Which are the social media with the highest number of users, by now, we all know. The old Facebook is still the record holder with 2.9 billion monthly users, Instagram follows with around 2 billion and TikTok is on the rise, having already reached 1.2 billion. A slightly different question is instead to understand which are our favorite social networks, the ones we consult with the most pleasure, which offer us the best experience or which we find most useful. This question is answered – globally – in the latest Global State of Digital report by HootSuite.
Already the first position could surprise, since it is not a real social media but a messaging service such as WhatsApp, which is indicated as the preferred platform by 16.1% of global social users. Considering the latest trends in the sector, there is not much to be surprised: research by the ZAK agency has in fact shown how 60% of under 30s prefer to communicate via private messages rather than on public social network feeds. The main reason reported by the interviewees is that, in this way, it is possible to “share more freely”.
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In many cases, the restricted and separate groups of WhatsApp have in fact replaced the sharing of content and discussions on the Facebook feed, allowing us a freer behavior and more sheltered from perhaps unwanted looks. However, Facebook remains the second most popular social network with 14.6% of preferences, certainly thanks to its widespread diffusion all over the world. Despite having about a billion fewer users, Instagram immediately follows Facebook with 14.5% of the preferences, being able to count on a demographic range – the 20-35 range – which has chosen it as its reference social network.
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Off the podium we find WeChat: the Chinese super-app, used for communications and for many other functions, is preferred by 12.4% of users. The other social networks that we find in the rankings are far behind: Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, only reaches 5.7% of the preferences, while TikTok follows closely behind with 5.6%. A surprising figure – if you think how much the social network created by ByteDance is undoubtedly the most important phenomenon of recent times – and certainly destined to change within a few years.
Among the most well-known social networks, Twitter is still missing, which in fact comes in sixth place with 3.5% of the preferences. And here it is worth pausing for a moment, to note how Twitter is by far the smallest social network among those present in this ranking: according to estimates, it would have around 370 million monthly users (the company has no longer declared this metric for some time) , less than a third of TikTok and a fifth of Instagram. As known, however, Twitter can enjoy an audience of very passionate users, which allows it to still be in the middle of this ranking.
After Twitter we find services such as Facebook Messenger, Telegram and Line (the most used messaging system in Japan). Among the lesser known in the West, it is worth noting that another Chinese social network for sharing short videos – Kuaishou (580 million users) – is preferred globally by 1.5%, tied with Pinterest and just above Snapchat (still very popular in the United States, but not only).
After QQ, a Chinese messaging system, and after a tool used mainly in North America such as iMessage, we finally find, bringing up the rear, the great absentee among the social networks we have mentioned so far: Linkedin. Well yes, although it can count on around 850 million subscribers in over 200 countries (but without declaring how many of these are active monthly), the most used social network for professional purposes is preferred by a mere 0.9 percent of the social population of Worldwide.
Perhaps a surprising figure, but one that could reveal something interesting: although Linkedin is an indispensable tool for many people, it is possible that – deep down – not so many users really want to spend their time congratulating colleagues on their goals achieved and to (possibly) put their own on display.