Many Americans use social media to connect with one another, engage with news content, share information and entertain themselves. Explore the patterns and trends shaping the social media landscape.
About this research
This fact sheet is the latest in our long-running series on technology adoption in the United States. For more than a decade, we’ve surveyed Americans to understand which social media platforms they use.
Why did we do this?
Pew Research Center does research to inform the public, journalists and decision-makers. This research builds on our past work studying social media platforms Americans use.
Learn more about Pew Research Center.
How did we do this?
This analysis is based on findings from the National Public Opinion Reference Survey, a Center survey of 5,511 U.S. adults. We allowed people to respond online, by mail or by phone. The survey represents the views of all U.S. adults.
The survey was conducted Jan. 30-June 18, 2026. Its overall margin of error is plus or minus 1.8 percentage points.
This analysis also includes past data. The ways we’ve allowed people to respond to these surveys have evolved over the years, including in 2023 and again in 2024. For more on these shifts and how we approached them, read our mobile and broadband fact sheets and our Q&A.
Here are the questions used for this analysis, the topline and the survey methodology.
YouTube and Facebook are the most widely used social media platforms in the United States. About half of U.S. adults say they use Instagram, and smaller shares use sites or apps such as TikTok, Reddit, Snapchat and X (formerly Twitter).
Which social media platforms are most popular
% of U.S. adults who say they ever use …
Note: The vertical line indicates a change in mode. Polls from 2012-2021 were conducted via phone. In 2023, the poll was conducted via web and mail. In 2024 through 2026, the poll was conducted via web, mail and phone. For more on the mode shift in 2023, read our Q&A. Refer to the topline for more information on how question wording varied over the years. Pre-2018 data is not available for YouTube, Snapchat or WhatsApp; pre-2019 data is not available for Reddit; pre-2021 data is not available for TikTok or Nextdoor; pre-2023 data is not available for BeReal. Pre-2025 data is not available for Threads, BlueSky, or Truth Social. Respondents who did not give an answer are not shown.
Source: Surveys of U.S. adults conducted 2012-2026.
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
Which social media platforms are most popular
% of U.S. adults who say they ever use …
| Year | YouTube | TikTok | Snapchat | X (formerly Twitter) | BeReal | Nextdoor | Threads | Bluesky | Truth Social | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8/5/2012 | 54% | 9% | 10% | 16% | 13% | ||||||||||
| 8/7/2012 | 14% | ||||||||||||||
| 12/9/2012 | 11% | 13% | 13% | ||||||||||||
| 12/16/2012 | 57% | ||||||||||||||
| 5/19/2013 | 15% | ||||||||||||||
| 7/14/2013 | 16% | ||||||||||||||
| 9/16/2013 | 57% | 14% | 17% | 17% | 14% | ||||||||||
| 9/30/2013 | 16% | ||||||||||||||
| 1/26/2014 | 16% | ||||||||||||||
| 9/21/2014 | 58% | 21% | 22% | 23% | 19% | ||||||||||
| 4/12/2015 | 62% | 24% | 26% | 22% | 20% | ||||||||||
| 4/4/2016 | 68% | 28% | 26% | 25% | 21% | ||||||||||
| 1/10/2018 | 73% | 68% | 35% | 29% | 25% | 22% | 27% | 24% | |||||||
| 2/7/2019 | 73% | 69% | 37% | 28% | 27% | 20% | 24% | 22% | 11% | ||||||
| 2/8/2021 | 81% | 69% | 40% | 31% | 21% | 28% | 23% | 25% | 23% | 18% | 13% | ||||
| 9/5/2023 | 83% | 68% | 47% | 35% | 33% | 30% | 29% | 27% | 22% | 22% | 3% | ||||
| 6/10/2024 | 85% | 70% | 50% | 36% | 33% | 32% | 30% | 27% | 21% | 24% | 3% | ||||
| 6/18/2025 | 84% | 71% | 50% | 37% | 32% | 25% | 21% | 26% | 8% | 4% | 3% | ||||
| 6/18/2026 | 84% | 70% | 51% | 37% | 31% | 33% | 26% | 18% | 25% | 18% | 4% |
Note: The vertical line indicates a change in mode. Polls from 2012-2021 were conducted via phone. In 2023, the poll was conducted via web and mail. In 2024 through 2026, the poll was conducted via web, mail and phone. For more on the mode shift in 2023, read our Q&A. Refer to the topline for more information on how question wording varied over the years. Pre-2018 data is not available for YouTube, Snapchat or WhatsApp; pre-2019 data is not available for Reddit; pre-2021 data is not available for TikTok or Nextdoor; pre-2023 data is not available for BeReal. Pre-2025 data is not available for Threads, BlueSky, or Truth Social. Respondents who did not give an answer are not shown.
Source: Surveys of U.S. adults conducted 2012-2026.
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
Usage of the major social media platforms varies by factors such as age, gender and level of formal education.
% of U.S. adults who say they ever use __ by …
Find out more
This fact sheet was compiled by Research Associate William Bishop. Research Associate Michelle Faverio, Research Analyst Eugenie Park, Information Graphics Designer Sharon McGill, Digital Producer Sara Atske and Research Analyst Olivia Sidoti also contributed.
Follow these links for more in-depth analysis of the impact of social media on American life.
- Americans’ Social Media Use 2025 (Nov. 20, 2025)
- Q&A: How – and why – we’re changing the way we study tech adoption (Jan. 31, 2024)
Find more publications related to internet and technology and more benchmarks from our National Public Opinion Reference Survey (NPORS).