Social media platforms have become an indispensable part of daily life in today’s world. A 2025 report published by the Pew Research Center, examining the social media usage habits of American adults, detailed the platforms’ heavy use. This data-driven study reveals changes over the years, differences between age groups, and usage frequency. The most striking finding in the report was that neither Instagram nor TikTok were the most popular platform.
TikTok is popular among young people, but it lags behind YouTube in the overall rankings
According to data from 5,022 adults participating in the study, YouTube tops the list with an 84% usage rate. Alphabet’s video-sharing platform is followed by platforms owned by Meta. 71% of respondents reported using Facebook, while 50% reported having an Instagram account. With these results, Meta managed to secure second and third places on the list. However, not all of Meta’s initiatives achieve the same success. Threads, which reportedly reached 400 million monthly active users last summer, is used by only 8 percent of survey participants. At the bottom of the list are X (formerly Twitter) with 21 percent usage, Bluesky with 4 percent, and Truth Social with 3 percent.
The Pew Research Center examined the popularity of platforms as well as how frequently users visit them. According to a separate survey of 5,123 adults, 52 percent use Facebook daily. Of this audience, 37 percent log in multiple times a day. A similar trend is seen on YouTube. 48 percent of adults visit YouTube daily, while 33 percent of them report watching videos multiple times a day.
When examining usage habits by age, the sharpest difference is seen on TikTok. 47 percent of adults between the ages of 18 and 29 use TikTok at least once a day. In contrast, only 5 percent of users aged 65 and over visit the ByteDance-owned app daily. This clearly highlights the generational gap between the platforms’ target audiences.
The Ministry of Health has published new regulations imposing social media restrictions on doctors. Advertising, promotions, and patient reviews are prohibited.
A look at annual trends shows that YouTube and Facebook have largely maintained their usage rates since 2021 and even experienced some growth. While Facebook’s popularity is thought to be declining, the report demonstrates that the platform has a loyal user base that is growing steadily. Meta continues to keep the platform current and user engagement alive by updating features like Facebook Marketplace.
This US-based data also provides important insights into global social media habits. So, which social media app is your go-to and most frequently checked in your daily life?
