Recent findings indicate that YouTube and Meta's Facebook enjoy significant popularity among American adults. Here are the details.

Report: US Adults Prefer YouTube and Facebook as the Top Social Platforms

Jim HendlerFebruary 2, 24 Facebook, YouTube

Social media platforms YouTube and Facebook are the most used online platforms by US adults, according to Thursday’s report.

Findings from the Pew Research Center showed that about eight out of ten US adults (83 percent) report using YouTube.

Facebook, with a user base of 68 percent, is also a dominant player in the online world, while 47 percent of US adults said they use Instagram. Recent findings from the center also show that YouTube also dominates social media among US teenagers.

“YouTube and Facebook are the only platforms used by the majority of all age groups. However, there is still a large age gap between the youngest and oldest adults using YouTube. However, the age gap for Facebook is much smaller,” Jeffrey Gottfried, director of research at the Pew Research Center, said in the report.

The results, based on a survey of 5,733 US adults conducted between May and September 2023, showed that TikTok – which some members of Congress previously called for a ban – has seen a growing user base since 2021.

A third of US adults (33 percent) use a video-based platform, up 12 percentage points from 2021 (21 percent).

Between 27 and 35 percent of US adults also use Pinterest, TikTok, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, and Snapchat.

Additionally, about one in five sharers use X (formerly Twitter) and Reddit.

In addition, the report found large age differences among users of Instagram (78 percent), Snapchat (65 percent), and TikTok (62 percent) — with the majority under the age of 30.

“Americans between the ages of 30 and 49 stand out using three platforms—LinkedIn, WhatsApp, and Facebook—at a higher rate. For example, 40 percent of this age group uses LinkedIn, which is more than about three out of ten 18-29 and 50-64 year olds. And only 12 percent of those 65 and older say the same,” Gottfried said. .

The report also showed that women were more likely than men to use Pinterest (50 percent vs. 19 percent), TikTok (40 percent vs. 25 percent), and Instagram (54 percent vs. 39 percent).