How we did this
To better understand which social media platforms Americans use, Pew Research Center surveyed 5,022 U.S. adults from Feb. 5 to June 18, 2025. SSRS conducted this National Public Opinion Reference Survey (NPORS) for the Center using address-based sampling and a multimode protocol that included web, mail and phone. This way nearly all U.S. adults have a chance of selection. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race and ethnicity, education, and other categories.
Surveys fielded before 2023 were conducted via phone. For more on the mode shift in 2023, read our Q&A.
Here are the questions from this survey used for this report, the topline and the methodology.
We also surveyed 5,123 U.S. adults from Feb. 24 to March 2, 2025, to understand how frequently Americans use four specific platforms: YouTube, Facebook, TikTok and X (formerly known as Twitter). Everyone who took part in this survey is a member of the Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP), a group of people recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses who have agreed to take surveys regularly. This kind of recruitment gives nearly all U.S. adults a chance of selection. Interviews were conducted either online or by telephone with a live interviewer. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other factors. Read more about the ATP’s methodology.
Here are the questions from this survey used for this report, the topline and the methodology.
Even as debates continue about the role of social media in our country, including on censorship and its impact on youth, Americans use a range of online platforms, and many do so daily.
Which online platforms do Americans most commonly use?
YouTube and Facebook remain the most widely used online platforms. The vast majority of U.S. adults (84%) say they ever use YouTube. Most Americans (71%) also report using Facebook. These findings are according to a Pew Research Center survey of 5,022 U.S. adults conducted Feb. 5-June 18, 2025.
Half of adults say they use Instagram, making it the only other platform in our survey used by at least 50% of Americans.
Smaller shares use the other sites and apps we asked about, such as TikTok (37%) and WhatsApp (32%). Somewhat fewer say the same of Reddit, Snapchat and X (formerly Twitter).
This year we also asked about three platforms that are used by about one-in-ten or fewer U.S. adults: Threads, Bluesky, and Truth Social.
Center studies also find that YouTube is the most widely used online platform among U.S. teens, like it is among U.S. adults.
Changes in use of online platforms
The Center has long tracked use of many of these platforms. Over the past few years, four of them have grown in overall use among U.S. adults – TikTok, Instagram, WhatsApp and Reddit.
TikTok: 37% of U.S. adults report using the platform, which is slightly up from last year and up from 21% in 2021.
Instagram: Half of U.S. adults now report using it, which is on par with last year but up from 40% in 2021.
WhatsApp and Reddit: About a third say they use WhatsApp, up from 23% in 2021. And 26% today report using Reddit, compared with 18% four years ago.
While YouTube and Facebook continue to sit at the top, the shares of Americans who report using them have remained relatively stable in recent years.
Large age gaps in use of many platforms
Adults under 30 are more likely than older adults to use most of these platforms. Consistent with previous Center data, the survey finds that the youngest adults particularly stand out in their use of Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and Reddit.
For instance, eight-in-ten adults ages 18 to 29 say they use Instagram. This is higher than the shares seen among older age groups – especially adults ages 65 and older (19%).
YouTube and Facebook are the only sites asked about that a majority in all age groups use, though for YouTube, the youngest adults are still the most likely to do so. This differs from Facebook, where 30- to 49-year-olds most commonly say they use it (80%).
Differences by gender, race and ethnicity, education, and party
While some of the biggest demographic differences in social media use are across age groups, use also varies by other factors.
By gender
Women stand out in their use of several platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. For instance, more than half of women report using Instagram (55%), compared with under half of men (44%). Alternatively, men are more likely to report using platforms such as X and Reddit.
By race and ethnicity
White adults are less likely than Black and Hispanic adults – and sometimes Asian adults – to use online platforms such as Instagram, TikTok and WhatsApp. For instance, 45% of White adults report using Instagram, compared with larger shares among Hispanic (62%), Asian (58%) and Black adults (54%).
By education
Americans with higher levels of formal education are more likely to report using some sites and apps, including Reddit, WhatsApp and Instagram. With Reddit, for example, about four-in-ten adults with at least a college degree say they use the platform. Smaller shares of those with some college education (28%) or a high school diploma or less education (15%) say this.
By contrast, those with some college or less education are more likely to use TikTok than those with at least a college degree.
By party
Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents are more likely than Republicans and Republican leaners to report using WhatsApp, Reddit, TikTok, Bluesky and Threads.
By comparison, Republicans are more likely to say they use X and Truth Social. For instance, 24% of Republicans now report using X, compared with 19% of Democrats. However, just two years ago Democrats were more likely to report using the platform than Republicans (26% vs. 20%).
Frequency of social media use
In addition to understanding if people use a particular site or app, we also asked Americans how frequently they do so. These questions were asked in a separate survey of 5,123 U.S. adults conducted from Feb. 24 to March 2, 2025.
Greater shares of Americans visit Facebook and YouTube daily than other sites. About half of U.S. adults say they visit each of these platforms at least once a day. This includes 37% who visit Facebook several times a day, and 33% who say the same of YouTube.
About a quarter (24%) say they are daily users of TikTok. Fewer (10%) report daily use of X.
Daily use of social media, by age
Younger adults are far more likely than older adults to report using YouTube and TikTok daily.
Roughly half of 18- to 29-year-olds say they go on TikTok at least once a day, compared with just 5% of adults ages 65 and older.
There is also an age gap for X, though it’s more modest.
For Facebook, the two middle age groups are most likely to report going on it daily: 58% of 30- to 49-year-olds and 54% of 50- to 64-year-olds say this.
