Social Media Usage Trends: Discord on the Upswing

March 6, 2023

This article is included in these additional categories:

Demographics & Audiences | Digital | Social Media | Teens & Younger | Youth & Gen X

Facebook use has plateaued, TikTok has taken a step back after a meteoric rise, and Discord is on the up. Those are some of the social media-related takeaways from the latest annual edition of The Infinite Dial [pdf], produced by Edison Research in partnership with Amazon Music, Wondery, and ART19.

The survey results indicate that Facebook continues to be the most widely-used social media brand among Americans ages 12 and older, with 61% reporting its use. This puts it in the same 61-63% range that it has been in since the 2018 edition of the report, suggesting that it has plateaued at around 6 in 10 people.

Usage of most other social platforms also remains flat, with both Twitter and Snapchat unchanged at 27% of respondents. Pinterest’s 31% adoption is a step up from 2022’s 28% but in line with the previous year (also 31%), while the 44% using Instagram is within the 43-46% range set in the previous 2 years. LinkedIn, however, has experienced an increase in adoption, up to 26% in this survey from 21% in 2022.

Notably, TikTok has taken a step back after a big rise last year. In this latest edition one-third (33%) of Americans ages 12 and up reported using the app, down slightly from 36% last year.

The biggest rise was reserved for Discord. This year 1 in 5 respondents (20%) report usage, up from about 1 in 8 (13%) last year.

These trends are playing out in more exaggerated fashion among respondents ages 12-34. Both Discord and LinkedIn enjoyed considerable rises in adoption this year among this younger demographic. Some 42% said they use Discord, up from 26% last year (and leapfrogging Twitter and Pinterest as a result), while 29% said they use LInkedIn, up from 19% who said so in 2022.

Instagram remains the most-used social brand among this group (flat at 72%), while TikTok use pulled back from 61% last year to 55% this year.

Although TikTok’s reach appears to have dipped among this demographic, its engagement hasn’t. When asked which social media brand they use more often, 22% cited TikTok, up from 17% last year. In fact, while last year twice as many said they use Facebook (34%) most often as TikTok (17%), this year TikTok was cited more frequently than Facebook (22% and 20%, respectively).

The most-used social brand among this young cohort is still Instagram, though, with 31% saying that’s the case, up from 24% last year.

Separately, while a growing share of Americans ages 12 and up report awareness of audio-based social media services such as Spotify Live, Twitter Spaces, Clubhouse, or Amazon Amp (35%, up from 21% last year), only 4% use one of these services, compared to 3% last year (when Amazon Amp was not included). This is supported by other recent research that has found slow take-up of these services, though that study did suggest broader reach than found in this report.

For more, check out The Infinite Dial’s 2023 edition here.

About the Data: The 2023 results are based on a January survey of 1,500 Americans ages 12 and older.

Chart-Library-Ad-1

Explore More Articles.

Which Skills Are Important in RevOps?

Which Skills Are Important in RevOps?

9 in 10 RevOps professionals view data analysis skills as being important, a high percentage also don’t believe they need this skill for their job.

Marketing Charts Logo

Stay on the cutting edge of marketing.

Sign up for our free newsletter.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This