Millions of people use social media to connect, share information, and stay up-to-date on news and events. Many people have made social media platforms their source of income. During the lockdown, people were seen actively indulging on social media platforms. This may raise questions like how many people use social media worldwide.
Different social media platforms exist worldwide, like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc. They have their own set of users, and many users use all of them. But exactly how many people use social media platforms? We’ll discuss the numbers later in the article, but to give you an idea, most people worldwide use social media.
This article will tell you how many people use social media platforms worldwide.
How Many People Use Social Media Platforms?
The total number of people who use social media in 2023 is 4.78 Billion(in January 2023). It amounts to a whopping 59.4 percent of the total global population. Here’s how the number of social media users is expected to grow.
Year | Number of Social Media Users |
2017 | 2.73 billion |
2018 | 3.1 billion |
2019 | 3.51 billion |
2020 | 3.9 billion |
2021 | 4.26 billion |
2022 | 4.59 billion |
2023 | 4.90 billion |
2024* | 5.17 billion |
2025* | 5.42 billion |
2026* | 5.64 billion |
2027* | 5.85 billion |
Since its start in 1996, social media has spread to about half the world’s 8 billion people. In the last 10 years, the number of people using social networking sites went from 970 million in 2010 to more than 4.78 billion in January 2023. It is expected to increase to 4.90 Billion at the end of 2023.
But the huge growth of new users on the platforms from year to year is slowing down. It now depends on the number of people with internet access and smartphones, especially in developing regions.
Which Region Use Social Media the Most?
Asia-Pacific is the biggest market for social media, with more than 50% of all users in the world coming from there. North America and Europe come next, each having about 15% of the users. The rest of the users are from Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa.
Which Social Media Platform is Most Used?
Facebook is the world’s most popular social media platform, with an estimated 2.85 billion monthly active users in 2023. After this comes YouTube, which has a monthly 2.2 billion active user base. With an estimated 1.4 billion monthly active users, Instagram is the third most popular platform.
TikTok, on the other hand, has grown quickly to become the fourth most popular platform, with an estimated 1.2 billion monthly active users. Here’s the list of the world’s most used social media platforms.
Network | Active users in Million(January 2023) |
---|---|
2958 | |
YouTube | 2514 |
2000 | |
2000 | |
FB Messenger | 1311 |
1309 | |
TikTok | 1051 |
606 | |
Douyin | 715 |
Telegram | 700 |
Sina Weibo | 640 |
Snapchat | 635 |
Kuaishou | 626 |
570 | |
560 | |
556 | |
Quora | 300 |
Why Do People Use Social Media Platforms?
You may be using the social media platforms like Instagram to pass the time. But there are other reasons why people use social media platforms. Different people use social media platforms for different reasons.
Some just want to connect to people, some want to be successful influencers, and some just want to kill time. Most users use social media to connect with their friends and family. Here’s a detailed graph that shows what percentage of people use social media and for what reasons.
What Are Some Famous Trends on Social Media Platforms?
You should be current with some famous trends to grow on social media. As of mid-2023, the most significant trend in social media platforms is the growing use of video content. YouTube has been the most popular place to watch videos for a long time, but other sites like TikTok and Instagram have become popular places to watch short videos.
This has led to increased competition between platforms and the emergence of new features such as Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts. Another trend is that more and more e-commerce is done through social media. Instagram and Facebook have added features that let businesses sell products on their platforms.
TikTok has teamed up with Shopify to allow e-commerce on its platform. This trend will likely keep growing as more businesses realize how important social media is for making sales and networking with the world about their product.
Which Is The Favorite Social Media Platform?
Social media platform with the highest number of users doesn’t mean that this platform is the favorite among people. The list of favorite social media platforms differs by age and by gender. However, an average could be drawn.
According to a report by GWI, Whatsapp is the favorite social media platform of users around the globe. It is followed by Instagram and Facebook, respectively. A detailed graph shows the world’s top favorite social media platform.
How Many Social Media Accounts Does An Average Person Have?
According to research by Backlinko, millennials and Gen Z users worldwide have an average of 8.4 social media accounts. According to a study of 46 countries with 16–64-year-old internet users, Japan had the fewest social media accounts at 3.8 per person, while India had the most at 11.5 per person. Here’s how the list goes.
Country | Average Social Media Accounts Per Person |
India | 11.4 |
The United States | 7.1 |
The United Kingdom | 6.9 |
Canada | 6.8 |
Japan | 3.8 |
Conclusion:
I hope you got an idea of how many people will use social media in 2023 and other interesting statistics about it. To conclude, 59.4 percent of the global population currently uses social media platforms, i.e., 4.78 billion. They are expected to grow even higher in the coming year. Refer to the article to know more about it.