Social Media Usage Statistics by Age
Given the increasing number of social media users year after year, there’s no question that it should form part of every business’s growth strategy.
But before jumping into creating a social media marketing strategy, it’s important to understand the demographics, starting with the amount of social media usage by age.
What age group uses social media the most?
According to recent research studying social media usage statistics by age, as of 2023, US adults from 27 to 42 are the biggest users of social media. These are people belonging to the millennial generation, which the study defines as those born between 1981 and 1996. With 68.5 million millennials using social media, they make up nearly one out of every three (30.3%) social media users in the US.
This is followed by Generation Z, or those aged between 11 and 26 in 2023. 56.4 million social media users in the US are Gen Zers, constituting just under one in four (24.6%) of all users there. Experts say that even though the percentage of Gen Z social media users is set to increase over the years, it will still fall short of that of millennials. In fact, millennials are expected to form the largest group of US social media users until at least 2026.
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There are 51.8 million Generation X social media users, or those aged 43 to 58 in 2023. This is the third-largest group and they make up 22.6% of all active social media users. This is followed by baby boomers. There are 36.9 million users in the 59 to 77 age range, which is around 16.1% of US social media users.
Social media usage by age: top platforms among young adults
Having this data on what age group uses social media the most isn’t enough. It also helps to know just what networks these different age groups are active on.
Recent statistics on social media usage by age show that nearly all (95%) of US adults aged 18 to 29 use the video-sharing platform YouTube. This is followed by Instagram, which is used by 71% of them.
Facebook, commonly known as the king of social media, ranks third, with 70%. This places it ahead of Snapchat, with 65%. Incidentally, all four of these networks also rank among the most popular social media platforms.