platform though, as people spend more time on some social platforms than others.
Which platforms are the most popular?
Facebook is by large the most common social media platform, followed by YouTube and Instagram.
Social Media Users By Country
Usage of Social Media varies by country too. According to Statista, China is the country with the most users, with over a billion users expected by 2025, followed by India with half a billion.
The United States is in 4th place, Japan in 10th. Surprisingly, the United Kingdom is in 14th place with 50.89 million users expected by 2025, followed by South Korea with 45.53 million users.
United States
Social media adoption in the U.S has grown from only 5% in 2006 to 72% in 2020.
Age group: The same research shows that most users are in the range of 18-29 years old.
UK
According to statistics, in January 2020 there were 45 million social media users in the UK, this number had increased to 53 million by the start of 2021. That means 77.9% of the UK population uses at least one social media platform.
Time spent on social channels: The British spend 1h 49 minutes every day on social media.
Age of social media users: Most social media users are in the range of 18-34 years old.
The most used social media platforms in the UK are YouTube and Facebook. Interestingly, this is one of the few countries where Facebook is in second place as the most used social media platform.
South Korea
According to Statista, the number of social media users in South Korea will reach 45.5 million by 2025, from 41.4 million in 2017.
Age group: the highest social media penetration — 86.9%— was among the 20-29 years old as of 2019.
The largest group of Instagram users in South Korea, as of March 2021 are women between 25 and 34 years old.
The most used social network in South Korea is Facebook.
Australia
According to Statista studies, in January 2021, almost 80% of Australians were active social media users, compared to 58% in 2015.
Age group: The use of social media is dominated by the 25-34-year-old group. Younger Australians, from 14 to 28 years old, prefer to use Instagram.
Most popular network: Facebook still leads as the most widely used social networking service, followed by YouTube and Instagram.
South Africa
Statistics show that social media users in South Africa will reach over 26 million by 2025, from 22.89 million in 2019.
Social media users increased by 3 million between 2020 and 2021. As of January 2021, 41.9% of South Africans used social media.
Age group: According to a Digital Report by Data Report, the largest group of users of social media are in the range of 25 to 34 years old.
Time spent on social media: South Africans spend an average of 3 and a half hours on social media every day.
Most popular Network: Interestingly, the most popular network in South Africa is WhatsApp, followed by YouTube in second place and then Facebook.
Now that we explored the basics of key markets, let’s analyze the demographics of the social platforms, who are the users?
Understanding the audience is critical to define a successful social media strategy for your business.
2021 Facebook Demographics
Facebook is still the undisputed leader of social networks, although now YouTube and Instagram are getting close. Their reach and broad audience make it a clear choice for most companies looking to market and advertise their products.
Active users/month
- 2.7 billion people use Facebook every month.
Age Facebook users
Income
- Facebook is used by over 80% of households regardless of the income break.
Gender
The gender division is not that marked among Facebook users, as there are 8% more users that identify as male than female.
Device usage
- 98% of Facebook users access through mobile.
- While over 80% access only through a mobile phone. 17% access both through mobile and computer.
The takeaway
- Despite new competitors, the world crisis, and all that happened in 2020, Facebook is still the most used social platform.
- Although most users are millennials, boomers form half of the audience, which results in an attractive opportunity to run ads.
- The massive reach of Facebook means that it is only logical to advertise there even if you only share your posts from other platforms.
2021 Instagram Demographics
Instagram is the network for sharing photos and video, turning steadily into a marketplace of its own.
Active users/month
- 1 billion people use Instagram every month.
Age of Instagram users
- The largest age group is of 25-34-year-olds (33.1%)
Time
- Instagram users spend on average 53 minutes per day on the platform.
Income
- In the U.S, 60% of users that earn more than $100k/year are on Instagram, while only 44% of the lower-income range (less than $30k/year).
Gender
According to Statista, there is almost the same % of male than female Instagram users.
Distribution of Instagram users worldwide as of January 2021, by gender
| Percentage of users | |
|---|---|
| Male | 49.2% |
| Female | 50.8% |
Device usage
- 11.96% of the world’s active mobile Internet users access Instagram daily.
- Since Instagram doesn’t have a desktop app, until a few years ago, there won’t be a possibility of using the social network from PC. Nowadays, marketers and businesses adapt their browsers to be able to use Instagram from desktops.
The Takeaway
- Instagram is steadily growing in the last few years and now is the second most-used network after Facebook.
- The launch of Instagram Reels positions Instagram as a competitor with TikTok.
- In fact, Instagram is competing fiercely for the younger user’s attention with TikTok and Snapchat.
2021 LinkedIn Demographics
The social media network for professionals and B2B works by different rules as other social networks. Its focus on providing value, networking, and lead generation make it a no-brainer when it comes to promoting your business.
Active users per month
- There are 756 million members of Linkedin of which 260 are monthly active users.
Age distribution
The age group with the largest LinkedIn active users is 25-34 years. However, the target demographics focus on professionals 30-49 years old.
- 60% of people 25-34 are on LinkedIn.
- Only 3% age 55%+ use the platform
- 17% of Internet users use LinkedIn
Time
According to Similar Web, users spend an average of 7.30 minutes every day on LinkedIn, at which time they visit about 6 pages.
Income
- Linkedin members are on the higher income side, with 60% of households with an annual income of over $100k/year using LinkedIn.
- Also, 40% and 49% of medium-income households (from $60k/year to $80k/year) use LinkedIn.
- On the contrary, only 2% of the lower-income range (under $30k/year) use the network.
This can be explained as LinkedIn is a network for B2B and professionals, which tend to be in the medium/high-income range.
Gender
Device usage
- Contrarily with the other social networks, LinkedIn is used primarily on desktop. It makes sense since people use LinkedIn for professional/business purposes. According to SimilarWeb, 32% of LinkedIn traffic from desktops comes from the U.S.
- However, the LinkedIn app has been downloaded 500,000,000+ times from the Google Play Store, according to Google Play. That represents a 400% increase from 2018, where it was a mere 100 million downloads.
- 57% of the impressions on LinkedIn come from mobile.
The takeaway
- While it could seem that LinkedIn is for older professionals, millennials make up a quarter of the platform.
- Marketing and advertising efforts on LinkedIn can be productive since it has a high-educated and higher-earning demographic. Since its audience is primarily B2B, requires very specific marketing activities and is a top market for lead generation.
2021 Twitter Demographics
One of the strengths of Twitter, besides allowing everybody to express their opinion, is that you can tag almost any business or person simply by tagging them in a Tweet. This helps companies with their social listening and brand analysis.
Active users per month
- There are 330 million monthly active users on Twitter.
Age distribution
- More than half of Twitter users ( 63%) are between 35 and 65 years old. This percentage refers to global users.
- In the U.S., most Twitter users (42%) are younger, between 18-29 years old.
Time
- The average session on Twitter is 3.39 minutes.
Business
- 75% of B2B businesses market their products/services on Twitter.
Income
- 42% of users hold a degree, which suggests a higher-earning audience, good for advertising.
Gender
- Globally, there are twice more men (66%) on Twitter than women (34%). In the U.S, this rate is 61.6% male and 38.4% female Twitter users.
Device usage
- Twitter is mostly a mobile social media platform, and 80% of users access Twitter from their mobile device.
- According to Google, the app was downloaded over a billion times.
The takeaway
- One of the keys to Twitter’s success is that is easy to use and generates short-term interactions.
- Since it is dynamic, it is a good place to share updates, attract the interest of the users and generate discussions.
- Most (80%) of tweets are generated from the 10% of most active Twitter accounts. That means Twitter is a place of influencers.
2021 YouTube Demographics
Youtube video range goes from recipes and tutorials to funny cat videos, entertainment, and music. If it can be on video, is on YouTube.
Active users per month
- There are 2 billion active users on YouTube
Age distribution
- Most users (85%) are in the 15-25 years old age group.
- Interestingly, more than half of users over 56 years old also use YouTube (58%).
- ¾ of people 26-55 also use YouTube.
Time
- People spend on average 41.9 minutes on YouTube every day. This amounts to almost 5 hours per week.
- Combined, people watch over a billion hours of YouTube videos.
Income
- YouTube usage is spread across all income ranges, with a slightly higher penetration (89%) in the highest income range —$100k/year—.
Gender
- 72% of female Internet users are on YouTube and also 72% of men.
Device usage
- More than 40% of YouTube watch time comes from mobile devices, and 34% on the TV. This represents a shift to connected TVs since by 2019, 49% of YouTube viewing was mobile and 27% on TV.
Source: emarketer.com
The takeaway
- YouTube has proved to be popular in a wide age range with a peak of popularity among 15 to 35-year-olds.
- More than half of YouTube’s users use the platform every day, making YouTube the most used video network for the Internet.
- All this suggests YouTube offers great advertising opportunities as it is still growing.
2021 TikTok Demographics
TikTok is becoming the next video-sharing platform, catering to people between the age of 13 and 40.
Active users per month
- TikTok has 1 billion monthly active users. That’s an increase of 1.1 billion from 2018.
- The platform has 100 million active users in the U.S.
Age distribution
- Most TikTok users are in the age range of 10-19 years old (32.5%). While this shows a focus on the youngest users, the percentage of users aged 20-29 is increasing, reaching 29.5%. This suggests that TikTok’s audience composition is becoming older.
Time
- The users spend an average of 52 minutes per day on the platform. Younger users spend up to 80 minutes per day on the app.
Income
- 40% of TikTok users belong to the highest income range, making more than $100k/year.
Gender
- 60% of TikTok U.S. users are female and 40% are male.
Device usage
- In April 2021, TikTok had 39.2 million mobile unique visitors, which means an increase of 300% from the 12.6 million or April 2020.
The takeaway
- It is without a doubt that since its launch, TikTok has had unprecedented growth. Currently available in 150 countries, the platform is quickly becoming the app for sharing video content.
- The platform announced that soon it will allow monetization, with shoppable videos, for their creators.
2021 Pinterest Demographics
The social network for makers, Pinterest has long evolved from a platform to look for recipes and DIY tutorials to a more B2C marketplace. Its users also reflect this trend.
Active users per month
- There are 400+ million active users on Pinterest.
Age distribution
- The largest group of users are between 50-64 years old, followed by the 30-49 years old group.
Percentage of U.S. adults who use Pinterest as of February 2021, by age group
| Share of respondents | |
|---|---|
| 18-29 | 32% |
| 30-49 | 34% |
| 50-64 | 38% |
| 65+ | 18% |
Time
- Pinterest users spend an average of 14 minutes daily on the platform.
Income
- Pinterest attracts more users that earn more than $75k/year, as well as those with college degrees or higher education.
Gender
- The gender gap in Pinterest is pretty marked with considerably more female pinners than male.
Device usage
- 58.78% of Pinterest traffic comes from desktops.
- According to Pinterest, 85% of their users have downloaded the app.
The takeaway
- The majority of female users are one of the characteristics that differentiate Pinterest from other social platforms.
- Although according to the stats, older users are the majority of the audience, recently there has been an increase of GenZ and millennials using the platform.
- It is product-focused and offers a good opportunity for ads because of the high-earning audience.
2021 Snapchat Demographics
Although it was overlooked for a long time, Snapchat is wildly popular among younger users.
Active users per month
- Snapchat has 265 million monthly active users.
Age distribution
- 75% of their users are aged 13-34.
Source: MarketingCharts.com
Time
- Snapchat users spend on average 30 minutes per day on the platform.
Income
- 42% of medium income ($70-80k/year) households use Snapchat.
- 32% of the lower-income range use the platform.
- 39% of the higher-income households use Snapchat.
Gender
- There is a gender disparity in Snapchat in favor of female users which are almost double than the male.
- 61% of Snapchat users are female.
- 38% are male.
Device usage
- Snapchat is only available from mobile.
- The app is the second most used app on mobile devices.
The takeaway
- While the platform doesn’t create much buzz, it is the most popular social network among teens, even before TikTok.
- The audience is very engaged, opening the app an average of 30 times a day.
Which Networks Are the Best for You According to Your Industry?
The data and figures we mentioned are meant to be a general indication of the audiences for each social media platform.
To define your marketing strategy, you should look at the specific demographic for your target audience and compare it with the data we presented.
Finding the right social network for your company depends on your audience and your industry. First, find out where your users are hanging out on social media. Then look at their demographic characteristics.
Different industries may need different channels. For instance, if your company caters to teenagers, you should look to promote your products on Snapchat, Instagram, and TikTok.
If your company offers B2B services, then Linkedin or maybe Facebook is your platforms. If your audience is DIYves, then look at Pinterest and Instagram.
Why Are Demographics Important for Your Monetization Strategy?
Demographics is critical for marketing and monetization strategies. Demographics help you understand the characteristics of your audience.
It explains who is your user and helps you with customer segmentation, helping target exactly your ideal customer. You should use demographics to make your marketing efforts more effective.
How a One-Stop Monetization Solution Can Help
Instead of searching and analyzing myriad statistics before you even start with your monetization efforts, leverage a monetization solution. This will simplify the task, segmenting and profiling your audience so you can monetize your digital properties effectively.
CodeFuel is a one-stop monetization solution that makes highly targeted monetization much easier. The solution allows you to leverage search, display, and shopping ads with intent-based targeting. Therefore, offering relevant ads and news to your audience. Learn more about how CodeFuel can help here.
