Pew Research Center: Social Media Usage Trends in the U.S. in 2018

A Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults found that the social media landscape in early 2018 was a mix of long-standing and emerging trends. The study found that Facebook and YouTube were the leading social networking sites, as the majority of U.S. adults used these sites. Meanwhile, younger Americans (particularly those between the ages of 18 and 24) stood out for embracing a variety of platforms and using them frequently.

About 78% of 18- to 24-year-olds use Snapchat, and the vast majority of those users (71%) visit the platform multiple times a day. Similarly, 71% of Americans in this age group now use Instagram, while nearly half (45%) are Twitter users. Facebook has been the primary platform for most Americans since the Center began surveying the use of different social media in 2012. About two-thirds of U.S. adults (68%) now report that they are Facebook users, and about three-quarters of users visit Facebook daily. With the exception of those 65 and older, a majority of Americans in most demographic groups now use Facebook.

But the social media story is about much more than Facebook. The sharing site YouTube – even though it’s not a traditional social media platform – contains many social elements. The study shows that YouTube is now used by nearly three-quarters of American adults and 94% of people aged 18 to 24. The findings also highlight the sometimes conflicting public attitudes toward social media. For example, the share of social media users who say these platforms are difficult to give up has increased by 12 percentage points since the survey was conducted in early 2014. But by the same token, the majority of users (59%) said it would not be difficult to stop using these sites, including 29% who said it would not be difficult to give up social media.

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