The Social

Social Media in United States - 2023 Stats & Platform Trends

Last Updated: January 14, 2023
usa
Welcome! Here at OOSGA, we've combined insights from our partners across various markets and our own hands-on experience to bring you this brief. If you are interested in partnering with us on social media marketing & research within United States, let us know!
The Outlook

How does social media look like in United States?

As the United States is home to many of the world’s most popular social media platforms, it is likely that the way people in the US use social media will influence how people in other countries use it as well. However, in terms of growth, social media usage in the US has not seen much change in the past decade. This is partly because there was already a high penetration rate of 60% ten years ago. According to Pew Research, the latest figure for social media usage in the US is 72% in 2021.

Among different age group, we also see a gradual increase in elder population, particularly those over 55. From 55-64 the penetration rate is at 72% while the 65+ segment is at 45%.

In the coming years, several key trends will shape the social media landscape. These include the growing popularity of TikTok, the continuous rise of social commerce, the increasing use of AI in recommendations, the link between social media and real-world events beyond shopping, and the growing focus on privacy.

The growing popularity of TikTok:TikTok has seen a significant increase in popularity, due to its algorithm-driven short-video format that appeals to a diverse range of demographic groups, not just young people. Even those aged 30-49 have a 22% penetration rate on the platform, higher than Twitter’s 27% in the same age group. However, the platform being Chinese-based has become a major concern, with legislators proposing bills to ban its use and regulators and security experts warning people to be cautious when using it. It will be interesting to see how the US government addresses the issues of privacy and potential espionage related to the platform, though it is unlikely if a ban will take place.

the increasing use of AI-based short video platforms: This is also one of the trends pushed to mainstream by TikTok where its basically setup its platform as a series of recommendations from whomever, be it your friends, accounts you followed, or complete strangers. Facebook has quickly adopted to such trends with the rollout of Reel, and YouTube’s Short and its main page has also switched to this AI heavy algorithmic recommendation. Twitter is also launching similar platforms to counter TikTok. Despite platforms like Reel and Shorts are paying a higher dividends to creators and are running at a loss, As of now, TikTok remains the trendsetting platforms as that’s where most of the trends come from, however it would be interesting to see how things go.

Table of Contents
Internet Population|% of Population
Mobile cellular subscriptions|Per 100 Peopel
The Demographics

How are users distributed in United States?

Throughout 2022, on average there are about 268.5 million active social media users in United States on a monthly basis with an annual growth rate of 12.5 % in 2021-22 . This represents about  80.9 % of the total population. These social media users on average spend about 2.23 hours on social media and each on average have accounts on 6.6 platforms.

% of Total Social Media Users|Note: Meta's figure as reference, 2022

Main Drivers Behind Using Social Media?

Source: Survey by GWI. Users in United States that are aged 16-64 years old

What kinds of accounts do users follow?

Source: Survey by GWI. Users in United States that are aged 16-64 years old
The Platforms

What kinds of platform is used in United States?

As of 2023, Facebook remains the most dominant and popular social media platform in terms of user base and revenue. Even without including Instagram, Facebook’s ad revenue alone is estimated to be 56 billion dollars, which is five times higher than TikTok’s, according to eMarketer. However, it is worth noting that about half of TikTok’s revenue comes from the US market, and only 43% for Facebook.

Most Used Platforms (% of Internet Users)|Note: 2022
Most Loved Platforms (% of Internet Users)|Note: 2022
Platform Figure (% of Population)|Source: OOSGA Analytics; eMarketer, Napoleon Cat, Facebook, ByteDance, Microsoft | Note: No LinkedIn Data Prior to 2019/8
Explore Social Media in Other Countries

Facebook Overview in United States

With the latest data published in January 2023, we can see that at the growth rate of 1.01%, there is now around 260.7 million Facebook users in United States . With male users account for around 45.68% and female users account for around 54.32%.

% of Total Population | 2022
Facebook Users | Unit: a Thousand People
Facebook User Growth | % of Population
User Growth By Age | Unit: a Thousand People
As legal restriction, figure of 13-17 is often underestimated(underreported) and 18-24 is overestimated
User Growth By Age | Unit: % of its Associated Age Bracket
Number may exceed 100% as multi-accounts holders or fake accounts prevail in the country

Instagram Overview in United States

With the latest data published in January 2023, we can see that at the growth rate of 0.97%, there is now around 155.6 million Instagram users in United States . With male users account for around 44.28% and female users account for around 55.72%.

% of Total Population | 2022
Instagram Users | Unit: a Thousand People
Instagram User Growth | % of Population
User Growth By Age | Unit: a Thousand People
As legal restriction, figure of 13-17 is often underestimated(underreported) and 18-24 is overestimated
User Growth By Age | Unit: % of its Associated Age Bracket
Number may exceed 100% as multi-accounts holders or fake accounts prevail in the country

TikTok Overview in United States

With the latest data published in January 2023, we can see that at the growth rate of 1.13%, there is now around 140.6 million TikTok users in United States . With male users account for around 0.388 and female users account for around 0.612.

TikTok Users | Unit: a Thousand People
TikTok User Growth | % of Population

LinkedIn Overview in United States

With the latest data published in January 2023, we can see that at the growth rate of 1.02x, there is now around 193.0 million LinkedIn users in United States.

% of Total Population | 2022
LinkedIn Users | Unit: a Thousand People
User Growth By Age | Unit: a Thousand People

Reference

  • Internet & Cellular Subscription:World Bank, ITU
  • Currency Exchange: Based on IMF data in 2023/1
  • Demographics: UN Population Database
  • Social Media Behavior: GWI, Hootsuite 2022 Digital Report
  • Meta, LinkedIn Data: Napoleon Cat Stats
  • Data Calculation & Regression:OOSGA.org
  • Analysis:OOSGA Analytics
  • Note: The data for monthly platform usage and the data for the most frequently used platforms are sourced from different research, hence there may be discrepancies in the numbers as both are estimated rather than real figure.
Author: Consumer Research

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