150+ Social Media Statistics You Need to Know in 2026

Last updated: May 2026 — refreshed with the DataReportal Digital 2026 Mid-Year Global Update Report, Quid/Rival IQ 2026 benchmarks, Buffer's 52M-post engagement study, and Sprout Social's Q1 2026 Pulse data.

Social media now reaches 5.79 billion user identities worldwide — 69.9% of the global population, per DataReportal's April 2026 mid-year update. That number grew by 294 million in the past year (a 5.4% annualised increase), adding roughly 800,000 new users every day, or 9.3 per second.

Whether you're building a social media strategy, pitching a budget increase to your CMO, or trying to decide which platforms deserve your team's time, you need data — not opinions. This post compiles 150+ verified social media statistics for 2026, organised by category and sourced from DataReportal, Pew Research, Sprout Social, Hootsuite, Buffer, Quid/Rival IQ, eMarketer, and more.

Bookmark this page. We update it regularly as new data is published.

Quick stats at a glance (May 2026)#

These are the 20 numbers worth memorising before any social strategy meeting:

• 5.79 billion social media user identities worldwide — DataReportal, April 2026
• 69.9% of the global population uses social media — DataReportal
• 5.4% annual growth (294M new users in 12 months) — DataReportal
• 94.7% of all internet users are on social monthly — DataReportal
• 6.5 platforms used per user per month (average) — DataReportal
• 2h 21m average daily time on social media — DataReportal
• TikTok ad reach: 2 billion+ users 18+ — DataReportal
• TikTok engagement rate: 3.70% (+49% YoY) — Socialinsider
• Instagram engagement: 0.30% (Quid/Rival IQ) / 0.48% (Socialinsider) — Quid
• LinkedIn carousels: 21.77% median engagement rate — Buffer
• $317.33 billion projected global social ad spend in 2026 — Statista
• $2.11 trillion projected global social commerce market in 2026 — Mordor Intelligence
• 17% of all online sales now come from social commerce — Sprout Social
• 81% of consumers make impulse purchases via social media — Sprout Social
• 83% of marketers say AI helps them create significantly more content — Hootsuite
• 88% of people report declining trust in social media news due to AI content — Sprout Social
• 50% of Gen Z have unfollowed/muted/blocked accounts for posting "AI slop" — Sprout Social
• YouTube Shorts: 200 billion+ daily views — DemandSage
• 94% of marketers say influencer marketing outperforms traditional ads — Sprout Social
• 85% of UK users interact with brands on WhatsApp weekly (dark social) — Sprout Social

Your audience uses 6.5 platforms on average — you can't manually post to all of them at peak times. PostEverywhere schedules and cross-posts to every major platform from one dashboard, so your content reaches all 5.79 billion users without multiplying your workload. Start your free trial →

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Global Social Media Usage Statistics#

These numbers set the stage. Social media isn't a channel anymore — it's the default way humans communicate, discover products, and consume content.

• 5.79 billion social media user identities worldwide (April 2026) — DataReportal
• 69.9% of the total global population uses social media — DataReportal
• 294 million new social media users added year-over-year (April 2025–April 2026), a 5.4% annualised growth rate — DataReportal
• 800,000+ new social media users added every day — DataReportal
• 94.7% of all internet users access social media each month — DataReportal
• 96.7% of online adults (16+) use messaging or social networks monthly — DataReportal
• Users access an average of 6.5 different social media platforms each month — DataReportal
• Average daily time on social media: 2 hours 21 minutes (DataReportal) to 2 hours 40 minutes (Sprout Social)
• Weekly time spent on social media: 18 hours 36 minutes — DataReportal
• Top reasons users go to social: connecting with friends/family (49%), filling spare time (39.3%), reading news (30.1%) — DataReportal
• Average reasons cited per social media user: 4.5 (up from 4.1 a year prior) — DataReportal
• Global internet users: 6.12 billion (73.8% of total population) — DataReportal
• 5.83 billion unique mobile users (70.4% of population) — DataReportal
• Social media users now outnumber non-users more than two to one — DataReportal

The "average person uses 6.5 platforms" stat is the one that matters most for marketers. Your audience isn't on one platform — they're on seven. That's why cross-posting and multi-account management have become non-negotiable.

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Platform Monthly Active Users (MAUs)#

Here's where every major platform stands in May 2026, ranked by monthly active users or ad reach. DataReportal's April 2026 mid-year update reordered the top of the leaderboard — YouTube's ad reach now exceeds Facebook's:

Self-reported monthly use among internet users 16+ (worldwide, ex-China/Russia): Facebook 73.4%, Instagram 71.4%, YouTube 70.6%, WhatsApp 69.8%, Messenger 48.2%, TikTok 47.5% — DataReportal.

Key takeaways for May 2026:

• YouTube has overtaken Facebook on ad-reach — the biggest reshuffle at the top in a decade.
• TikTok's ad reach jumped 8% in three months to surpass 2 billion users 18+, the fastest growth among major networks.
• Meta discontinued Messenger Inbox ads in November 2025, collapsing ad reach by 95%+ and shifting paid budgets to WhatsApp Business and Instagram.
• LinkedIn's 14% YoY growth signals continued B2B momentum — if you're not scheduling LinkedIn posts, you're leaving reach on the table.

Deep dives by platform: Instagram statistics | TikTok statistics | YouTube statistics | LinkedIn statistics | Facebook statistics | X/Twitter statistics | Pinterest statistics

Daily Time Spent Per Platform#

How long do users actually spend inside each app per session?

Source: DataReportal

TikTok dominates daily time, but YouTube has the longest individual sessions — important context when deciding between short-form and long-form video content strategies.

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Social Media Demographics#

US Adult Platform Usage (Pew Research, 2025)#

Source: Pew Research via Search Engine Journal

YouTube at 84% US adult penetration is remarkable — it's now more universal than Facebook. If you're scheduling YouTube content, you're reaching a broader audience than any other single platform.

Largest Age Group by Platform (Global)#

Source: Sprout Social

Notice TikTok's shift: the largest user group is now 25–34, not teens. The platform has matured well beyond its Gen Z origins. The same age group dominates Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn — meaning your core professional audience is active across all four.

Gender Split by Platform (Global)#

Source: Sprout Social

Pinterest is the most female-skewed platform by a significant margin. X leans heavily male at nearly 2:1. Most other platforms hover around 45-55% — closer to even than many marketers assume.

Generational Behaviour#

• Gen Z (16–24) spends 3.5 hours/day on social media, engaging 4.6 days/week — DataReportal
• 41% of Gen Z turn to social media first for information (vs 32% for search engines) — Sprout Social
• 52% of Gen Z trust social media product info more than Google — Sprout Social
• 68% of US teens aged 13–17 use TikTok — Hootsuite
• 42% of Pinterest's audience is Gen Z — Hootsuite

The stat that 41% of Gen Z go to social media before search engines is the clearest signal yet: social is becoming a search engine. Your content needs to be discoverable on-platform, not just via Google. Hashtag strategy matters more than ever.

The 25-34 age group dominates TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn — but each platform peaks at different times of day. PostEverywhere tailors posting times to each platform's audience behavior so the same demographic sees your content wherever they scroll. See how it works →

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Social Media Marketing Statistics#

• 79% of marketers use social media content (organic + paid) in their strategy — HubSpot
• 83% of marketers use Facebook; 78% use Instagram — Sprout Social
• 80% of marketing leaders plan to shift more budget to social media — Sprout Social
• 87% expect paid social spend to increase — Sprout Social
• Businesses allocate an average of 14.9% of their marketing budget to social media — Sprout Social
• 68% of marketers track engagement, 65% track conversions, 57% track revenue impact — Sprout Social
• Paid social media is the #2 ROI-generating channel (26%) after website/blog/SEO — HubSpot
• 60%+ of product discovery occurs on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube (vs Google's 34.5%) — Sprout Social
• Only 12% of marketers actively use Threads despite its 400M users — Sprout Social

The fact that social media has overtaken Google for product discovery is the single most important marketing stat of 2026. If your brand isn't showing up in feeds, it's not showing up where people are looking. Use the engagement rate calculator to benchmark where you stand.

B2B vs B2C Marketing on Social#

The B2B/B2C divide has widened in 2026:

• LinkedIn remains the #1 platform for B2B marketers in 2025–26 — Sprout Social
• Facebook (83%) and Instagram (78%) dominate B2C marketer adoption — Sprout Social
• Short-form video drives the highest ROI (41%) of any video format for B2B marketers — Sprout Social
• 94% of marketers say influencer marketing outperforms traditional advertising — most cite 2–3x returns — Sprout Social
• 68.8% of brands running influencer campaigns use TikTok as their top platform — Sprout Social

If you're a B2B marketer not on LinkedIn, you're invisible to your buyers. If you're a B2C brand under-investing in Instagram and TikTok, you're losing impulse-purchase revenue. The multi-account management and team workspaces features inside PostEverywhere let agencies and in-house teams run both motions without juggling logins.

Dark Social and Private Messaging#

"Dark social" — sharing inside DMs, WhatsApp groups, and Messenger threads — is where 2026's engagement actually lives:

• 85% of UK users interact with brands on WhatsApp at least once a week — the highest engagement rate of any region surveyed — Sprout Social UK
• TikTok shares grew 45% YoY in 2025 — the fastest-growing interaction metric on any platform — Socialinsider
• Across every platform, shares and saves grew faster than likes or comments in 2026 — Socialinsider
• WhatsApp's ad reach now exceeds Messenger for the first time, with usage up 2.6% over two years — DataReportal
• 49% of consumers use social media primarily to connect with friends and family (the #1 reason) — DataReportal

The implication: a post that gets forwarded once via DM is worth more than a post that gets 100 likes. Build "shareable" content (hot takes, surprising data, useful checklists) and watch shares + saves as your primary KPI.

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Engagement Rate Benchmarks#

Engagement rates vary dramatically depending on the data source. Brand accounts (measured by Socialinsider) have lower rates because they have large, less-engaged followings. All-account averages (Buffer) include smaller creators with more engaged communities. Both benchmarks are useful — pick the one that matches your account size.

Brand Account Engagement Rates (Socialinsider, 2025)#

Source: Socialinsider

All-Account Engagement Rates (Buffer, 2025)#

Source: Buffer

Engagement by Content Format#

This is where the actionable insights are. The format you choose matters more than the platform you choose:

Source: Buffer

LinkedIn carousels at 21.77% engagement are in a league of their own. If you're not using the LinkedIn carousel maker, you're missing the highest-engagement format on any platform. Instagram carousels (6.90%) also outperform single images (4.44%) and Reels (3.31%) by a wide margin.

Reply Impact on Engagement#

Replying to comments isn't just good manners — it directly boosts your engagement metrics:

Source: Buffer

Average Interactions Per Post (Brand Accounts)#

Source: Socialinsider

TikTok shares grew 45% year-over-year — the fastest-growing interaction metric across any platform. Shares signal genuine audience advocacy, which is why TikTok scheduling should be part of every brand's workflow.

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Social Commerce Statistics#

Social commerce is no longer experimental. It's a trillion-dollar channel:

• Global social commerce market: $1.63 trillion in 2025, projected $2.11 trillion in 2026 — Mordor Intelligence
• US social commerce sales: $87.02 billion in 2025 (+21.5% YoY), projected to surpass $100 billion in 2026 — eMarketer
• 17% of all online sales now come from social commerce — Sprout Social
• 81% of consumers make impulse purchases via social media — Sprout Social
• 49% of consumers purchase monthly influenced by creators — Sprout Social
• 73% of consumers switch brands if they don't get a social media response — Sprout Social

TikTok Shop#

TikTok Shop has become the fastest-growing social commerce engine:

• TikTok Shop US sales: $15.82 billion in 2025 (+108% YoY), commanding 18.2% of US social commerce — eMarketer
• 43.8% of TikTok users convert to buyers — Hootsuite
• 53.2 million TikTok buyers in 2025 (+13.6%), projected 57.7 million in 2026 — eMarketer
• TikTok Shop Black Friday/Cyber Monday 2025: $500 million+ in sales over 4 days (~50% YoY increase) — eMarketer
• 49% of Gen Z use TikTok for product discovery — Sprout Social

Meanwhile, 60.9% of social shoppers still purchase via Facebook — Hootsuite. Facebook remains the default for social commerce despite TikTok's explosive growth. Make sure your Facebook scheduling strategy accounts for shopping content.

Social commerce hit $1.63 trillion — and 81% of consumers make impulse purchases from their feed. PostEverywhere schedules your product content at the exact hours when shopping intent peaks on each platform, turning browsing into buying. Try it free →

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AI in Social Media Statistics#

AI adoption in social media marketing has gone from experimental to essential:

• 71% of organisations use generative AI regularly in at least one business function — AutoFaceless
• 180% increase in AI usage among social media marketers — Hootsuite
• 83% of marketers say AI helps create significantly more content — Hootsuite
• 55% of marketers cite content creation as their primary AI application — AutoFaceless
• Marketers save an average of 3 hours per piece of content with AI assistance — AutoFaceless
• Workers save 5.4% of work hours weekly (2.2 hours/week) using generative AI — AutoFaceless
• 54.6% of US adults aged 18–64 now use generative AI (up from 44.6% a year prior) — AutoFaceless
• AI content creation market: $2.15 billion (2024), projected $10.59 billion by 2033 (19.4% CAGR) — AutoFaceless

The Trust Gap and the "AI Slop" Backlash (New for May 2026)#

The data reveals a widening disconnect between marketers' AI enthusiasm and consumer fatigue:

• 88% of people report declining trust in social media news due to AI-generated content — Sprout Social
• 56% of consumers say they see "AI slop" often or very often on social — Sprout Social
• 50% of Gen Z have unfollowed, muted, or blocked an account because its content felt like AI slop — Sprout Social
• 28% of consumers say posting AI-generated content without labels is the #1 thing they dislike brands doing in 2026 — Sprout Social
• 52% of consumers reduce engagement when they suspect AI-generated content — AutoFaceless
• Only 33% of consumers believe AI produces emotionally resonant content (vs 77% of marketers) — AutoFaceless
• 71% of social media images are AI-generated — AutoFaceless
• 15 billion+ AI images created since 2022; 34 million produced daily — AutoFaceless

The 2026 takeaway: AI is a force multiplier for content production, but audiences can tell — and increasingly, they're punishing brands that don't disclose. The winning approach is using AI as an assist layer for drafting, scheduling, and optimisation while keeping the human voice authentic and labelling AI-assisted creative. Tools like the AI content generator and AI image generator accelerate production without replacing the human editorial layer.

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Video and Short-Form Content Statistics#

Video dominates every platform's algorithm. These numbers explain why:

• YouTube Shorts receives 200 billion+ daily views (up from 70 billion in March 2024) — DemandSage
• 138.9 million Instagram Reels watched per minute — Hootsuite
• YouTube Shorts has 2 billion monthly users, ahead of TikTok (1.59B) and Instagram Reels (1.8B) — DemandSage
• 85% of consumers say video convinced them to buy a product or service — Sprout Social
• 93% of consumers say video improved their product understanding — Sprout Social
• 92% of marketers maintaining or increasing video spend — Sprout Social
• 89% of consumers say video quality affects brand credibility — Sprout Social
• Short-form video drives the highest ROI (41%) among video formats for B2B marketers — Sprout Social
• Social videos are shared 1,200% more than text and image posts combined — Vidico
• Digital video ad market projected at $188.76 billion in 2026 — Sprout Social
• Creators uploaded 910 million+ Shorts by 2024, expected to cross 1 billion in 2025 — DemandSage
• Shorts account for 10% of total YouTube watch time in the US — DemandSage

YouTube Shorts at 200 billion daily views is staggering — it's 186% growth in roughly 18 months. If you're already creating Reels or TikToks, repurposing them as Shorts via cross-posting is one of the highest-ROI moves you can make. Check our guide on the best time to schedule YouTube Shorts for optimal posting windows. For the deeper data set across vertical video share, AI video adoption, and platform engagement, see our 75+ video marketing statistics roundup.

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Influencer Marketing Statistics#

• Global influencer marketing industry: $32.55 billion in 2025, projected $34.1 billion in 2026 — Influencer Marketing Hub / Mordor Intelligence
• Instagram's influencer marketing ecosystem valued at $22 billion+ in 2025 — Charle Agency. See how much Instagram influencers make
• Brands earn $5.78 for every $1 invested in influencer marketing — Charle Agency
• 94% of marketers say influencer marketing outperforms traditional advertising — Sprout Social
• 90% believe sponsored creator content outperforms brand content — Sprout Social
• 86% of US marketers plan to partner with influencers in 2026 — Charle Agency
• 61% of marketers increasing creator investment in 2026 — Sprout Social
• Micro-influencers preferred 10x more by brands than mega-influencers — Charle Agency
• Micro-influencers charge $100–$1,000 per Instagram post vs $5,000+ for macro-influencers — Charle Agency
• 83% of brands consider their influencer marketing efforts effective or very effective — Charle Agency
• 68.8% of influencer marketing brands use TikTok (top platform choice) — Sprout Social
• First time in 2025: brands are spending more on influencer marketing than digital ads — Hootsuite

The $5.78 ROI per dollar spent makes influencer marketing one of the highest-returning channels available. The micro-influencer trend is particularly notable — brands prefer them 10x over mega-influencers because smaller audiences drive higher engagement rates and more authentic conversions. Curious about actual earnings? See our breakdown of how much social media creators make across every major platform.

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Social Media Advertising Statistics#

Global Ad Spend#

• Global social media ad spend: $247.3 billion in 2025 (up 11.6% YoY) — SQ Magazine
• Projected $317.33 billion in 2026 — Sprout Social
• US social media ad spend: $103.07 billion in 2025 — Statista
• $3 per $10 spent on digital ads goes to social media — Sprout Social
• 82.9% of social ad spending will be mobile by 2030 — Sprout Social
• 10.90% annual growth projected for social ad spend 2026–2030 — Sprout Social

Platform Ad Revenue & Market Share#

CPM Benchmarks by Platform#

Sources: AdAmigo, SmartyAds, Quimby Digital, SQ Magazine

CPC Benchmarks by Platform#

Sources: AdAmigo, SQ Magazine, SmartyAds

Ad Trends#

• Dynamic AI-personalised ads account for 41% of total social ad spend — SQ Magazine
• Automated bidding tools reduced average CPC by 7.4% — SQ Magazine
• Reddit US ad revenue grew 30.9% YoY — Sprout Social

Meta's dominance (65.8% of ad spend in Q2 2025) makes it the default paid social platform, but TikTok's ad revenue nearly doubled. For brands running paid campaigns alongside organic scheduling, pairing the best times to post with paid boosts maximises both organic and paid performance.

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Customer Service on Social Media#

• 67% of consumers prefer contacting customer support on social media over other channels — Emplifi
• 37% of consumers expect a response within 30 minutes on social media — Electroiq
• Social customer service can reduce cost per contact by up to 83% — Electroiq

Social has become the default support channel. If your team isn't monitoring and responding on-platform, the 73% brand-switching stat from earlier should be a wake-up call. Tools like Emplifi specialise in social customer service — see our Emplifi alternatives guide for options at every price point.

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Daily Visit Frequency (US Adults)#

Source: Pew Research via Search Engine Journal

App Opens Per Day#

Source: DataReportal

Instagram users open the app 12 times per day — each open is a chance to see your scheduled content. Consistency beats volume. Use calendar view to plan content that lands during these daily check-ins.

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What These Statistics Mean for Your Strategy#

Here's how to act on this data:

1. Be on 3–5 platforms, not just 1. Your audience uses 6.75 platforms on average. You don't need all of them, but you need more than one. Cross-posting makes this manageable.

2. Prioritise carousels. LinkedIn carousels (21.77%) and Instagram carousels (6.90%) vastly outperform other formats. Build carousel creation into your content workflow.

3. Invest in short-form video. YouTube Shorts at 200 billion daily views, Reels at 138.9 million per minute, TikTok at 1.9 billion MAU — every algorithm rewards video. Use the AI video tools to scale production.

4. Reply to comments. A 42% engagement lift on Threads and 30% on LinkedIn just for responding is free performance. Build reply time into your workflow.

5. Don't sleep on social commerce. At $2.11 trillion projected in 2026, social commerce is growing faster than traditional e-commerce. TikTok Shop alone will process $15+ billion.

6. Use AI strategically. 83% of marketers say it helps them create more content, but 52% of consumers disengage when they suspect AI. Use AI as a draft layer, not a publish button.

7. Benchmark ruthlessly. Use the social media benchmarks tool, social media analytics, and engagement rate calculator to see where you stand against industry averages.

LinkedIn carousels get 21.77% engagement. Instagram carousels get 6.90%. Replying to comments lifts engagement by 42% on Threads. PostEverywhere helps you act on these benchmarks — scheduling format-specific content at format-specific times across every platform. Start free →

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FAQ#

How many people use social media in 2026?#

5.79 billion people have social media identities worldwide as of April 2026, representing 69.9% of the global population — per DataReportal's mid-year update. That number is growing by approximately 294 million new users per year (5.4% annualised).

Which social media platform has the most users in 2026?#

On DataReportal's April 2026 ad-reach methodology, YouTube now leads with 2.65 billion, followed by Facebook (2.39 billion), TikTok (2.21 billion), and Instagram (1.99 billion). WhatsApp also reports 3 billion monthly users.

How much time do people spend on social media per day?#

The global average is between 2 hours 21 minutes (DataReportal) and 2 hours 40 minutes (Sprout Social) per day. TikTok users spend the most time per platform at 1 hour 37 minutes daily.

What is the average engagement rate on social media in 2026?#

TikTok leads with 3.70% (Socialinsider) or 2.01% (Quid/Rival IQ) for brand accounts. Instagram sits at 0.30–0.48%, Facebook at 0.15%, and X at 0.12% (a rebound from its 2024 low). For all account types including small creators, LinkedIn averages ~6.2%.

How big is the social commerce market in 2026?#

The global social commerce market is valued at $1.63 trillion in 2025 and projected to reach $2.11 trillion in 2026. In the US alone, social commerce sales reached $87 billion in 2025 and will surpass $100 billion in 2026.

How much do brands spend on social media advertising in 2026?#

Global social media ad spend is projected to hit $317.33 billion in 2026 — accounting for roughly 26.2% of global ad spend. Meta captures around 60% of social spending. By 2030, 82.9% of social ad spend will be mobile.

Which content format gets the highest engagement in 2026?#

LinkedIn carousels dominate at 21.77% median engagement rate. Instagram carousels (6.90%), LinkedIn video (7.35%), Pinterest video (5.75%), and Threads video (5.55%) also significantly outperform static content.

How are marketers using AI for social media in 2026?#

83% of marketers say AI helps them create significantly more content, and there has been a 180% increase in AI usage among social media marketers. But 88% of consumers report declining trust due to AI content, and 50% of Gen Z have unfollowed accounts for posting "AI slop." Disclosure and human editing are now table stakes.

What is "dark social" and why does it matter in 2026?#

Dark social refers to sharing inside DMs, WhatsApp groups, and Messenger threads — interactions that don't show up in public analytics. In the UK, 85% of users interact with brands on WhatsApp weekly. TikTok shares grew 45% YoY. Across all platforms, shares and saves now grow faster than likes or comments — making private sharing the metric to optimise for.

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Last updated: May 15, 2026. All statistics sourced from DataReportal Digital 2026 Mid-Year Global Update, Pew Research, Sprout Social, Hootsuite, Buffer's 52M-post engagement study, Quid/Rival IQ, Socialinsider, eMarketer, HubSpot, Influencer Marketing Hub, and other cited sources. We update this post as new data is published.