The 2024 social media demographics guide

Before we jump into platform-specific demographics, let’s cover some high-level insights about social media in general.

Social media usage over time

There are currently 4.95 billion social media users and 5.3 billion total internet users, meaning 93.4% of people who use the internet also use social media. What’s more astounding is the rate that social media usage has grown and is expected to continue growing. The number of social media users has grown by 79.1% since 2017, when there were only 2.73 billion social media users. By the end of 2024, Statista predicts there will be 5.17 billion social media users which would be 5.7% growth compared to 2023. By 2027, the number of social media users is expected to reach 5.85 billion, with an annual growth rate between 3.7-5.7% each year until then.

(Source: Statista)

Social media usage by age

According to new data from eMarketer, most U.S. social media users are between the ages of 27 and 42 and fall under the Millennial generation. With 68.5 million Millennials using social media in the U.S., this group accounts for nearly one-third (30.3%) of all U.S. social media users. The next closest age group by usage is Gen Z (ages 11-26), with 56.4 million social media users, followed by Gen X (ages 43-58), with 51.8 million users. Baby Boomers between the ages of 59 and 77 are the age group with the lowest social media usage, with only 36.9 million users.

(Source: Oberlo)

Although Millennials are the age group that uses social media the most, eMarketer predicts their usage will remain relatively flat through 2027, while the number of Gen Z users is expected to grow significantly. The data also suggests that the number of Gen X and Baby Boomers who use social media will decrease over time.

(Source: eMarketer)

Daily time on social media

On average, people spend 2 hours and 24 minutes on social media each day. Combined, it’s estimated that users will have spent 4 trillion hours on social media in 2023. Not all social media platforms are equally engaging, as Statista found people spent more time on TikTok than anywhere else. On average, social media users in the U.S. spent 53.8 minutes on TikTok, with the next closest being YouTube at 48.7 minutes per day. After that, there was a steep drop off to 34.1 minutes for Twitter/X and other platforms before reaching last place, Reddit at only 24.1 minutes per day.

(Source: Statista)

Despite TikTok having the most time on average per day, DataReportal found that YouTube has the highest average session duration at 7 minutes and 29 seconds. This could be because users are watching longer-form content on YouTube compared to the shorter content that TikTok is known for.

(Source: DataReportal via Exploding Topics)

Given that Facebook is the number one platform for adults, understanding its audience is crucial for devising the social media strategy for your business.

2024 Facebook demographics data

Active monthly users

• Facebook has 3.03 billion active monthly users

Active daily users

• Facebook has 2.085 billion daily active users
  

Age

• 4.6% of Facebook’s users are between the ages of 13-17

• 22.6% of Facebook’s users are between the ages of 18-24

• 29.4% of Facebook’s users are between the ages of 25-34

• 19.1% of Facebook’s users are between the ages of 35-44

• 11.4% of Facebook’s users are between the ages of 45-54

• 7.2% of Facebook’s users are between the ages of 55-64

• 5.7% of Facebook’s users are 65+
  

Gender

• 43.7% of Facebook users are female

• 56.3% of Facebook users are male
  

Time

• On average, U.S. Facebook users spend 30.9 minutes a day on the platform
  

Devices

• 98.5% of users access Facebook via mobile devices

• 81.8% of users access Facebook via mobile devices only

• 16.7% of users access Facebook via mobile devices and computers

• 1.5% of users access Facebook via laptop or desktop only

Businesses and shopping

• 19% of U.S. users search for products on Facebook before shopping

• The global advertising audience of Facebook is 2.249 billion

• 90% of social media marketers use Facebook to promote their business.

Most followed accounts

• Cristiano Ronaldo: 163 million followers

• Mr. Bean: 136 million followers

• Shakira: 122 million followers

Instagram is the Meta-owned photo and video sharing app that continues to grow its user base, with 2 billion people using Instagram every month (up from 800 million in 2018).

2024 Instagram demographics data

Active monthly users

• Instagram has 2 billion monthly active users
  

Active daily users

• Instagram has 500 million daily active users
  

Age

• 8% of Instagram’s users are between the ages of 13-17

• 30.8% of Instagram’s users are between the ages of 18-24

• 30.3% of Instagram’s users are between the ages of 25-34

• 15.7% of Instagram’s users are between the ages of 35-44

• 8.4% of Instagram’s users are between the ages of 45-54

• 4.3% of Instagram’s users are between the ages of 55-64

• 2.6% of Instagram’s users are 65+
  

Gender

• 48.2% of Instagram users are female

• 51.8% of Instagram users are male
  

Time

• On average, U.S. Instagram users spend 33.1 minutes per day on the platform
  

Businesses and shopping

• 90% of Instagram users follow a business

• 2 out of 3 people say Instagram enables interaction with brands

• 83% of Instagram users say they discover new products and services on Instagram
  

Most followed accounts

• Cristiano Ronaldo: 613 million followers

• Lionel Messi: 494 million followers

• Selena Gomez: 429 million followers

Pinterest is a visual search engine that pioneered online shopping through social media. On Pinterest, people are 90% more likely to say they’re ‘always shopping’ than on other platforms. Additionally, shoppers on Pinterest spend 80% more monthly than on other platforms. Why? Pinterest claims it’s because they take the best of shopping offline and bring it online, with strong visual connections between products and what users can do with those products. There’s a lot marketers can learn from the platform, but it all starts with gaining a better understanding of the audience.

2024 Pinterest demographics data

Active monthly users

• Pinterest has 465 million monthly active users
  

Age

• 27% of Pinterest’s users are between the ages of 18-24

• 30.9% of Pinterest’s users are between the ages of 25-34

• 15.8% of Pinterest’s users are between the ages of 35-44

• 10.4% of Pinterest’s users are between the ages of 45-54

• 8.7% of Pinterest’s users are between the ages of 55-64

• 4.3% of Pinterest’s users are 65+
  

Gender

Pinterest is one of the most gendered social media channels, which may inform which brands target this audience and how they do so.

• 76.2% of Pinterest users are female

• 17.2% of Pinterest users are male

• 6.6% of Pinterest users did not specify their gender
  

Time

• On average, U.S. Pinterest users spend 14.2 minutes per day on the platform
  

Devices

• 85% of users access Pinterest via the mobile app
  

Business and Shopping

• More than 25% of time spent on Pinterest is spent shopping

• 85% of users have bought something based on pins from brands

X (formerly known as Twitter) allows users to reach practically any person or business simply by tagging them in a Tweet. That’s why Twitter is such a popular platform for customer service — allowing users to air complaints in real time and for customer service teams to react quickly.

2024 X demographics data

Active monthly users

• X has 666 million monthly active users

Active daily users

• X has 245 million monetizable daily active users

Age

• 28.35% of X’s users are between the ages of 18-24

• 29.63% of X’s users are between the ages of 25-34

• 17.96% of X’s users are between the ages of 35-44

• 11.63% of X’s users are between the ages of 45-54

• 7.61% of X’s users are between the ages of 55-64

• 4.83% of X’s users are 65+
  

Gender

Like Pinterest, X is highly gendered, although this channel skews the other direction.

• 23.28% of X users are female

• 66.72% of X users are male
  

Time

• On average, U.S. X users spend 34.1 minutes per day on the platform
  

Most followed accounts

• Elon Musk: 156.9 million followers

• Barack Obama: 132 million followers

• Justin Bieber: 111.7 million followers

Business and shopping

• 82% of B2B content marketers use X

• 79% of X users follow brands on the platform

• X drives 40% higher ROI than other social media channels

LinkedIn is a professional networking site and the top social media platform for B2B marketing. As a result of its focus on business, it’s a great way for companies to drive leads, share news, and keep up with others in their industry.

2024 LinkedIn demographics data

Active monthly users

• LinkedIn has 310 million monthly active users

Active daily users

• 16.2% of LinkedIn’s users login to the platform daily
  

Age

• 21.7% of LinkedIn’s users are between the ages of 18-24

• 60% of LinkedIn’s users are between the ages of 25-34

• 15.4% of LinkedIn’s users are between the ages of 35-54

• 2.9% of LinkedIn’s users are 55+
  

Gender

• 43.7% of LinkedIn users are female

• 56.3% of LinkedIn users are male
  

Time

• On average, LinkedIn users spend just over 7 minutes per day on the platform
  

Devices

• 58.5% of LinkedIn traffic is through desktop devices

• 41.5% of LinkedIn traffic is through mobile devices

Businesses and shopping

• More than 61 million companies are on LinkedIn

• 96% of B2B marketers use LinkedIn for organic social marketing

• Marketers see up to 2x higher conversion rates on LinkedIn compared to other social media platforms
  

Most Followed Accounts

• Bill Gates: 34.9 million followers

• Richard Branson: 18.7 million followers

• Jeff Weiner: 10.4 million followers

YouTube is as utilitarian (think “how to change a spare tire”) as it is entertaining (think funny pet videos). With 2.5 billion monthly active users, YouTube offers expansive opportunities for businesses to share and market information.

2024 YouTube demographics data

Active monthly users

• YouTube has 2.491 billion monthly active users

Active daily users

• YouTube has 122 million daily active users
  

Age

• 15.5% of YouTube users are between the ages of 18-24

• 21.3% of YouTube users are between the ages of 25-34

• 17.5% of YouTube users are between the ages of 35-44

• 12.5% of YouTube users are between the ages of 45-54

• 9.2% of YouTube users are between the ages of 55-64

• 9.2% of YouTube users are between the ages of 65+
  

Gender

• 45.6% of YouTube users are female

• 54.4% of YouTube users are male
  

Time

• On average, U.S. YouTube users spend 48.7 minutes per day on the platform

Businesses and shopping

• 70% of viewers have made a purchase after seeing a brand on YouTube

• 54% of marketers use YouTube
  

Most Followed Accounts

• T-Series: 254 million subscribers

• MrBeast: 217 million subscribers

• Cocomelon: 168 million subscribers

Snapchat has become popular among teens and young adults under 35, making it a great platform for marketers to reach Gen Z. Interestingly, Gen Z spends less time looking at content on Snapchat but shows higher advertising recall than other generations. After watching two seconds or less of an advertiser video, 59% of Gen Z was able to recall it. Outside of Gen Z Snapchat statistics, here’s some other information about the platform’s demographics.

2024 Snapchat demographics data

Active monthly users

• Snapchat has 750 million monthly active users

Active daily users

• Snapchat has 406 million daily active users
  

Age

• 19.7% of Snapchat users are between the ages of 13-17

• 38.1% of Snapchat users are between the ages of 18-24

• 23.4% of Snapchat users are between the ages of 25-34

• 14% of Snapchat users are between the ages of 35-49

• 3.8% of Snapchat users are 50+
  

Gender

• 51% of Snapchat users are female

• 48.2% of Snapchat users are male
  

Time

• On average, U.S. Snapchat users spend 30 minutes per day on the platform

Businesses and shopping

• Snapchat users hold $4.4 trillion in global spending power

• Snapchat users are 2x more likely to share their purchases with their network

Most Followed Accounts

• Kylie Jenner: 37 million followers

• Kim Kardashian: 27.2 million followers

• Khloe Kardashian: 15 million followers

TikTok’s explosive growth in recent years has marked its place as a major player in the social media world (even though it doesn’t call itself a social media platform). Like Snapchat, younger audiences dominate TikTok’s user base with 37.3% of users being between 18-24. It’s also a great platform for brands, with spending reaching 2.5 billion globally. Here’s some other information about TikTok’s user demographics to bear in mind when creating marketing strategies.

2024 TikTok demographics data

Active monthly users

• TikTok has 1.218 billion monthly active users

Active daily users

• TikTok has 45.1 million daily active users
  

Age

• 37.3% of TikTok users are between the ages of 18-24

• 32.9% of TikTok users are between the ages of 25-34

• 15.7% of TikTok users are between the ages of 35-44

• 8.3% of TikTok users are between the ages of 45-54

• 5.8% of TikTok users are 55+
  

Gender

• 49.2% of TikTok users are female

• 50.8% of TikTok users are male
  

Time

• On average, U.S. TikTok users spend 53.8 minutes per day on the platform

Most Followed Accounts

• Khabane lame: 162 million followers

• Charli D’Amelio: 151.6 million followers

• Bella Poarch: 93.6 million followers

Business and Shopping

• Consumer spending on TikTok has surpassed $2.5 billion globally

• 58.2% of TikTok users said they used the platform for shopping inspiration

• 49% of TikTok users say the platform helped them make purchasing decisions

• 55% of TikTok users made a purchase after seeing a brand or product on the platform

Of course, knowing who’s using each social media platform is one thing, and engaging those people is a completely different thing. If your business needs help organizing and managing your social media activity, request a demo of our social media management software to see how you can understand your audience and seamlessly manage efforts across social media channels.