How Much Time Do People Spend On Social Media In 2024?

With so much of the world’s population online these days, you’re probably curious how much time we collectively spend on social media on a daily basis.

In this post, we take a look at statistics from a few different sources that reveal how much time internet users spend on social media based on gender, location and age.

Let’s get into it.

General statistics for average time spent on social media

1. Internet users have an average daily time spent on social media of 151 minutes

According to a survey published on Statista, the average internet user spends an average of 151 minutes, or two hours and 31 minutes, on social media worldwide everyday.

The survey consisted of respondents whose ages ranged from as low as 16 to as high as 64.

This is up from 90 minutes in 2012 when the survey began.

Source: Statista¹

2. 52.5% of internet users use social media to keep in touch with friends and family

GWI’s latest report on social media trends revealed why internet users use social media.

The original data is arranged by generation, but we did a bit of math to arrange the data based on the opinions of all generations.

You can still find the generational data in the demographics section of this post.

So, here’s why internet users spend time on social media on average:

• Keeping in touch with friends/family – 52.5% of internet users use social media for this purpose
• Filling spare time – 37.5%
• Reading news stories – 36.75%
• Finding content – 29.25%
• Seeing what’s trending – 27.75%
• Finding inspiration for places to eat/travel – 26.25%
• Finding products to purchase – 26.25%
• Sharing/discussing opinions with others – 23.5%
• Watching livestreams – 22.25%
• Watching/keeping up with sports – 21.75%
• Making new contacts – 21.5%
• Seeing updates from brands – 21.25%
• Work-related networking – 20.5%
• Finding like-minded communities – 20.5%
• Avoiding missing out on things – 19%
• Posting life updates – 19%
• Following celebrities or influencers – 18.75%
• Supporting/connecting with good causes – 14.75%

Source: GWI

Time spent on social media by platform

3. TikTok users in the United States spend an average of 53.8 minutes on the platform everyday

According to a survey published by Statista, TikTok is the United States’ busiest platform.

Americans spend an average of 53.8 minutes on the platform on a daily basis.

Here’s how much time social media users in the United States spend on other social media apps:

• YouTube – Social media users in the United States spend an average of 48.7 minutes on the platform on a daily basis
• X/Twitter – 34.1 minutes
• Instagram – 33.1 minutes
• Facebook – 30.9 minutes
• Snapchat – 30 minutes
• Reddit – 24.1 minutes

Source: Statista²

4. 69% of Facebook users use the platform to message friends and family

According to GWI, messaging friends and family is Facebook users’ number one reason for using the social media platform. 69% use it for this purpose.

61% use it to post or share photos and videos while 53% use it to keep up to date with the news.

The survey also asked respondents about the types of content they prefer to see on the platform.

44% want to see funny content on Facebook while 42% want to see informative content and 35% want to see creative content.

Source: GWI

5. 62% of TikTok users visit the platform to find funny and entertaining content

According to GWI’s data on social media, the majority of TikTok’s user base visits the platform to find funny and entertaining content.

26% use the platform to follow or find out information about brands while 26% use it to post videos.

As for the types of content social media users want to see on TikTok, 60% want to see funny content while 45% want to see creative content and 37% want to see relaxing content.

Source: GWI

6. 69% of Instagram users use the platform to post their own photos and videos

According to GWI’s data, the majority of Instagram users, 69% to be exact, use the platform to post their own content.

66% use it to find funny and entertaining content while 58% use it to follow brands or find out information about products.

GWI’s data also reveals that 50% of Instagram users want to find funny content on the platform. 46% want to find creative content while 41% want to find informative content.

Source: GWI

7. 41% of Snapchat users use the platform to post content and message friends and family

According to GWI’s survey, 41% of Snapchat users use the social media platform to post their own photos and videos, and another 41% use it to message friends and family.

36% use it to find funny and entertaining content.

Speaking of content, 41% of Snapchat users want to find funny content on the platform, 37% want to find creative content and 31% want to find engaging content.

Source: GWI

8. 59% of Twitter users use the social media site to keep up with the news

Finally, GWI’s report on social media trends also revealed that 59% of X/Twitter’s user base uses the platform to keep up with the news.

37% use it to find funny or entertaining content while 36% use it to follow brands.

53% of users want to find informative content on Twitter. 36% want to find relevant content while 33% want to find funny content.

Source: GWI

9. 82% of Facebook users also use Instagram

There’s a lot of overlap in the world of social media users.

According to GWI’s data, on average, Gen Z uses 6.7 social media and messaging apps monthly. Millennials use 6.5, Gen X uses 5.8 and boomers use 4.9.

Later in this post, we reveal how Facebook is the most-used social media platform on the web as well as one of the most liked.

Therefore, it’s not surprising to learn that people who use Facebook likely also use a handful of other platforms.

This means social media managers on limited budgets are safe to focus on fewer platforms knowing fully well their followers will likely see duplicate content on other platforms, anyway.

Here are other social media channels Facebook users use:

• Facebook Messenger – 95% of Facebook users also use Facebook Messenger
• LinkedIn – 87% of Facebook users also use LinkedIn
• TikTok, Snapchat and X/Twitter – 83%
• Instagram – 82%
• WhatsApp, Telegram Messenger and Pinterest – 81%

The platforms with the least amount of overlapping are Pinterest, Snapchat and LinkedIn.

Source: GWI

Time spent on social media by demographic

10. Women spend 13.06 more minutes on social media than men on average

According to a survey conducted by adjoe and published by Statista, on average, women spend 13.06 more minutes on social media than men.

The data states that female social media users from around the world spend 62.59 minutes on social media every day whereas men spend 49.53 minutes.

Source: Statista³

11. Latin America spends 212 minutes on social media daily

Latin America is the busiest region when it comes to social media use.

On average, Latin Americans spend three hours and 32 minutes on social media platforms on a daily basis. This is down six minutes from 2022.

Here’s how much time other regions spend on social media:

• Middle East & Africa – 190 minutes, or three hours and 10 minutes, which is down 15 minutes from 2022.
• Asia-Pacific – 136 minutes, or two hours and 16 minutes, which is down two minutes from 2022.
• North America – 133 minutes, or two hours and 13 minutes, which is up one minute from 2022.
• Europe – 121 minutes, or two hours and one minute, which is down four minutes from 2022.

The data is taken from an analysis of more than 2.7 million internet users aged 16 to 64.

Source: GWI

12. Brazilians spend 229 minutes on social media daily

GWI broke its data on social media usage down by country.

Brazil spent the most time on social media. Specifically, Brazilians spend three hours and 49 minutes, or 229 minutes, on social media everyday.

Japan spent the least time on social media at just 47 minutes.

These are the top five (six) countries who spend the most time on social media:

1. Brazil – 3 hours and 49 minutes spent on social media each day
2. Nigeria – 3 hours and 44 minutes
3. Chile and South Africa – 3 hours and 34 minutes
4. Kenya – 3 hours and 32 minutes
5. Colombia – 3 hours and 28 minutes

These countries spend the least time on social media:

1. Japan – 47 minutes spent on social media each day
2. South Korea – 1 hour and 11 minutes
3. Austria – 1 hour and 25 minutes
4. Belgium – 1 hour and 30 minutes
5. Netherlands – 1 hour and 31 minutes

Source: GWI

13. Gen Z spends 171 minutes on social media everyday on average

According to GWI’s study on social media trends, which included a comparison of the study’s youngest and oldest generations, Gen Z spends two hours and 51 minutes, or 171 minutes, on social media everyday.

The data was taken from a survey conducted in early 2023 and was down one minute from the same time in 2022 and down three minutes since GWI began the survey in 2020.

The baby boomer generation spends an average of one hour and 31 minutes, or 91 minutes, on social media each day.

This is up four minutes from 2022 and up 14 minutes from 2020, which indicates a larger adoption rate of social media by older adults as time goes on.

Source: GWI

14. 33% of Gen Z social media users want to limit their time spent on social media

Because they spend the most time on social media, GWI’s study included a small survey exclusive to Gen Z respondents.

The survey asked respondents to vote for options that are most important to them in terms of their real-world goals.

These are the options and how Gen Z voted for them:

• Being financially secure is a top aspiration – 44% of Gen Z respondents chose this option
• Exploring the world is important to me – 44%
• Trying new things is important to me – 40%
• Having a routine is important to me – 37%
• I try to limit my time on social media – 33%
• I’m using social media less than I used to – 25%
• I feel left out if I don’t check social media regularly – 20%

This data shows that although checking social media regularly isn’t a huge priority, limiting their time spent on social platforms isn’t a big concern to Gen Z either, at least not when compared to other goals.

However, when you arrange the data in comparison to 2022’s results, you see how limiting their social media use is slowly becoming a big concern for members of the Gen Z generation:

• I try to limit my time on social media – 15% more voted for this option in 2023 than they did in 2022
• Being financially secure is a top aspiration – 11%
• I’m using social media less than I used to – 11%
• Having a routine is important to me – 9%
• Trying new things is important to me – 8%
• Exploring the world is important to me – 6%
• I feel left out if I don’t check social media regularly – 6% less voted for this option in 2023 than they did in 2022

Source: GWI

15. 60% of baby boomers use social media to keep in touch with friends and family

According to GWI’s report on social media trends, the boomer generation are most likely to use social media to keep in touch with friends and family.

Here’s this generation’s top five reasons for using social media:

1. Keeping in touch with friends/family – 60% of baby boomers voted for this as their number one reason for using social media
2. Reading news stories – 41%
3. Filling spare time – 34%
4. Finding products to purchase – 25%
5. Finding content – 24%

Here the boomer generation’s top five least reasons for using social media:

1. Following celebrities or influencers – 12% use social media for this purpose
2. Supporting/connecting with good causes – 13%
3. Work-related networking – 14%
4. Avoiding missing out on things – 15%
5. Posting life updates – 15%

Source: GWI

16. 55% of Gen X use social media to keep up with friends/family

Keeping up with friends and family on social media is Gen X’s number one reason for spending time on social media as well.

Here are this generation’s top five reasons:

1. Keeping in touch with friends/family – 55% of Gen X use social media for this reason
2. Reading news stories – 39%
3. Filling spare time – 36%
4. Finding content – 28%
5. Seeing what’s trending – 27%

Here’s Gen X’s top five least reasons for using social media:

1. Supporting/connecting with good causes – 14% use social media for this purpose
2. Following celebrities or influencers – 16%
3. Avoiding missing out on things – 17%
4. Posting life updates – 18%
5. Finding like-minded communities – 21%

Source: GWI

17. 49% of millennials use social media to keep up with friends and family

Unsurprisingly, keeping up with friends and family is also a top reason for using social media among millennial social media users.

Here are their top five reasons for spending time on social media:

1. Keeping in touch with friends/family – 49%
2. Filling spare time – 38%
3. Reading news stories – 36%
4. Finding content – 31%
5. Seeing what’s trending – 30%

And here are their top five least reasons for using social media:

1. Supporting/connecting with good causes – 16% voted for this option as a reason for using social media
2. Avoiding missing out on things – 21%
3. Finding like-minded communities – 21%
4. Following celebrities or influencers – 22%
5. Posting life updates – 22%

Source: GWI

18. 46% of Gen Z use social media to keep up with friends and family

Finally, keeping up with friends and family is a top reason for using social media for Gen Z as well.

Here’s this generation’s top five reasons for using social media:

1. Keeping up with friends/family – 46% use social media for this purpose
2. Filling spare time – 42%
3. Finding content – 34%
4. Seeing what’s trending – 32%
5. Reading news stories – 31%

Here’s Gen Z’s top five least reasons for using social media:

1. Supporting/connecting with good causes – 16% use social media for this purpose
2. Finding like-minded communities – 20%
3. Posting life updates – 21%
4. Work-related networking – 21%
5. Avoiding missing out on things – 23%

Source: GWI

General internet & social media statistics

19. There are 5.38 billion internet users around the world

According to data collected by Miniwatts Marketing Group and published on the Internet World Stats website, there are 5.38 billion internet users globally, and 67.9% of the world’s population has access to the internet.

The company broke this statistic down by region:

• Asia – 2.92 billion users
• Europe – 747 million
• Africa – 602 million
• Latin America/The Caribbean – 534 million
• North America – 348 million
• Middle East – 206 million
• Oceania/Australia – 31 million

The company also publishes stats on internet penetration rates. That is, the percentage of each region that has access to the internet:

• Asia – 67% of the population in Asia has access to the internet
• Europe – 89.2%
• Africa – 43.2%
• Latin America/The Caribbean – 80.5%
• North America – 93.4%
• Middle East – 77.1%
• Oceania – 70.1%

Source: Miniwatts Marketing Group

20. Facebook has 2.99 billion monthly active users

According to data published on Statista, Facebook is the most popular social media platform in the world with a total of 2.99 monthly active users (MAU).

Here are the usage statistics for other popular social media platforms:

• YouTube  – 2.53 billion monthly active users
• WhatsApp – 2 billion
• Instagram – 2 billion
• WeChat – 1.32 billion
• TikTok – 1.08 billion
• Facebook Messenger – 1.04 billion
• Snapchat – 750 million
• X/Twitter – 564 million
• Pinterest – 465 million

Source: Statista⁴

21. 21% of social media users say WhatsApp and Instagram are their favorite social media platforms

GWI’s social media report includes a survey question in which respondents were asked what their favorite social media platforms are.

The data is sourced from over 350,000 social media users aged 16 to 64 but excludes respondents from China.

Here’s how social media users rate different social media platforms, according to that data:

• WhatsApp – 21% of social media users voted this as being their favorite platform; this is down 1% from 2021’s survey
• Instagram – 21%; up 5%
• Facebook – 20%; down 14%
• TikTok – 9%; up 100%
• X/Twitter – 5%; down 6%
• Facebook Messenger – 3%; down 11%
• Telegram Messenger – 3%; no change
• Pinterest – 2%; down 16%
• Snapchat – 2%; up 12%
• LINE – 2%; down 15%

Source: GWI

Sources

• Statista¹
• GWI
• Statista²
• Statista³
• Miniwatts Marketing Group
• Statista⁴

Final thoughts

That concludes our post on the world’s time spent on social media.

We learned quite a few things, including how Gen Z is the most active generation on social media and Latin America is the most active region.

We also learned that the majority of social media users use social media platforms to stay connected with friends and families.

Interestingly, while influencer marketing is a growing form of advertising among internet-savvy brands, we also learned that following influencers and celebrities on social media is less of a priority among the average social media user.

Finally, while TikTok’s influence is undeniable across the globe, the data in this post revealed how Facebook is still the web’s leading social media platform and how X, formerly known as Twitter, is experiencing a rapid decline globally.

Next, I’d recommend reading our post on social media statistics for a more general overview of this topic.