Did you know that the very first social media site launched in 1997? While Myspace is usually thought of when people think of social media’s start, Britannica gives that honor to SixDegrees.com.
SixDegrees closed down in 2000, but nearly 30 years after its founding, social media is the place businesses need to be to thrive.
But how important is social media? Here are five important numbers you should know about its popularity.
1) 24 Billion
Datareportal reports that there are 5.24 billion social media identities registered on line. Some people may have multiple identities, skewing the results but the fourth quarter of last year saw a .5% increase in social media identities who were 18 or older from the third quarter. To put that into perspective, the earth has a population of about 8.2 billion people according to Worldometer – making it so nearly 64% of the world’s population uses social media even accounting for some people having multiple identities.
2) 270.9 Million
According to Datareportal, there were 239 million social media users in the U.S. in January 2024 (the 2025 report has not yet been released) and 31.90 million in Canada for a total of 270.9 million users between the two countries. That 239 million was 70.1% of the U.S. population with Canada seeing an even higher percentage at 81.9%.
3) 2 Hours 21 Minutes
The only stat that saw a decrease in Datareportal’s February report is the amount of time people are spending on social media with a small two minute drop in the average. Fourth quarter statistics saw it drop to 2 hours and 21 minutes from 2 hours and 23 minutes in the third quarter. Global Statistics shows that Canada is a bit lower at 2 hours and 5 minutes, alongside the U.S., who is at 2 hours and 16 minutes.
4) 6.83
Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and X may get the most attention when it comes to social media platforms, but users visit an average of 6.83 social media platforms according to the Global Web Index. The U.S.’s average is slightly lower at 6.48 platforms averaged per user, while Datareportal’s report shows that Canadian users have an average of 6.4 platforms.
5) 6.25%
Are you trying to figure out if you should start a Threads account for your business? Buffer had some interesting information after studying 10.2 million posts on Thread and X/Twitter posted in 2024. X obviously has a larger audience since it has been around longer, but Threads is popular in its own right. In fact, Threads sees a median engagement rate of 6.25% on posts. To put that into perspective, X’s engagement rate in the posts studied sits at 3.6%. It isn’t worth closing your X account and just focusing on Threads yet, but it is worth exploring threads if you’re looking to get more engagement from your followers.
Want to improve your brand’s social media presence in 2025, but not sure where to start? Pyrois Media can help! Email Melissa@PyroisMedia.com to find out how to make this your best year yet.