Around 70% of people who use the internet have at least one social media account, while some have a couple and plenty regularly use more than that, but which social media networks are the most popular around the world?
The most popular social media networks – measured by monthly user stats according to Social Media Daily:
- Facebook – 2.2+ billion
- YouTube – 1.9 billion
- Instagram – 1 billion
- Ozone – Half a billion
- Weibo – Close to half a billion
- Twitter – Just over 300 million
- Reddit – Slightly less than Twitter
- Pinterest – 200 million
Ask.fm, Tumblr, Flickr, Google+, LinkedIn, VK, Odnoklassniki and MeetUp have followers/users ranging in number from 160 – 35 million.
Some platforms dominate a particular region of the world, such as VK and Odnoklassniki which are both primarily used by Russians.
Popular app based social media platforms
Facebook again dominates, owning Messenger and WhatsApp (both with around 1.5 million users), and Instagram (800 million). A few apps popular only in Asia also rank high, along with Snapchat and its 200 million followers.
The Top Players Facebook
Facebook is the daddy of social media sites, having been around since the early 21st century, and a large reason for its number one spot place is down to its users being so widespread though the world. Although originally an English language only site the developers quickly identified and met the need for other choices. It’s impossible to say if the changing demographics of Facebook user will impact on its top spot, as the younger generation focus on more visual offering, like Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat.
YouTube
This video focused site was launched back in 2005, and sold to Google two years later. Users either watch or upload videos of all kinds to the site, many do both. They also interact with other users, through comments, voting on the content and following people they like. YouTube has seen a huge revival since Vlogging became a potential career path, and is now one of the fastest growing platforms amongst young people.
Established in 2010, and taken over by Facebook two years later, Instagram is also especially popular with the younger generation, perhaps partly because they see this as a platform for them, without the issues having parents as friends on Facebook brings. The focus is on sharing photographs and short videos, and users are as likely to follow the content of strangers as personal contacts.
The rest
Twitter has had a good hold on the social media ladder, especially for networking or sharing news, but the lack of strong connections and random nature of the site hamper it taking a place in the top three. The remaining sites fill niche positions; Tumblr with its text only option – compared to Insta’s image requirement, Google+ hangs on in there doing who knows quite what; Reddit has a discussion focus, and Snapchat allows for instant, yet temporary sharing of thoughts and images.