Online Platform Use Has Barely Budged Since 2016

While many tech giants have lost credibility and trust in the eyes of the public, they haven’t lost many users. Between 2012 and 2015, each platform surveyed by Pew experienced healthy growth in the number of U.S. adults who said they use these social networks. From 2016 to 2019, the share of people reporting their online platform use had mostly flatlined. Facebook and YouTube remain the most heavily used social networks, with nearly seven out of ten respondents using Facebook, and almost three-quarters of U.S. adults reporting YouTube use.

Instagram is the only exception to this trend. Between 2016 and 2019, there was a 32 percent uptick in the number of respondents who say the use the platform. The gram, as it is known colloquially, is a particular favorite among teens, not represented in this survey.