YouTube and Facebook are by far the most used social media platforms

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Social media platforms faced a range of controversies in recent years, including concerns over misinformation and data privacy. Even so, U.S. adults use a wide range of sites and apps, especially YouTube and Facebook And TikTok – which some Congress members previously called to ban – saw growth in its user base.

These findings come from a half of U.S. adults (47%) say they use Instagram of 5,733 U.S. adults conducted May 19-Sept. 5, 2023.

Which social media platforms do Americans use most?

YouTube by and large is the most widely used online platform measured in our survey. Roughly eight-in-ten U.S. adults (83%) report ever using the video-based platform.

While a somewhat lower share reports using it, Facebook is also a dominant player in the online landscape. Most Americans (68%) report using the social media platform.

Additionally, roughly half of U.S. adults (47%) say they use Instagram.

The other sites and apps asked about are not as widely used, but a fair portion of Americans still use them:

*27% to 35% of U.S. adults use Pinterest, TikTok, LinkedIn, WhatsApp and Snapchat.

*About one-in-five say they use Twitter (recently renamed “X”) and Reddit.

This year is the first time we asked about BeReal, a photo-based platform launched in 2020. Just 3% of U.S. adults report using it.

Recent Center findings show that YouTube also dominates the social media landscape among U.S. teens.

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