More women than men on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok
Women stand out in their use of several social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. More than half of women report using Instagram (55%), compared with under half of men (44%). Alternatively, men are more likely to report using platforms such as X and Reddit. 78% of women and 63% of men say they use Facebook and for TikTok it is 42% women and 30% men, new US data from Pew Research Center shows.
“Growing shares of US adults say they are using Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp and Reddit, but YouTube still rises to the top.”
84% say they ever use YouTube. 71% also report using Facebook. Half of adults say they use Instagram, making it the only other platform in the survey used by at least 50% of Americans.
Smaller shares use the other sites and apps: TikTok (37%), WhatsApp (32%). Pew US studies also find that YouTube is the most widely used online platform among teens, like it is among adults.
TikTok’s 37% is slightly up from last year and up from 21% in 2021. Instagram: Half now report using it, which is on par with last year but up from 40% in 2021.
About a third say they use WhatsApp, up from 23% in 2021. And 26% today report using Reddit, compared with 18% four years ago.
“While YouTube and Facebook continue to sit at the top, the shares of Americans who report using them have remained relatively stable in recent years.”
YouTube and Facebook are the only sites asked about that a majority in all age groups use, though for YouTube, the youngest adults are still the most likely to do so. This differs from Facebook, where 30- to 49-year-olds most commonly say they use it (80%).
Pew US data also shows that the most common way to get news is by watching it: 44% of adults say this. 37% prefers to get news by reading it while 19% prefer listening to the news.
These numbers are nearly unchanged from 2018 when 47% preferred to get news by watching it, 34% by reading it and 19% by listening to it.
There are many ways to watch news, from traditional cable or network TV to streaming services and social media. A rising share has been getting news from YouTube and TikTok, Pew says.
Still, a majority who prefer to watch the news (62%) say they prefer to get it from TV, rather than another platform. 34% say they prefer digital devices – including 12% who favour social media and 11% who prefer news websites or apps.
Those who prefer to read the news overwhelmingly prefer to do so digitally (80%). This includes 39% who prefer to get their news from news websites or apps and smaller shares who prefer social media (19%) or search engines (14%).
Among those who prefer to listen to the news, 52% prefer to do so on digital devices – including 21% who say they favour podcasts as a news platform. One-in-five news listeners prefer to get news from radio, and a similar share like TV best (23%).
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