100+ Social Media Facts And Statistics You Should Know in 2022 And Beyond

Social media marketing is a complex and ever-changing field and to make sense of it you need to know the social media facts and statistics. After all social media continues to increasingly embed itself in our lives.

For marketers knowing the statistics behind the social networks can inform strategy and spend, allowing focused targeting of users.

This post provides an overview of some key social media statistics to help you get started on your journey as a digital marketer or business owner interested in using social media for your brand to grow your audience and generate a positive ROI on social media marketing.

Only by understanding the scope and breadth of social media use can we be able to harness its potential. And in doing so be better prepared to meet our audiences where they are at.

So, let’s look at some social media facts and emerging trends.

Social media facts and emerging trends

For a quick summary, the following video provides a great overview.

There is no doubt that social media is changing our world and has turned traditional business models on its head.

Consider the following trends:

• Live video continues to make headway with research from the Interactive Advertising Bureau, indicating approximately 52% of live streaming video viewers worldwide are watching content on social platforms compared to a streaming service, TV network site/app, or TV service.
• 80% would rather watch live video from a brand than read a blog.
• Chatbots are becoming more commonplace and Facebook messenger chatbots are having a phenomenal growth spurt.
• Micro-influencers are increasingly becoming the focus of companies wanting to increase their credibility.
• Businesses that want to take their presence on social media platforms to the next level are investing in paid ads. Research shows that social media advertisements will surpass newspaper ad spending by the year 2020.
• Social listening is helping brands and social media platforms listen to your conversations and provide more targeted messages and ads.
• User-generated content is favored by brands and businesses to improve their credibility, engagement, and standing.
• Augmented reality is becoming more mainstream in its adoption on social media platforms. Snapchat’s face filters and Facebook’s camera effects platform are just a couple of examples.
• Referral traffic and organic reach are decreasing according to research and so businesses need to employ other strategies to market on social media platforms.
• Social is so much a part of our lives that businesses cannot ignore it and more businesses are posting on social media on a daily basis.

Social media adoption and use around the world

According to the Global Overview Report by We Are Social

• Over the last year, the number of people using social media has grown by more than 13%.
• Over half a billion new users joining the worldwide total of about 4.2 billion by the beginning of 2021.
• During the year 2020, more than 1.3 million new users joined social media every day, or around 1512 new users per second.
• The average user now spends 2 hours and 25 minutes each day on social media, which equates to approximately one full waking day every week.
• Today, mobile phones are used by two-thirds of the world’s population.
• Android users worldwide now spend more than 4 hours each day on their phones. This is the equivalent of more than 420 million years of human life combined.
• The average worldwide internet user now spends almost 7 hours per day on the internet across all devices, which equates to more than 48 hours per week online.
• Assuming the typical person sleeps 7 to 8 hours each day, this implies we spend 42 percent of our waking lives online.
• If current trends continue, the world’s internet users will spend over 12 trillion hours online this year if current trends continue.
• Nine out of ten internet users say they use a smartphone to access the internet, but two-thirds also claim they use a laptop or desktop computer.
• Mobile phones are currently the most commonly used internet device in all nations, although the difference between mobile phones and PCs is sometimes fairly minor. The median age of the population is also an important factor.

Social media statistics 2022 and trends worth taking note of include: 

• Social media emerges as a shopping platform
• Proliferation of short-form video content
• Social media becomes part of daily life
• Facebook remains on top (for now)
• Shorter attention spans result in more bite-sized content
• More augmented reality options
• Growing utilization of user-generated content
• We are likely to see the “unbundling” of Reddit

These are captured in the infographic below.

Facts about social media statistics 2022?

According to Wearesocial and the Global Digital Survey, the continuing growth in mobile social users seems to stand out. With a worldwide population of about 7.9 billion people, it worth noting some of the numbers below.

• There are over 4.8 billion active internet users worldwide
• 4.2 billion people have social media accounts
• Over 5.2 billion people have access to the internet via mobile devices
• More than 4.4 billion people are active mobile social media users

What is interesting to note is that little has changed with the popularity of major social media platforms.

Facebook continues to dominate the playing field globally. It is also worth noting the increase in the use of social media messenger and chat apps.

Teenage use of social media

The teenage use of social media statistics 2021 and beyond indicate trends that are worth noting as this segment will soon be making major purchase decisions in a few years. Consider the following:

• 3% of teens in the US name Twitter as their most-used social network.
• 72% of American teens are actively using Instagram. 
• 65% of parents surveyed by Pew Researchers said they worry about their kids spending too much time in front of screens
• YouTube was the most used social media app among teens in 2019, followed by Instagram and Snapchat, according to Statista
• TikTok became the fastest growing new app for American teens in 2019. 60% of TikTok users were ages 16 to 24, according to Business of Apps
• The Common Sense Census studied smartphone use among American teens and found:
  • In 2015, 24% of kids ages 8 – 12 had their own smartphone. In just four years, that number went up to 41%
  • In 2015, 67% of teens ages 13 – 18 had their own smartphone. By 2019, the number climbed to 84%
  • The average 8 to 12 year-old American kid spent four hours and 44 minutes looking at screens each day in 2019
  • American teens, ages 13 to 18, used entertainment screen media for an average of seven hours and 22 minutes each day in 2019

Social media usage statistics by country

World-wide social media usage has and will continue to increase.

• According to the most recent estimates, there are over 4.48 billion social media users worldwide, accounting for over 57 percent of the total global population.
• According to these statistics, more than 9 out of 10 internet users currently utilize social media at least once a month.
• Social media user counts have also increased in the last year, with 520 million new users joining social media in the year ending July 2021.

This translates to an annualized growth rate of 13.1% or 16.5 new users per second.

Which country has the most active social media users in the world?

Social media penetration is calculated by dividing the number of active users by the total population.

• According to Statista statistics from 2020, the United Arab Emirates is the most active country, with 99 percent of its people utilizing social media.
• The global average penetration rate is 49 percent.
• Accounting for eligible users who are 13 years and older, the average social media penetration rate per nation is 63 percent.

Key Statistics by the total population

• On average, 49% of the world are active social media users, regardless of age
• On average, 63% of the world’s population aged 13+ are active on social media
• USA has 70% regardless of age, 83% for only those aged 13+ years
• UK has 66% regardless of age, 79% for only those aged 13+ years
• Canada has 67% regardless of age, 77% for only those aged 13+ years
• Australia has 71% regardless of age, 85% for only those aged 13+ years
• India has 29% regardless of age, 38% for only those aged 13+ years

In which countries can networks look to expand?

With billions of new users expected to sign up, social media has the greatest potential for development in developing nations.

The Pew Research Center, a think tank data company, saw a consistent increase in internet and smartphone usage, which is substantially related to the expansion of social media in particular emerging nations or areas.

According to DataReportal, more than 60% of the world’s population is now online as the figure below indicates.

Adoption of smartphone use followed a similar pattern, nearly tripling to nearly 42 percent within the same time period.

Truth about social media statistics: Social media facts based on digital growth and content consumption

Let’s look at the truth about social media statistics and a few of its implications.

The image below shows the overall year-on-year growth globally of digital adoption. The highest concentrations are in Asia followed by Africa.

It is also worth noting that the biggest segment of social media users is from East Asia, South and Southeast Asia combined.

News and content are what fuels the growth, and the content trends are certainly skewed to more current events and entertainment content types.

These needs in turn contribute to behaviors on social media as the figure below shows.

Consider these mobile social media facts and trends:

• There is a focus for businesses to extend their reach on social media platforms. Facebook continues to dominate with a total advertising audience (monthly active users) of over 2.1 million people.
• Increased smartphone adoption and better mobile broadband connectivity have allowed for mobile phones to be most people’s primary day to day device. It is fair to say that a mobile phone is now the main way people access connected services including the internet. What this means is that there is a shift in the way people access and consume information and content.
• Platforms such as WhatsApp, WeChat, and Facebook Messenger are largely ‘private’ experiences, with little (if any) information visible to strangers.
• Fewer ‘personal’ stories are being shared on public channels like Facebook and Twitter.
• When seeing a social media advertisement, more than 30% of people respond by visiting the website or the online store.
• 70% of users admit that Twitter ads are usually informative enough to buy the most-suited products and services.
• Global share of the world’s businesses using social media marketing for more than 5 years is 24%.

This change in user behavior requires a fundamental change in mindset for marketers as they think about ways to connect with these audiences.

Relevant social and ‘snackable content’ will continue to be a valuable component of brands’ social mix. However, people still trust personal recommendations more than any other source of discovery. So businesses and marketers need to focus their efforts on finding ways to inspire social conversations in these more private channels.

Facebook statistics and facts

Facebook continues to be a force to be reckoned with. In its efforts to continue to be relevant to its audience it has added to its portfolio other platforms like WhatsApp and Instagram.

The images below provide a snapshot of the Facebook audience and their profile.

Social media facts relating to Facebook that are worth taking note of include:

• The platform has 2.7billion active monthly users worldwide.
• Facebook has around 500.000 new users every single day, which is translated into 6 new profiles every second!
• 73% of US users visit Facebook daily
• 25.7% of Facebook users are aged between 24 and 35
• 74% percent of Facebook users check their accounts every day!
• 300 million pictures are uploaded every day.
• Users spend approximately 59 minutes daily on the platform.
• Every month almost 1.5 million users participate in Facebook Groups.
• 96% of monthly users access Facebook through mobile.
• 500 million Facebook stories are posted every day.
• It is the leading social media platform, reaching approximately 60,6% of internet users.
• Facebook accounts for 21% of all social media referral traffic!
• Facebook drives 23% of all traffic across the entire internet.
• 65% of all Facebook users are under the age of 35.
• Facts about Facebook #13: Like & Share buttons are viewed in almost 10 million websites every day.
• Facebook is a great place for video marketing. Over 100 million hours of content is viewed every day.
• Mobile optimized Facebook videos increase brand awareness by 67%
• 80 billion small businesses use Facebook Pages.
• 77% of retail companies has acquired a large number of customers from Facebook.

Twitter statistics and facts

Twitter isn’t a new social network but an important space for brands to make an impression on customers and future customers. The images below provide a snapshot of the audience and their profiles.

Social media facts relating to Twitter that are worth taking note of include:

• Twitter is used by one out of every five adults in the United States.
• In 2021, Twitter has over 206 million monetizable daily active users worldwide
• Every day, around 500 million tweets are sent out
• Men account for 70% of Twitter users
• The US has the highest number of Twitter users by country
• Most Twitter users are located outside the USA
• 38% of Twitter Users are 18-29 years old
• 31% of Twitter users have a yearly income of $75,000 or more.
• Barack Obama has 111 million Twitter followers, making him the most followed individual on the platform. However, Taylor Swift is the most well-known.
• Donald Trump was the #1 most tweeted about person in 2020 until his account got canceled
• In 2020, the hashtag #COVID19 was used about 400 million times on Twitter
• In 2019, the ‘crying laughing’ or ‘face with tears of pleasure’ emoji was used over 2 billion times on Twitter.
• Until his account was suspended, Donald Trump was the most tweeted about person in 2020.
• Advertisements on Twitter may reach 339.6 million people.
• WeAreSocial, Hootsuite, etc.
• After seeing a company reference on Twitter, 54 percent of users said they took action.
• After seeing a brand reference by the brand and other users on Twitter, 79 percent of users said they took action.
• Twitter users spend 26% more time watching advertising than any other social media network.
• Twitter is used by 59 percent of B2B companies for digital marketing.
• Around 48 Million Twitter ‘users’ are thought to be bots

Sources: Statista, Twitter, Emoji Tracker, CNBC, Twitter Blog, Statista, David Sayce, Twitter Blog, Brandwatch, We Are Social, Pew Research

LinkedIn statistics and facts

LinkedIn continues to dominate the professional social networking scene despite being one of the oldest social networks. In fact, it is experiencing something of a resurgence in popularity as you can see from the audience overview below.

Social media facts and statistics relating to LinkedIn that are worth taking note of include: 

• LinkedIn has over 722 million users.
• Men make up 57% of LinkedIn users, while women make up 43%.
• 76% of LinkedIn’s users are located outside the USA.
• 59.9% of LinkedIn users are between the ages of 25 and 34.
• Every four years, 40% of LinkedIn users move jobs, companies, or industries.
• In November 2020, Bill Gates wrote half of the top ten most engaging LinkedIn articles.
• Every week, 40 million individuals use LinkedIn to look for work, and three people are employed every minute.
• LinkedIn is used by 49 percent of internet users who earn more than $75,000 per year, whereas just 26% of those earning $30,000 to $74,999 per year utilise the network.
• LinkedIn is used by 51% of internet users with a college diploma or above.
• Four out of every five LinkedIn members are in charge of making business choices at their organizations.
• LinkedIn has 174 million users in the United States.
• Urban regions are home to 30% of LinkedIn members.
• The most popular platform for B2B marketers is LinkedIn, followed by Twitter.
• In 2020, LinkedIn experienced a 55 percent rise in connection interactions.
• In 2020, content production on LinkedIn grew by 60%.
• In 2020, the number of live broadcasts rose by 437 percent.
• Mobile accounts for 57% of LinkedIn’s traffic.
• LinkedIn Ads has reached 663.3 million users as of January 2020.
• According to data, the most engaging LinkedIn posts are published between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. and noon on Wednesdays, 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. on Thursdays, and 9 a.m. on Fridays.
• Lead conversion rates on LinkedIn are 3X greater than on other big ad platforms, such as Google Ads.
• Approximately 15% of marketers create content on LinkedIn.
• Only 10% of marketers claim they’re spending money on LinkedIn.
• According to a HubSpot research of over 5,000 organizations, LinkedIn traffic had the greatest visitor-to-lead conversion rate of 2.74 percent, over three times (or 277 percent) greater than both Twitter (.69 percent) and Facebook (.69 percent) (.77 percent ).
• LinkedIn has more than 55 million organizations listed and 14 million available opportunities.
• LinkedIn generates 15 times the number of content impressions as job listings.
• Employees account for 30% of a company’s LinkedIn engagement.
• Employees are 14 times more likely to post content from their companies on LinkedIn than they are to share other sorts of content.
• LinkedIn postings with photos receive 2x the amount of interaction.
• A video post is 20 times more likely to be re-shared by LinkedIn users.
• An ad on LinkedIn has the potential to reach 13% of the world’s population.
• In Q4 2020, LinkedIn’s ad reach increased by 25 million individuals.

Sources – LinkedIn, HubSpot, LinkedIn marketing, SproutSocial, CMI, We Are Social, DataReportal, Hootsuite, Pew Research Center,

YouTube statistics and facts

Some would not consider YouTube to be a social media network, but there are many reasons to classify it as one. In fact, it could be argued that it is one of the biggest social media networks available.

It also offers an incredible reach for advertising to a younger audience demographic on the platform as the figure below would suggest.

Consider these statistics from Statista:

• Between 2016 and 2021, the annual growth rate of YouTube viewers is staggering. In 2016, the economy grew at a pace of 13%, while in 2021, it grew at a rate of 4.9 percent.
• There will be over 1.86 billion YouTube users in 2021, up from 1.47 billion in 2017.
• By 2022, the United States is expected to have 210 million viewers, up from 192 million in 2018.
• Every minute, 500 minutes of YouTube videos were posted in May 2019.
• Every minute, 500 minutes of video are posted to YouTube, equating to around 30,000 hours of video every hour.
• Between 2014 and 2019, the quantity of video content hours posted to YouTube every 60 seconds increased by 40%.
• With 85 percent of U.S. internet users watching online video through YouTube at least once each week, video consumption is one of the most common methods to consume material.
• In 2019, YouTube recorded two billion daily users and one billion hours of video viewed.
• In 2019, YouTube accounted for 21% of worldwide video streaming traffic, trailing Netflix, which had 26.6 percent.
• On YouTube Gaming Live, there were 912,000 broadcasting channels in the fourth quarter of 2020.
• YouTube is used as a source of entertainment by 82 percent of individuals.
• 18% of individuals explicitly use YouTube to follow brands and businesses.
• 7% of people use YouTube to improve their professional career.
• YouTube is a fantastic tool for 8% of people to stay in touch with friends and family.
• YouTube is used as a news source by 37% of users aged 30 to 49.
• A third of women said they watch beauty lesson videos on YouTube at least once a week.
• YouTube’s ad income was above five billion dollars, according to the YouTube Partner Program.
• The cost of influencer marketing increased across all platforms between 2014 and 2019. In 2019, YouTube saw the highest increase, with each post earning $1,600.
• After Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter, YouTube was the fifth most popular social media network for marketers in 2020.
• With 2.23 billion impressions, Apple was the most popular marketer on YouTube in 2020.
• Turbotax was the second-largest advertiser on YouTube, with 1.99 billion impressions.
• Pre-roll skippable YouTube video advertisements were deemed the most successful advertising form on YouTube by 29 percent of marketers in 2019.
• Non-skippable advertisements, on the other hand, were deemed the most successful by just 7% of marketers.
• For 10% of businesses, display advertisements are the most successful YouTube ad marketing technique.
• Sixty percent of businesses indicated they will raise their YouTube marketing expenditure in 2020.
• Spam, fraud, and misleading information accounted for 51.4 percent of YouTube comments deleted in 2021.
• Nearly half (42.6%) of content deleted from YouTube in 2020 had no views.There are 9% of small businesses presented on YouTube.

Pinterest statistics and facts

Pinterest is another platform that continues to be a force to reckon with in that it is predominately female-centric (but that is changing with 40% of new users being men) and visual but continues to engage users. In fact, Pinterest users are 2x as likely to say their time was well spent on the platform as compared to other social media platforms.

If there is a social network that has demonstrated the power of visual media to influence people, it would be Pinterest.

Robert Moore of RJ Metrics provides insight into the storytelling that visual media on Pinterest communicates –

Pinning is aspirational, which means that data on pins is data on people’s aspirations.

Consider these statistics:

• Pinterest currently has 478 million monthly active users.
• Six of every ten Pinterest users are female.
• 97% of searches carried out on Pinterest are unbranded.
• Getting home decor and design inspiration is the top reason people use Pinterest.
• There are over 200 billion pins saved on Pinterest.
• People watch close to one billion videos a day on Pinterest
• 82% of people use Pinterest on mobile
• Women aged 25-34 represent 30.4% of Pinterest’s ad audience
• More than three out of four weekly Pinners have discovered a new brand or product on Pinterest.
• 85% of Pinners say they use Pinterest to plan new projects
• More than two billion text-based and guided searches are carried out on Pinterest every month.
• More than 50 percent of Pinterest users live outside the US.
• 28% of all marketers worldwide use Pinterest to market.
• Holiday planning starts as early as 9 months ahead of time
• Eight out of ten Pinterest users have bought products based on their brands’ content on Pinterest.
• Pins with “new” in overlay text lead to 9x higher aided awareness
• Pinners are 70% more likely to engage with product tags in scenes
• Advertisers can reach more than 200 million people on Pinterest
• 92% of Pinterest advertisers rank the platform first for reputation

Sources: Pinterest, Pinterest Insights, eMarketer, Pinterest press release, GWI social media report, SEC, Pinterest business, Global state of digital, Pinterest newsroom, and Creative Strategy at Pinterest

Instagram statistics and facts

At the close of 2020 Instagram crossed the 1 billion global users mark. That statistic alone is a testament to the staying power and overall growth that the app continues to experience.

Recent social media demographics continue to show a female-dominated (34.3 percent) user population under the age of 34.

Despite the presence of older users, the site is still mainly dominated by Gen Z and Millennials. This is reinforced by the recent Instagram statistics provided by Statista.

Instagram (IG) is well-known for its devoted user base, in addition to its attraction to the younger generation.

• 63% of Americans say they check Instagram on a daily basis.
• Australian research indicates that the average Instagram user spends at least 7 hours per week on the network.
• Instagram has 1 billion+ users worldwide.
• 88% of users are outside the U.S.
• 37% of Americans now use the platform.
• 30% of US teens cite Instagram as their favorite social network.
• When Instagram introduced videos, more than 5 million were shared in 24 hours.
• The average post on Instagram contains 10.7 hashtags.
• 71% of the billion monthly active users on the Instagram app are under the age of 35.
• Instagram users spend an avergae of 30 mins on the platform.
• 500 million accounts use Instagram stories every day.
• The use of the #ad hashtag increased by 133% from February 2018 to February 2019.
• Instagram can generate over 4x more interactions compared to Facebook.
• 71% of US businesses use Instagram.
• Instagram helps 80% of users decide to buy a product or service.
• 50% of Instagrammers follow at least one business.
• Organic engagement has fallen from 2020, which was at 1.60%. Research from RivalIQ puts the average engagement rate at 1.22%
• Research from Bannersnack highlights that carousel posts score the highest engagement rate (1.94%) followed by images (1.74%) and video posts (1.45%).
• 90% of people follow a business on Instagram.

The constant evolution and roll-out of new business tools and shopping choices for eCommerce retailers is a sign of how the platform is becoming more brand-friendly.

It could also explain why Instagram has become the most popular medium for brand followers. This demonstrates not just how to sell items on Instagram, but also how to give customer care and assistance.

Keep in mind Instagram is no longer only a B2C network.

46 percent of B2B content marketers utilized organic Instagram in the previous 12 months.

Although not nearly as much as LinkedIn (95 percent) or Twitter (86 percent), Instagram’s popularity for B2B is increasing.

Business influencers and SaaS marketers, for example, are gradually but steadily establishing themselves on the platform.

Key takeaways

• Organic Instagram is valuable for both B2C and B2B brands for the sake of building brand awareness.
• More people are following brands on Instagram than ever before, signaling how the platform could rival Facebook in terms of shopping and ads in the long-term.
• Even if Instagram isn’t resulting in direct sales, the network remains a key component of any social marketing funnel for educating and nurturing customers.

Snapchat statistics and facts

Snapchat has had a fast rise to prominence from what started off as a fairly obscure mobile network a few years ago. It has gone mainstream in a big way and was on the radar of some large digital firms including Facebook that reportedly offered $3 billion in 2013 for it.

The images showing the audience profile below shows why that is the case.

Social media facts relating to Snapchat that are worth taking note of include these statistics:

• Over 293 million Snapchat users are active on a daily basis.
• Every minute, Snapchat users send 210 million snaps.
• For cloud services, Snapchat will need to invest between $400 million and $1.1 billion.
• Snapchat revenue increased 52 percent year over year in the third quarter of 2020.
• Snapchat is the world’s 10th most popular app, with 53.5 million downloads.
• In October 2020, there were 433 million monthly active Snapchat users.
• 32 percent of those polled say they use Snapchat while on the go.
• Almost four out of ten Snapchat users claim to have found companies as a consequence of online posts and celebrity endorsements on the app.
• Within the first two weeks of its introduction, Snapchat’s latest generation of AR lenses pulled in more than 200 million users.
• The vast majority of Snapchat users (95%) say the app makes them happy.
• In terms of global smartphone usage, Snapchat is rated second.
• As of January 2021, 13. 108 million Americans of all ages were using Snapchat.
• As of January 2020, Saudi Arabia has the largest Snapchat viewership in the world.
• According to Snapchat demographics, users spend around 30 minutes each day on the app on average.
• Females make up the bulk of Snapchat users (57.4%).
• Among social media users between the ages of 18 and 24, Snapchat is more popular than Instagram.
• Snapchat is used by 20% of college students in the United States.
• Hispanics account for 19.31% of Snapchat users in the United States.
• The number of Snapchat users aged 65 and older is anticipated to increase by 4% by 2023.
• Snapchat became a hit after its creators had previously failed 34 times.
• Reggie Brown, Snapchat’s third co-founder, was paid $158 million to leave the company.
• To see all of the images shared on Snapchat in an hour, would take a person ten years.
• In 2016, Google made a $30 billion bid to purchase Snap, Inc.
• In the areas most affected by COVID-19, Snapchat communication increased by up to 50%.

Sources: Statista, Oberlo, Interconnected, Snapchat, Statista, Marketing Land, WeAreSocial, Statista, Influencer Marketing Hub, Business Of Apps, Sandvine, Statista, Statista, Omnicore Agency, Statista, Smart Insights, Appinventiv, Engadget, Hootsuite, EconoMaldives, Business Insider, CEWE Photoworld, Zephoria

TikTok statistics and facts

Social media facts relating to TikTok worth taking note of include:

• On average TikTok users spend more than 850 Minutes per month on the app
• 23% of US Internet users have used or seen videos on TikTok
• Entertainment is the most popular category on TikTok by Hashtag Views
• It was the 2nd most popular iPhone app downloaded in 2020
• It was the most popular overall app downloaded globally in 2020
• Has a reach across 150+ Countries
• Offers some of the highest social media engagement rates per post
• It had over 200 million TikTok users in India before it was banned in 2020
• It’s highly popular in many asian countries
• Boasts of 600 million active daily users in China

Sad social media facts that impact our lives

While there are opportunities that social media presents and positive impacts there is also a darker side to the impact of social media on our lives. This has perhaps only been highlighted due to the effect of the pandemic in recent times. We would be remiss if we didn’t also look at the bad social media facts as a means for businesses to be aware of that side of the impacts and thereby be better positioned to address those.

The downsides of social media

Because social networking is a newer technology, less study has been done on its long-term effects. Depressive, anxious, lonely, self-harming, and suicidal thoughts have all been linked to extensive social media use.

Negative social media experiences include:

Self-doubt about your life or looks Even if you realize that photos on social media are altered, they might make you feel uncomfortable about your appearance or your personal life. We also know that others tend to discuss only the great aspects of their life, rarely the sad points. That doesn’t stop you from feeling envious and dissatisfied when you look through a friend’s photoshopped vacation photographs or hear about their wonderful new job advancement.

Missing out fear (FOMO). However, social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram appear to amplify emotions that others are having more fun or living better than you. The feeling of missing out on things can lower self-esteem, cause anxiety, and increase social media use. FOMO may make you pick up your phone every few minutes to check for updates or compulsively reply to every alert, even if it involves driving hazards, losing sleep, or putting social media activity above real-life connections.

Isolation. A University of Pennsylvania research revealed that frequent use of Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram exacerbates feelings of loneliness. The study revealed that cutting back on social media might help you feel less lonely and enhance your overall health.

Anxiety and depression. For mental wellness, humans require face-to-face interaction. Contact with a caring person decreases stress and improves mood quicker than anything else. Your risk of acquiring or worsening mood disorders like anxiety and depression increases the more you prioritize social media contact over in-person connections.

Cyberbullying. Around 10% of adolescents say they’ve been bullied on social media, and many others have received insults. Harmful rumors, falsehoods, and abuse may spread quickly on social networking sites like Twitter.

Self-absorption. Instagramming your every thought can lead to unhealthy self-centeredness and disconnection from real-life relationships.

What fuels your use of social media?

Nowadays, most of us use smartphones or tablets to access social media. As a result, social media is constantly available, which facilitates communication. Constant alerts and messages can disrupt your attention and focus, disrupt your sleep, and make you a slave to your phone, leading to impulse control issues.

Aiming to keep you online and checking for updates is the goal of social media. It is how businesses generate money. Psychological urges for social media might be as strong as a gambling habit or an alcohol or nicotine addiction. This substance is released in the brain when you get a “like,” “share,” or “favorable reaction” to a post. The more you’re rewarded, the more you want to spend on social media, even if it negatively impacts other areas of your life.

Unhealthy social media usage among others

Your FOMO may keep you glued to social media. Fear of missing out (FOMO) may have you feeling there are many things that can wait. Not knowing the newest social media news or gossip may cause you to be left out of the conversation at school or work. And if you don’t like, share, or comment on other people’s postings right away, do you think your connections suffer? Alternatively, you may be concerned about missing out on an invitation or being outdone.

Many of us rely on social media for protection. We resort to our phones and social media when we are uncomfortable, embarrassed, or lonely in a social environment. The lack of face-to-face connection that might assist reduce anxiety is another disadvantage of using social media.

This might be a symptom of stress, sadness, or boredom. Spending extra time on social media when you’re sad, lonely, or bored may be a method to escape negative emotions or self-soothe. While allowing oneself to feel might be challenging at first, it can lead to better mood management.

A look back – Social media statistics 2020

For your social media marketing efforts to be effective, your strategy must be informed with the latest social media statistics and trends. Looking at social media statistics in the not-so-distant past can also help identify trends that we can focus on. For example:

• Did you know that video is the most shareable content type on social media?
• Or that brands receive 10x higher engagement rates on Instagram than on Facebook?

Staying aware of data and shocking facts about social media 2020 and 2021 can help identify trends and with channeling resources into the right projects to drive engagement, growth, and customer acquisition.

Below is a graphic that provides an overview of social media facts from 2020 and 2021.

Other social media facts

• Consumer trust in social media channels has plummeted since the Cambridge Analytica scandal and fake news. On the upside trust in industry experts, journalists and immediate circles did increase. Brands will, therefore, need to invest in employee advocacy programs, personalized messaging at scale and building customer communities.
• According to Hootsuite, Stories will surpass feeds as the primary way in which people share content.
• More competition for paid social advertising means that marketers are being forced to up their game by focusing on better targeting, creatives, and budgets.
• Better and improved social shopping technologies have fuel e-commerce sales allowing brands to enable shopping from within a platform.
• Better targeting and conversational tact will be required to harness the growth of messaging apps.

Social media strategies for a social media marketer

So what does this mean for marketers?

A key takeaway is that mobile is clearly an essential part of the marketing mix. Having said that ignoring other devices would be silly given key markets you may wish to target or when you’re hoping to engage older audiences.

What does this mean for you?

While social media facts provide some idea of the extent of social media use and the role of mobile in empowering people and their social media usage, the game is changing.

So how can you use visual media, mobile and social media content to get your message across to your audience?

To help get you thinking about your social media strategy, consider the following:

• Consider comparing the benefits and return on investment (ROI). In other words, weigh up how important social media will be in achieving your goals and whether it will provide an ROI. A growth marketing framework to drive business growth can help.
• There are a number of social networks so consider thinking beyond major platforms and use ones that work best for your audience
• Invest in content that is shareable to increase the engagement on social media

Are there other ways and considerations in your social media strategy and investments, let us know in the comments below.