From the PC as geek "toy", desktops, laptops, mobile phones and tablets have evolved into essential tools. Consumers routinely seek out audio and editorial content online. Ever-faster connections have led to the rise of online as a primary vehicle for video entertainment – to the point where the computer and mobile devices are now referred to as "second" and "third screens" respectively.
- Share of U.S. adults who say they use the internet almost constantly by age:
- 18-29: 63%
- 30-49: 54%
- 50-64: 33%
- 65+: 14%
(Source: Pew Research Center; 2026)
- Percentage of U.S. adults who use different social media:
- YouTube - 84%
- Facebook - 71%
- Instagram - 50%
- TikTok - 37%
- WhatsApp - 32%
- Reddit - 26%
- Snapchat - 25%
- X (Twitter) - 21%
- Threads - 8%
- BlueSky - 4%
- Truth Social - 3%
(Source: Pew Research Center, Americans’ Social Media Use 2025)
- Preferred social media of U.S. adults, based on living area:
- Urban - YouTube, 85%; Facebook, 71%; Instagram, 55%
- Suburban - YouTube, 87%; Facebook, 71%; Instagram, 54%
- Rural - YouTube, 79%; Facebook, 71%; Instagram, 37%
(Source: Pew Research Center, Americans’ Social Media Use 2025)
- Percentage of U.S. adults who said they have purchased a product or service because of an ad they saw on social media, by generation:
- Gen Z - 50%
- Millennial - 38%
- Gen X - 42%
- Baby Boomer - 40%
(Source: YouGov Surveys, April 16, 2025 – May 13, 2025)
- 58% of Americans are daily social media users.
(Source: YouGov Profiles, June 2025)
- 21% of Gen Zers are daily social media users.
(Source: YouGov Profiles, June 2025)
- Percentage of U.S. adults who say they ever use social media at the same time as consuming other media content, such as watching TV or listening to the radio or a podcast:
- Gen Z - 72%
- Millennials - 80%
- Gen X - 70%
- Baby boomers - 56%
(Source: YouGov Surveys, April 16, 2025 – May 13, 2025)
- For sports highlights, these are the most used social media platforms:
- YouTube - 87%
- Facebook - 69%
- Instagram - 62%
- TikTok - 51%
- X - 41%
- Snapchat - 27%
(Source: Crowd React Media, The State Sports Media 2025)
- 96% of U.S. adults say they have access to internet.
(Source: Pew Research Center, Internet, Broadband Fact Sheet 2025)
- Percentage of U.S. adults who say they use the internet, by race and ethnicity:
- White - 96%
- Black - 94%
- Hispanic - 97%
- Asian - 99%
(Source: Pew Research Center, Internet, Broadband Fact Sheet 2025)
- Individuals ages 65+ account for 10% of those that do not use the internet.
(Source: Pew Research Center, Internet, Broadband Fact Sheet 2025)
- Percentage of U.S. adults who say they subscribe to home broadband, by age:
- 18-29 - 71%
- 30-49 - 87%
- 50-64 - 79%
- 65+ - 70%
(Source: Pew Research Center, Internet, Broadband Fact Sheet 2025)
- Marketing leaders say social media drives:
- Awareness, 64%
- Customer acquisition, 60%
- Customer loyalty, 58%
- Revenue, 56%
- Decision making, 54%
(Source: Sprout Social, The Impact of Social Media Marketing, 2025)
- 67% of homeowners have usage of the internet.
(Source: 2025 MRI-Simmons Spring Doublebase)
- Social media platforms that drive the most business impact:
- Facebook - 70%
- YouTube - 68%
- TikTok - 64%
(Source: Sprout Social, The Impact of Social Media Marketing, 2025)
- Percentage of U.S. adults who say they have a lot of/some trust in the information they see on social media, by age:
- 18-29 - 50%
- 30-49 - 41%
- 50-64 - 33%
- 65+ - 24%
(Source: Pew Research Center, survey in Sept. 8-14, 2025)
- 53% of consumers say they often or sometimes get news from social media.
- 46% rarely or never do so.
(Source: Pew Research Center, survey in Aug. 18-24, 2025)
- 38% of U.S. adults say they regularly get news on Facebook, and 35% say the same about YouTube.
(Source: Pew Research Center, survey in Aug. 18-24, 2025)
- 71% of sports audiences follow sports personalities on social media.
(Source: Crowd React Media, The State Sports Media 2025)
- A total of 417 million cellular mobile connections were active in the United States of America in late 2025.
(Source: Data Reportal, Digital 2026: The United States of America, 2025)
- In the U.S., there are 254 million social media identities, equating to 73% of the population.
(Source: Data Reportal, Digital 2026: The United States of America, 2025)
- There were 324 million individuals using the internet in the United States at the end of 2025. Online penetration stood at 93.1%.
(Source: Data Reportal, Digital 2026: The United States of America, 2025)
- Social media marketers’ greatest fears:
- Audiences shifting their social media usage to private/closed networks - 52%
- Company leadership not trusting my team to determine what content performs best on social media- 41%
- Managing a brand crisis on social media - 39%
- Burnout and creative fatigue - 33%
- Getting replaced by AI/Getting laid off because my organization doesn’t understand the value of my role - 32%
(Source: Sprout Social Index, Edition XX, 2025)
- 90% of consumers use social media to keep up with trends and cultural moments.
(Source: Sprout Social Index, Edition XX, 2025)
- What consumers are most concerned about brands doing on social media:
- Posting AI-generated content without disclosing it - 52%
- Mishandling my personal data - 52%
- Posting content around social/political issues that don't align with my own views - 30%
- Staying active on platforms with poor content moderation policies - 26%
- Partnering with influencers whose values don't align with my own - 25%
(Source: Sprout Social Q3 2025 Pulse Survey)
- 43% of consumers say they’re more likely to buy from brands that speak out about causes or topics in the news.
- This goes up to 63% for Gen Z and Black consumers, and 61% for Asian consumers.
(Source: Sprout Social Q3 2025 Pulse Survey)
- Social media platforms used to post/comment about sports:
- Facebook - 71%
- Instagram - 52%
- YouTube - 48%
- X - 34%
- TikTok - 32%
- Snapchat - 21%
- Reddit - 13%
(Source: Crowd React Media, The State of Sports Media 2025)
Internet Service Providers used in Households:
- Xfinity/Comcast – 21%
- Spectrum – 20%
- AT&T Internet – 13%
- Verizon/Fios by Verizon – 9%
- Cox – 4%
- CenturyLink – 3%
- Optimum – 3%
- Frontier – 2%
- America On-Line (AOL) – 1%
(Source: 2025 MRI-Simmons Spring Doublebase)
Percentage of U.S. users of each social media platform who say they regularly get news there:
- X (Twitter) - 57%
- TikTok - 55%
- Facebook - 53%
- Instagram - 41%
- YouTube - 41%
- Reddit - 35%
(Source: Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults conducted Aug. 18-24, 2025)
Percentage of U.S. adults who say they regularly get news from each social media site:
- Men:
- Facebook - 32%
- Instagram - 18%
- TikTok - 15%
- X (Twitter) - 16%
- YouTube - 41%
- Women:
- Facebook - 43%
- Instagram - 23%
- TikTok - 24%
- X (Twitter) - 8%
- YouTube - 29%
- Ages 18-29:
- Facebook - 41%
- Instagram - 40%
- TikTok - 43%
- X (Twitter) - 21%
- YouTube - 41%
- 30-49:
- Facebook - 55%
- Instagram - 26%
- TikTok - 25%
- X (Twitter) - 12%
- YouTube - 37%
- 50-64:
- Facebook - 36%
- Instagram - 11%
- TikTok - 10%
- X (Twitter) - 11%
- YouTube - 35%
- 65+
- Facebook - 27%
- Instagram - 5%
- TikTok - 3%
- X (Twitter) - 5%
- YouTube - 25%
(Source: Pew Research Center survey in Aug. 18-24, 2025)
Demographics of regular social media news consumers in the U.S.:
- White:
- X (Twitter) - 10%
- Facebook - 34%
- Instagram - 13%
- TikTok - 14%
- YouTube - 28%
- Black:
- X (Twitter) - 19%
- Facebook - 41%
- Instagram - 35%
- TikTok - 30%
- YouTube - 48%
- Hispanic:
- X (Twitter) - 12%
- Facebook - 51%
- Instagram - 35%
- TikTok - 36%
- YouTube - 51%
- Asian:
- X (Twitter) - 14%
- Facebook - 35%
- Instagram - 27%
- TikTok - 17%
- YouTube - 54%
(Source: Pew Research Center survey of in Aug. 18-24, 2025)
Adult ownership of cell phones has also soared:
- As of 2025, 94% of U.S. adults have a smartphone.
- 76% of households only have a cell phone and no landline.
(Source: 2025 MRI-Simmons Spring Doublebase)
Social media use plays a big part in American lives today
- An estimated 248MM people 12+ are using social media in 2025
(Source: The Infinite Dial 2025 - Edison Research/Audacy/Cumulus Media/SiriusXM Media)
- Social media platforms that brands believe can deliver a positive ROI:
- LinkedIn - 70%
- Instagram - 68%
- WhatsApp - 66%
- Facebook - 62%
- BeReal - 60%
- YouTube - 52%
- TikTok - 50%
- Snapchat - 45%
- Reddit - 43%
- Pinterest - 36%
- Twitter/X - 30%
- Threads - 16%
(Source: Hootsuite Social Trends 2024 Survey)
- Social media platforms that organizations have a strong presence on:
- Facebook - 91%
- Instagram - 86%
- LinkedIn - 80%
- Twitter/X - 66%
- YouTube - 62%
- TikTok - 29%
- Pinterest - 19%
- Threads - 16%
- Reddit - 14%
- WhatsApp - 5%
- Snapchat - 4%
- BeReal - 1%
(Source: Hootsuite Social Trends 2024 Survey)
- Top social media platforms that have the most engagement for brands:
- YouTube - 23%
- Instagram - 23%
- Facebook - 22%
- TikTok - 13%
- X/Twitter - 7%
(Source: Hubspot Blog Research, Social Media Trends 2024 Report)
- Percentage of 16-34 year olds who say the following are the main reasons for using social media:
- Shareing/discussing opinions with others - 52%
- Making new contacts - 51%
- Supporting/connecting with good causes - 50%
- Work-related networking/research - 49%
- Watching live streams - 48%
- Finding products to purchase - 47%
- Reading news stories - 46%
- keeping in touch with friends/family - 44%
- Finding content - 43%
- Filling spare time - 42%
(Source: GWI USA Q4 2024)
- Percentage of people who post comments/any kind of content on social media at least weekly, by generation:
- Gen Z - 51%
- Millennials - 49%
- Gen X - 50%
- Boomers - 51%
- Greatest - 49%
(Source: JacobsMedia Techsurvey 2025)
- Percentage of those who made a purchase from an influencer recommendation, by generation:
- Gen Z - 33%
- Millennials - 34%
- Gen X - 25%
- Boomers - 16%
- Greatest - 12%
(Source: JacobsMedia Techsurvey 2025)
- Main reasons for internet users to use social media as of 2024:
- Keeping in touch with friends and family - 52%
- Filling spare time - 39%
- Reading news stories - 34%
- Finding content - 30%
- Seeing what's being talked about - 29%
- Finding products to purchase - 27%
- Finding inspiration for things to do and buy - 27%
- Watching livestreams - 24%
- Watching or following sports - 24%
- Seeing content from your favorite brands - 22%
(Source: dataportal.com, 2024)
- Percentage of consumers, by generation, who agree that social media content is more relevant than traditional content (like TV shows or movies):
- Gen Z – 56%
- Millennials – 43%
- Gen X – 26%
- Boomers – 13%
- Matures – 8%
(Source: Digital media trends, 19th edition, March 2025)
How long Americans spend on social media daily
- None - 7%
- < 30 mins - 15%
- 30 mins - 1 hour - 22%
- 3 - 4 hours - 15%
- 5 - 6 hour - 9%
- > 6 hours - 6%
(Source: Attest, 2025 U.S. Media Consumption Report)
As online populations continue to grow, and time spent with digital media, marketers are diverting more of their ad budgets to online, with digital advertising becoming the #1 media category.
- As of Q3 2024, retail e-commerce sales in the U.S. has accounted for over $300.1 billion
(Source: US Census Bureau, Quarterly Retail E-commerce Sales in the United States, November 2024)
Consumer formats consumers want brands to focus on in 2024:
- Short-form videos (< 15 seconds) - 42%
- Short-form videos (15 - 30 seconds) - 39%
- Static images - 30%
- Influencer content - 26%
- Short-form videos (31 - 60 seconds) - 24%
- Live video - 24%
- GIFS/Memes - 20%
- User-generated content - 15%
- Long-term video (> 60 seconds) - 14%
- Text-only content - 10%
(Source: SproutSocial Inc., 2024 Content Benchmark Report)
